Paul Rhys
| Paul Rhys | |
|---|---|
| Born |
19 December 1963 Neath, Glamorgan, Wales, UK |
| Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1983–present |
Paul Rhys (born 19 December 1963) is a Welsh television, film and theatre actor.
Rhys was born in Neath, Glamorgan, and studied at RADA, leaving with the Bancroft Gold Medal in 1985. After graduating, he obtained his first major screen role, in Absolute Beginners (1986). Since then he has seldom been off the stage and screen. His first US exposure was when American film director Robert Altman cast Rhys, who was then still a student, as Theo van Gogh in Vincent and Theo opposite Tim Roth as Vincent.
Paul was born in Neath, South Wales, to Catholic parents. His mother, Kathryn Ivory, was Irish-Welsh and his father, Richard Charles Rhys, was Welsh. The family moved to the village of Pencoed when Paul was ten. A committed punk during his youth, Rhys was in several bands before leaving for London to study at RADA.
Paul's first acting job was playing Liverpudlian judo expert Ralph in John Godber's hit play Bouncers, before he even went to RADA. In the first summer vacation from RADA, he was spotted by Philip Prowse and was invited to perform in Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre, playing the illegitimate son, Gerald. He then returned to RADA for two terms before leaving again, this time to play Dean Swift in Julian Temple's Absolute Beginners. Rhys completed his education at RADA by winning the William Pole prize and the Bancroft Gold Medal on graduation.
His first film role was in Franklin J. Schaffner's Lionheart. After a brief spell at the Royal Shakespeare Company he played opposite Colin Firth in Richard Eyre's award-winning film Tumbledown. Soon after this, he appeared in Vincent & Theo, directed by the legendary American film director Robert Altman, as Vincent van Gogh's younger brother Theo van Gogh. Continuing the theme of famous brothers, Paul then played Sydney Chaplin opposite Robert Downey, Jr.'s Charlie Chaplin in Richard Attenborough's Chaplin. He went on to play Massis in Alan Bennett's 102 Boulevard Hausmann, after which he played opposite Peter O'Toole in Rebecca's Daughters. A series of films then followed including From Hell, Food of Love, Love Lies Bleeding and Hellraiser: Deader.
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