Dougray Scott was taught how to act by his salesman father.

The 'Desperate Housewives' star - who hails from Fife, Scotland - learned how to hide his true emotions when portraying a character by watching his dad work.

He said: "The first and best lesson I had about acting was through my father.

"With him being a salesman, his life was all about presenting himself a certain way. No matter what he was feeling on that particular day, he walked into a shop to sell his fridges and freezers.

"People always want to buy stuff from people who are friendly and warm and happy and up. And that's the same for me about characters, what people like to present to other people is often at odds with what they are feeling inside."

The 45-year-old actor was originally cast in Hugh Jackman's role as Wolverine in 'X-Men' but had to drop out of the role when shooting on 'Mission: Impossible II', in which he starred with Tom Cruise, overran.