Matthew Rhys
| Matthew Rhys | |
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 Rhys in June 2011 |
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| Born | Matthew Rhys Evans 8 November 1974 Cardiff, Wales, UK |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1997-present |
- For the rugby player see Matthew Rees. For the novelist, see Matt Rees.
Matthew Rhys Evans (born on 8 November 1974), known professionally as Matthew Rhys, is a Welsh actor, best known as Kevin Walker in the ABC family drama Brothers & Sisters, and as Dylan Thomas in The Edge of Love. He currently stars as Phillip Jennings in the FX drama series The Americans.
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Early life[edit]
Rhys was born in Cardiff, Wales, the son of Glyn, a headmaster, and Helen Evans, a teacher.[1] He grew up in Cardiff along with his older sister, Rachel, now a BBC broadcast journalist. Matthew Rhys was educated via the Welsh-medium schools, Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Melin Gruffydd (in Whitchurch, Cardiff) and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf (in Llandaff North, Cardiff).
Aged 17, after playing Elvis Presley in a school musical, he applied and was accepted at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. Shortly thereafter, in 1993, he was awarded the Patricia Rothermere Scholarship.[2] During his time at RADA, Rhys appeared in Back-Up, the BBC police series about the operational support units Hooli Vans, as well as in House of America. He returned to Cardiff to act in his own language in the Welsh film, Bydd yn Wrol (Be Brave), for which he won Best Actor at the Bafta Cymru (Welsh BAFTAs).
Career[edit]
In January 1998, Rhys went to New Zealand to star in Greenstone, a colonial costume drama for television. He then landed a role in Titus, Julie Taymor's adaptation of Titus Andronicus, starring Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange. Next he played Ray in Peter Hewitt's film comedy, Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? After returning to Wales, he did two consecutive films with Jonathan Pryce: The Testimony of Taliesin Jones, a film about a dysfunctional single-parent family in which he played the elder son, and Sara Sugarman's comedy Very Annie Mary, in which he played the role of Nob. Rhys would later reunite with Very Annie Mary star Rachel Griffiths on Brothers & Sisters.
In 2000, Rhys played the lead role in Metropolis, a drama series for Granada TV about the lives of six twenty-somethings living in London.[3] Next he starred in Peaches, the film of the play written and directed by Nick Grosso.[4] Rhys starred as Benjamin in the 2000 world premiere of the stage adaptation of The Graduate, alongside Kathleen Turner at The Gielgud Theatre in London's West End.[5]
Rhys traveled to Ireland to star in the 18th century swashbuckling adventure, The Abduction Club.[6] He played the lead role of Darren Daniels in Tabloid, and then returned to New Zealand to shoot the epic drama Lost World for the BBC. His other film credits include the independent horror film Deathwatch in Prague and Fakers, a comic crime caper. He appeared opposite the late Brittany Murphy in the independent feature Love and Other Disasters, in Virgin Territory opposite Hayden Christensen, Tim Roth and Mischa Barton, and playing poet Dylan Thomas in the love quadrangle biopic The Edge of Love.[7]
He moved to Santa Monica after being cast in ABC's show Brothers & Sisters, as lawyer Kevin Walker. The show had a five-season run, coming to an end in 2011.[5]
Rhys was adamant he could happily give up his career to play international rugby for his country.[8]
Airing on 10–11 January 2012, Rhys will appear in the BBC Two two-part drama adaptation (written by Gwyneth Hughes[9] and directed by Diarmuid Lawrence) of Charles Dickens' last novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, left unfinished at his death in 1870.[10] The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) aired it as one feature-length episode on 15 April 2012.
In 2012 Rhys will reprise Sir Alec Guinness's 1959 double role of John Barratt/Jacques De Gué in a new adaptation of The Scapegoat.[11] The Scapegoat went into production on location in London in November 2011 and will be released for cinema audiences worldwide, a theatrical distribution managed by Content Media following its screening on ITV1 in April 2012. In the same year, Rhys was cast as "Jimmy" in the Roundabout Theatre Company's Off-Broadway revival of John Osborne's play, Look Back in Anger, at the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre. The production played a limited engagement through April 8, 2012.[12]
He currently stars opposite Keri Russell in FX's series The Americans, a 1980s Cold War drama about KGB sleeper agents.[13] The series premiered in January 2013.[14]
Personal life[edit]
Rhys is good friends with fellow Welshman and actor Ioan Gruffudd, and they shared a house for nearly 10 years.[8] He served as a best man at Gruffudd's wedding, and wrote a speech for the occasion.[15] Both are patrons of Trust PA, a UK spinal injuries charity.
On 15 July 2008, Rhys was honoured by Aberystwyth University as a Fellow.[16] On 8 August 2008, he was honoured at the Welsh National Eisteddfod by being accepted as a member to the druidic order of the Gorsedd of the Bards,[17] for his contributions to the Welsh language and Wales. His bardic name in the Gorsedd is Matthew Tâf. In August 2009, Rhys took to the stage with the National Youth Orchestra of Wales as part of the National Eisteddfod.[18]
Affiliations[edit]
- Patron, Hijinx Theatre, based at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay
- Charity Champion, The Noah's Ark Appeal, a charity which raises funds for the development of the Children's Hospital of Wales.
- Patron, Iris Prize, Cardiff's International Gay and Lesbian Short Film Prize.[19]
Selected filmography[edit]
| Year | Film/TV | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-present | The Americans | Phillip Jennings | Main role; TV drama series on FX Nominated - Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Drama Actor 2013 |
| 2012 | The Scapegoat | John Standing/Johnny Spence | Novel adaptation |
| 2012 | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | John Jasper | Two-part TV drama |
| 2011 | Everything Carries Me To You | Damien | Short by Emma Holly Jones - see external link below |
| 2010 | Patagonia | Mateo | Not short-listed – Academy Award for best foreign language film |
| 2009 | The Think Tank | Marc | Short by Peter Calloway - see external link below |
| 2008 | The Edge of Love | Dylan Thomas | |
| 2007 | Virgin Territory | Count Dzerzhinsky | |
| 2006 | Love and Other Disasters | Peter Simon | |
| 2006 | Beau Brummell: This Charming Man | Lord Byron | |
| 2006–2011 | Brothers & Sisters | Kevin Walker | (TV series; 109 episodes); directed four episodes |
| 2004 | Fakers | Nick Edwards | |
| 2003 | P.O.W | Alfie Harris | |
| 2003 | Columbo Likes the Nightlife | Justin Price | |
| 2003 | Y Mabinogi | Lleu Llaw Gyffes | (Voice role) |
| 2002 | Deathwatch | Cpl. Doc Fairweather | |
| 2002 | The Abduction Club | James Strang | |
| 2002 | Shooters | Eddie | |
| 2001 | The Lost World | Edward Malone | |
| 2001 | Very Annie Mary | Nob | |
| 2000 | A History of Britain | (Voice role; TV series) | |
| 1999 | Titus | Demetrius | |
| 1999 | Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? | Ray Smith |
Theatre[edit]
| Year | Play | Role | Writer/Director | Venue or Company |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Look Back in Anger | Jimmy | John Osborne/Sam Gold | Roundabout Theatre Company |
| 2004 | MacBeth | MacDuff | William Shakespeare/Bill Alexander (director) | The Young Vic |
| 2004 | King Lear | Edmund | William Shakespeare/Bill Alexander (director) | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2004 | Romeo and Juliet | Romeo | William Shakespeare/Peter Gill (playwright) | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2003 | Under Milk Wood | Mog Edwards | Dylan Thomas/Michael Bogdanov | New Theatre (Cardiff) |
| 2002 | The Associate | Tiny | Simon Bent | Royal National Theatre |
| 2000 | The Graduate | Benjamin Braddock | Charles Webb (author)/Terry Johnson (dramatist) | Gielgud Theatre |
| 1997 | Stranger's House (Fremdes Haus) | Yanne | Dea Loher[20]/Mary Peate | Royal Court Theatre |
| 1997 | One More Wasted Year | Pierre | Christophe Pellet/Mary Peate | Royal Court Theatre |
| 1997 | Grace Note | Nick | Samuel Adamson/Dominic Dromgoole | The Old Vic |
| 1997 | Cardiff East | Tommy | Peter Gill (playwright) | Royal National Theatre |
Other projects, contributions[edit]
- Produced television documentary, Mr Hollywood, for S4C-TV (2010),[21] about the life of Griffith J. Griffith, Welsh-American industrialist and philanthropist after whom Griffith Park is named.
- Wrote Patagonia: Crossing the Plain (2010) - a photographic account of his month-long journey on horseback while filming a documentary on Patagonia, and the Welsh settlers who made it their home having journeyed from Wales in the late 19th century.
- Set up his own production company, Patagonia (2011), which has two projects in development. One of them involves the adaptation of a book called Operation Julie, written by Lyn Ebenezer,[22] about the biggest LSD drugs bust (in Wales's history); Rhys bought the film rights in December 2010.[23][24][25]
References[edit]
- ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/35/Matthew-Rhys.html
- ^ ABC News Interview, 5 December 2006
- ^ Kate Kellaway (April 30, 2000). "The new prince of Wales". The Guardian. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ^ Peter Bradshaw (October 12, 2001). "Peaches". The Guardian. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ^ a b Gerard Gilbert (September 8, 2012). "Matthew Rhys:'We'd troll off to LA and try to nick jobs off the Americans". The Independent. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ^ Derek Elley (July 18, 2002). "The Abduction Club". Variety. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ^ Philip French (June 22, 2008). "Review: The Edge of Love". The Guardian. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ^ a b ABC News Interview December 5, 2006
- ^ Edwin Drood: The mysterious appeal of Dickens' darkest tale
- ^ BBC Press Office
- ^ Island Pictures
- ^ Charles Isherwood (February 2, 2012). "The wounded and wounding in '50s Britain". New York Times. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ^ Michael Ausiello (March 16, 2012). "Brothers & Sisters alumn Matthew Rhys cast opposite Keri Russell in FX's The Americans". TVLine.com. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ^ Michael Ausiello (January 31, 2013). "Ratings: The Americans spies strong debut". TVLine.com. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ^ icWales
- ^ Aberystwyth News Online
- ^ "Hollywood star Rhys joins druids"
- ^ Performing with National Youth Orchestra
- ^ Iris Prize patrons
- ^ Dea Loher
- ^ Matthew Rhys explores Hollywood's Welsh roots
- ^ Lyn Ebenezer - Cymru
- ^ The mythology of Operation Julie
- ^ Matthew Rhys buys Operation Julie film rights
- ^ Operation Julie: How an LSD raid began the war on drugs
External links[edit]
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