FACTBOX: U.S. presidential candidate Fred Thompson

(Reuters) - Following are some facts about Fred Thompson, a Republican who on Saturday made his first appearance since entering the U.S. presidential race and said the United States was battling threats from "forces of evil."

* Before entering politics, Thompson, 64, starred in several movies, including "The Hunt for Red October" and "In the Line of Fire."

* Thompson is quitting the long-running NBC show "Law & Order," in which he played a prosecutor, after five seasons.

* The Tennessee Republican, who served previously as a federal prosecutor and Senate Watergate counsel, won a special election to a two-year Senate term in 1994. He won a full six-year term in 1996.

* Thompson, who once said life in Washington made him "long for the sincerity and realism of Hollywood," announced he would not seek re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2002 because he "simply did not have the heart for another six-year term."

* Thompson revealed in April 2007 he had a slow-growing form of cancer, in remission.