Stephen Rea
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- For the English-born American movie critic, see Steven Rea.
| Stephen Rea | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 31 October 1946 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Spouse | Dolours Price (1983–2003) |
Stephen Rea (born 31 October 1946) is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in high profile films such as V for Vendetta, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire and Breakfast on Pluto. Rea was nominated for an Academy Award for his lead performance as Fergus in the 1992 film The Crying Game.
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[edit] Early life
Rea was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the son of a bus driver.[1] One of four children in a working class Presbyterian family,[2][3] he attended Belfast High School and the Queen's University of Belfast, taking a degree in English. Politically, Rea is a Protestant nationalist.[4]
[edit] Career
Rea trained at the Abbey Theatre School in Dublin. In the late 1970s, he acted in the Focus Company in Dublin with Gabriel Byrne and Colm Meaney. During the broadcasting ban on Sinn Féin imposed by Margaret Thatcher's government, in order to cut the 'oxygen of publicity', it was interpreted that Sinn Féin members could not be heard making statements expressing the views of Sinn Féin, so Rea was one of many actors contacted to provide an actor's voice to get around that problem. After appearing on the stage and in television and film for many years in Ireland and Britain, Rea came to international attention when he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film The Crying Game. He is a frequent collaborator with Irish film maker Neil Jordan. Rea has long been associated with some of the most important writers in Ireland. His association with playwright Stewart Parker, for example, began when they were students together at the Queen's University of Belfast.
Rea helped establish the Field Day Theatre Company in 1980 with Tom Paulin, Brian Friel, Seamus Heaney and Seamus Deane. In recognition for his contribution to theatre and performing arts, Rea was given honorary degrees from both the Queen's University of Belfast[5] and the University of Ulster[6] in 2004.
Stephen Rea's friendship with American playwright and actor Sam Shepard dates back to the early 1970's, and he starred in Shepard's directorial debut of his play "Geography of a Horse Dreamer" at the Royal Court Theatre in 1974. In 2007, Rea began a successful and acclaimed relationship with both the Abbey Theatre and Sam Shepard, appearing in Kicking a Dead Horse (2007) and Ages of the Moon (2009), both penned by Shepard and also both transferred to New York.[7] Rea returned to the Abbey in 2009 to appear in the world premiere of Sebastian Barry's Tales of Ballycumber.[8]
In 2011, Rea featured in the BBC crime drama The Shadow Line, playing antagonist Gatehouse.
[edit] Personal life
Stephen was married to former Provisional Irish Republican Army hunger striker and noted current critic of Sinn Féin, Dolours Price from 1983 to 2003. They have two children.[citation needed]
Stephen Rea is an Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland.[citation needed]
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Cry of the Banshee | Villager | ||
| 1975 | I Didn't Know You Cared | Carter Brandon | TV, Series 1 & 2 | |
| 1977 | Professional Foul | Pavel Hollar | BBC Play (TV) | |
| 1978 | The Professionals | Pellin | Episode: "In the public interest" | |
| 1978 | On a Paving Stone Mounted | |||
| 1982 | Angel | Danny | ||
| 1983 | Loose Connections | Harry | ||
| 1984 | The Company of Wolves | Young Groom | ||
| 1985 | The Doctor and the Devils | Timothy Broom | ||
| 1990 | Not with a Bang | Colin Garrity | TV series | |
| 1991 | Life Is Sweet | Patsy | ||
| 1992 | The Crying Game | Fergus | National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor |
|
| 1993 | Hedda Gabler | Ejlert Lovborg | TV | |
| Bad Behaviour | Gerry McAllister | |||
| 1994 | Princess Caraboo | Gutch | ||
| Angie | Noel Riordan | |||
| Interview with the Vampire | Santiago | |||
| Prêt-à-Porter | Milo O'Brannigan | National Board of Review Award for Best Cast | ||
| 1995 | Citizen X | Lt. Viktor Burakov | (TV) | |
| Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea | Nikos | |||
| All Men are Mortal | Fosca | |||
| 1996 | Trojan Eddie | Trojan Eddie | ||
| Michael Collins | Ned Broy | |||
| Crime of the Century | Bruno Richard Hauptmann | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film | ||
| The Last of the High Kings | Cab Driver | |||
| 1997 | Double Tap | Cypher | ||
| Fever Pitch | Ray, the Governor | |||
| The Butcher Boy | Da Brady | |||
| Hacks | Brian | |||
| The Break | Sean Dowd | |||
| 1998 | Still Crazy | Tony Costello | ||
| This Is My Father | Father Quinn | |||
| 1999 | Guinevere | Connie Fitzpatrick | ||
| The End of the Affair | Henry Miles | |||
| The Life Before This | Brian | |||
| I Could Ready the Sky | PJ Doran | |||
| In Dreams | Doctor Silverman | |||
| 2000 | The King's Wake | King Connor Mac Neasa | (voice) | |
| 2001 | The Musketeer | Cardinal Richelieu | ||
| Snow In August | Rabbi Judah Hirsch | On the Edge | Dr. Figure | |
| 2002 | FeardotCom | Alistair Pratt, 'The Doctor' | ||
| Copenhagen | Niels Bohr | BBC-PBS (TV) | ||
| Evelyn | Michael Beattie | |||
| 2003 | The i Inside | Doctor Newman | ||
| Bloom | Leopold Bloom | |||
| 2004 | Fluent Dysphasia | Murph | ||
| Control | Dr. Arlo Penner | |||
| Proud | Barney Garvey | |||
| The Confessor | McCaran | alternate title The Good Shepherd | ||
| The Halo Effect | Fatso | Nominated — Irish Film and Television Awards — Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Film | ||
| 2005 | Breakfast on Pluto | Bertie | Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Film | |
| Tara Road | Colm | |||
| River Queen | Francis | |||
| V for Vendetta | Inspector Finch | |||
| 2006 | Sisters | Dr. Philip Lacan | ||
| Sixty Six | Dr. Barrie | |||
| 2007 | Until Death | Gabriel Callaghan | ||
| The Reaping | Father Costigan | |||
| Stuck | Thomas Bardo | |||
| 2008 | The Devil's Mercy | Tyler | ||
| Heidi 4 Paws | Doctor | (voice) | ||
| Kisses | Down Under Dylan | uncredited | ||
| 2009 | Nothing Personal | Martin | ||
| Father & Son | (TV) | |||
| Ondine | ||||
| 2010 | The Heavy | Anawalt | ||
| 2011 | Roadkill | policeman | ||
| Blackthorn | Mackinley | |||
| The Shadow Line | Gatehouse | |||
| 2012 | Underworld: Awakening | Dr. Jacob Lane |
[edit] References
- ^ "Stephen Rea Biography (1949?-)". Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies. http://www.filmreference.com/film/23/Stephen-Rea.html. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- ^ Stephen Rea: An Appreciation, Rea's website, sourced from The Times
- ^ Stephen Rea article in The Times, February 1998; posted at Rea's website.
- ^ The Stranger from Irish Tatler, April 2000; posted at Rea's website
- ^ Queen's University Belfast | 06-2004 Press Releases. Qub.ac.uk. Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
- ^ University Of Ulster News Release – Honour for Stephen Rea. News.ulster.ac.uk (2004-12-15). Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
- ^ Abbey Theatre – Amharclann na Mainistreach. Abbeytheatre.ie. Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
- ^ Abbey Theatre – Amharclann na Mainistreach. Abbeytheatre.ie. Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
