Ray Stevenson (actor)

This article is about the actor. For the political activist of the same name, see Ray Stevenson (political activist).

Ray Stevenson
Born	George Raymond Stevenson 25 May 1964 (1964-05-25) Lisburn, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1993–present
Spouse	Ruth Gemmell (1997–2005; divorced)
Partner	Elisabetta Caraccia (2005–present)

George Raymond "Ray" Stevenson (born 25 May 1964) is a Northern Irish-born English film and television actor. He is known for playing Titus Pullo in the BBC/HBO television series Rome (2005–2007), and in film as Dagonet in King Arthur (2004) and as Frank Castle/The Punisher in Punisher: War Zone (2008) and The Super Hero Squad Show. Stevenson recently appeared as Volstagg in Thor, based on the Marvel Comics character.

Early life

Born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, he moved with his family to Lemington, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England in 1972 at the age of eight, and later to Cramlington, Northumberland, where he was raised. The second of three sons of a Royal Air Force pilot father and an Irish mother, Stevenson attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating at the age of 29.

Career

Film

Stevenson has starred in several feature films, primarily in supporting roles. He made his debut in The Theory of Flight (1998) with Kenneth Branagh and Helena Bonham Carter, where he played the part of a gigolo hired to help Bonham Carter's character to lose her virginity. In 2002, Stevenson starred in a short film No Man's Land, which was the antipodal picture from actor/director Edward Hicks prior to his graduation from the London Film School. In the 12.5 minute film set during the First World War, Stevenson portrayed an experienced Private who is forced to help a novice Officer (David Birkin), back to safety after they both find themselves trapped and isolated in "No Man's Land" during the battle of Ypres. In 2004, Stevenson starred alongside Clive Owen and Keira Knightley in King Arthur. He portrayed Dagonet, a knight of the round table who sacrifices his life for his comrades.

Stevenson's first leading role in a film was in the Scottish horror picture Outpost (2008), portraying a mercenary pitted against Nazi zombies in a bunker somewhere in Eastern Europe. That same year, he also starred in Punisher: War Zone, based on the character by Marvel Comics. He portrayed Frank Castle, "The Punisher," a former Marine turned vigilante after the murder of his family. In 2010, Stevenson played the primary antagonist in the comedy The Other Guys, alongside Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell.

In 2011, Stevenson appeared in the film Kill the Irishman, based on the book To Kill the Irishman as Danny Greene who took on the Italian mob in Cleveland in the 70's. He worked with Kenneth Branagh again, this time as a director, in the adaptation of Marvel Comics' Thor, starring in the role of Volstagg, one of Thor's trusted comrades. Also that year, he played Porthos in Paul W. S. Anderson's adaptation of The Three Musketeers. On July 8, 2011, Stevenson was cast as Firefly for G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

Television

He is perhaps best known for playing the character of legionary Titus Pullo in the BBC/HBO television series Rome. He shares the lead starring role in the series with Kevin McKidd. His portrayal of Pullo's fierce and loyal character and the character's development and adaptation to the changing circumstances of life and history has won both critical and public acclaim.^{[citation needed]}

His other TV-work includes guest appearances in popular TV series like Waking the Dead and Murphy's Law as well as lead roles in City Central and At Home with the Braithwaites. He has also appeared in several TV movies such as Some Kind of Life in 1995, in which he co-starred with Jane Horrocks, and The Return of the Native, which also featured Catherine Zeta Jones. Some of his earliest parts were in two Catherine Cookson movies: The Dwelling Place (1994) and The Tide of Life (1996). Ray reprises his role this time as the voice of The Punisher in The Super Hero Squad Show.

Stage

His stage work includes playing the part of Christ in the York Mystery Plays in 2000 at York Minster. In 2001 he took the part of Roger in the play Mouth to Mouth by Kevin Elyot, at the Albery Theatre in London with Lindsay Duncan and Michael Maloney. His most well-known part is perhaps that of the Cardinal in The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster with Janet McTeer at the Royal National Theatre in 2003.

Personal life

Stevenson was married in Westminster, London, in 1997, to actress Ruth Gemmell, whom he met when they worked together on the TV drama Band of Gold (1995). They later played a husband and wife on screen in Peak Practice (1997). The couple divorced after eight years of marriage. His current girlfriend is Italian anthropologist Elisabetta Caraccia, whom he met while filming Rome. The couple have a son, Sebastiano Derek Stevenson, born on 24 December 2007. Their second son, Leonardo George Stevenson, was born on 11 April 2011.

His love of art and his capabilities as an artist were demonstrated when he participated in the television programme Watercolour Challenge in 2001, where he together with actors Cherie Lunghi and Malcolm Tierney painted watercolours of Blenheim Palace.

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	The Theory of Flight	Gigolo
1999	G:MT - Greenwich Mean Time	Mr Hardy
2004	King Arthur	Dagonet
2008	Outpost	DC
	Punisher: War Zone	Frank Castle/The Punisher
2009	The Vampire's Assistant	Murlough
2010	The Book of Eli	Redridge
	The Other Guys	Roger Wesley
2011	Kill the Irishman	Danny Greene
	The Three Musketeers	Porthos
	Thor	Volstagg
2012	G.I. Joe: Retaliation	Firefly
2013	Jayne Mansfield's Car	Phillip Bedford
TV series
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	A Woman's Guide to Adultery	a journalist
1995–1996	Band of Gold	Steve Dickson	12 episodes
1997	Drover's Gold	Armstrong	5 episodes
	Peak Practice	Joe Higson	ep:Home truths
1998–1999	City Central	DI Tony Baynham	32 episodes
1999	Love in the 21st Century	Alex	ep:Toyboys
2000	Holby City	Laurence Haney	ep:Taking It on the Chin
	The Bill	Sgt. Gartland	ep:Over the Edge
2001	At Home with the Braithwaites	Graham Braithwaite	11 episodes of series 2 and 3
	Dalziel and Pascoe	Jeff Parry	ep:Truth and Consequences
2003	Red Cap	Sgt. Chris Roxborough	ep:Cover Story
	Murphy's Law	Robert Eaglan	ep:Kiss and Tell
2004	Waking the Dead	Dr Tim Faulkner	ep:Fugue States
2005–2007	Rome	Titus Pullo	22 episodes
2009	The Super Hero Squad Show	Frank Castle/The Punisher	Night in the Sanctorum
Stage
Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	York Mystery Plays	Christ
2001	Mouth to Mouth	Roger
2003	The Duchess of Malfi	the Cardinal

References

[1] [2]

External links

• Official website
• Ray Stevenson at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview for The Evening Chronicle 20 Jun 2007
• Interview for the Star 6 May 2007
• Interview for the Star 4 Dec 2005
• Interview BBC Rome Press release 18 Oct 2005
• Interview with Future Movies
• Ray Stevenson is the Irishman at Empire Online
• Paul WS Anderson Casts His Musketeers at Empire Online