text: Until now, Tom Sturridge has been best known as the long-haired hipster who finally tamed Sienna Miller. Yet this year it looks as though the 29-year-old actor, who counts Robert Pattinson and Andrew Garfield among his best friends, could be set to become more famous than his A-list fiancee. Not only is the London-born actor wowing the West End  in American Buffalo, he's about to step into the costume drama void left by Aidan Turner's Poldark, when he plays Sergeant Troy to Carey Mulligan's Bathsheba in the hotly-anticipated new adaptation of Far From The Madding Crowd. Scroll down for video . Tom Sturridge the fiance of Sienna Miller could be set to overtake his partner in the fame stakes this year as he stars in the West End play American Buffalo and is set to release a film with Ryan Gosling . And the classically tall, dark and handsome thesp will no doubt earn himself a legion of female fans as the red-coated miliary man who courts Bathsheba Everdene. However up until now it was his relationship with Sienna Miller - which began in March 2011 - which had everyone talking. Those who have met the actor say he is shy and reserved - a far cry from Sienna's previous conquests Jude Law and Daniel Craig. But despite his laid back demeanor Tom - described by Richard Curtis as 'handsome, but also quirky and charming - is slowly but surely making a name for himself as a talented young actor. His first big film break came in 2013 when he starred in the movie adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On The Road alongside Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund. And he is  currently treading the boards in the West End, starring alongside Damian Lewis and John Goodman in the David Mamet play American Buffalo which opened this month. And later this year he will feature alongside Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara and Natalie Portman in the new film Weightless. Sienna and Tom have been dating since 2011, the pair got together in 2011 shortly after she split from the actor Jude Law for a second time . However he says he is careful not to spread himself to thin when it comes to his work: 'I choose carefully,' he said, 'I'm not afraid of not working.' And it is this slow and steady approach that seems to be making him the critics' favourite. In 2013 when he starred in the Broadway play Orphans he was nominated for a prestigious Tony Award. The reviewer for the Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney, singled out Tom's 'killer Broadway debut' performance, writing: 'He shows astonishing athleticism and expressive physicality, leaping from one surface to another with simian agility or shrinking into a huddled ball. 'But he also conveys the alert mind ticking away behind the stuttering words and the twitchy, obsessive behaviour. 'There's a distinct sense here of a docile but unpredictable caged animal, literally about to burst with pent-up energy.' Tom counts Andrew Garfield (left) and Robert Pattinson (right) among his close friends . In 2012 Tom starred alongside Rob's then on / off girlfriend Kristen Stewart and is thought to have been close friends with the actress . But his sheer talent and growing reputation may come as a surprise to those who knew Tom growing up, as unlike many of his peers, he never planned to be an actor. Born into a thespian family - his father Charles Sturridge directed the original Brideshead Revisited series as well as A Handful Of Dust, and his mother is actress Phoebe Nicholls - Tom told The Telegraph: 'As children, my siblings and I were actively discouraged from acting. I have no memories of going on set with my parents – aside from Gulliver's Travels.' His father cast him in the TV special starring Ted Danson because he wanted a child actor he could talk to. The actor remembered: 'All I remember is occasionally having conversations with my father and then someone filming me.' But  he began to rebel against the acting world he knew so well and struggled with life at the elite £13,500-a-year Harrodian School in west London (where he met best friend Robert Pattinson). He said: 'I left school early in my last year before I took my A-levels. I wasn't expelled. It was just a mutual understanding. I wasn't interested in going to school and they said, "You're not turning up", so we severed ties. Both sides appreciated it.' That rebellious streak certainly shows up in his distinctive scruffy, trendy style - his penchant for skinny jeans, pork pie hats, lumberjack shirts and skinny ties - and earned him the notice of fashion house Burberry who cast Tom and his fiancee Sienna in a moody black and white ad together. Sienna and Tom  got together in 2011, not long after she split from Jude for the second time. The pair became engaged soon after and they welcomed their daughter Marlowe  on July 7, 2012. Sienna says that being with Tom and having their daughter Marlowe - born in 2012 - has changed her life . Although discreet about their life together, the short clip filmed by Mario Testino provided a touching insight into the couple's strong bond as they flirted, laughed, gazed into each others' eyes and kissed passionately. Creative director Christopher Bailey said: 'This was a shoot full of love and laughter. It was such a treat to work with Sienna and Tom, and to capture their magic together.' That 'magic' is something Sienna is profoundly grateful for. In December, the 33-year-old told Vogue: 'Tom is a grounded, intelligent, kind, and intact person. That's amazing to be around. That's the father of my child. There's no drama.' Of having their daughter Marlowe in July 2012 she said: 'I was overwhelmed by how normal it felt. It was like, "There you are - that's what I have been missing". 'Like we're both in on something only we know. An amazing sense of being complicit with a little being.' Tom attended the 2015 Oscars Vanity Fair party with his fiance Sienna and his best friend Robert Pattinson . Today the pair are one of the most sought-after on the party circuit but keeping their life low-key is a priority. Sienna said: 'We go to the country. I like to cook and go to Whole Foods. I have a [Newfoundland] dog - not a dog but a bear - who when I walk pulls me over flat on my face into the mud. 'My baby pukes on me. It's life. It's very much a normal life. I really don't want to sound boring. It's completely crazy and illicit behind closed doors.' In a 2009 interview Tom revealed that he carried a private journal everywhere with him in which he wrote stories and musings. He said: 'I write constantly, about everything.' Now as Tom prepares for big screen stardom, the question now is not whether he has enough to jot into his diary, but whether he has the time.
target: Tom Sturridge, 29, will star in American Buffalo alongside Damian Lewis .
  He is fast becoming a critics' favourite but is picky about his work .
  Engaged to Sienna Miller, the mother of daughter Marlowe .
  Born into an acting family, he's best friends with Robert Pattinson .