The impending transatlantic stardom of German actor Daniel Bruhl -- via upcoming roles in racing drama Rush and political true-life-tale The Fifth Estate -- requires a bit of homework as to what's gotten Bruhl to this point. You know you've seen him before, now find out where.

You've Most Likely Seen Him In ...
Easily Bruhl's most notable role, particularly when it comes to American audiences, was in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. Bruhl played a German sharpshooter lionized in a propaganda film. In an ensemble that also launched Christoph Waltz and Michael Fassbender into American stardom, Bruhl's breakthrough has been on a bit of a delay.

Unless You've Really Been Paying Attention, in Which Case You Remember Him From ...
The British film Ladies in Lavender, wherein Bruhl plays a prodigious violinist rescued from a shipwrecking and nursed back to health by the titular Ladies, played by Judi Dench and Maggie Smith.

"Wait, So He's That Guy From ..."
The third of the Jason Bourne films, The Bourne Ultimatum, where Bruhl played the brother of Franka Potente's character.

You Can Also Go Back and Spot Him In ...
Any number of films directed by and starring Julie Delpy, including The Countess, 2 Days in Paris, and 2 Days in New York, as well as the Clive Owen thriller Intruders.

Perhaps Your Tastes Lie In Foreign Film, In Which Case…
You probably caught Bruhl early on in his career, when he starred in the German comedy Good Bye Lenin!, as a Berlin-Wall-era teen in East Germany. You also probably caught him in the Oscar-nominated World War I drama Joyeux Noel.

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Where You Can Find Him Now ...
Coming up this week, Bruhl hits American movie screens in Ron Howard's Rush. Bruhl plays famous Formula One driver Niki Lauda, as the film chronicles his rivalry with British driver James Hunt. He's also hitting the festival circuit opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in Bill Condon's WikiLeaks film, The Fifth Estate. That particular one-two punch promises to make Bruhl a far more recognizable name around here.