Matthew Rhys
Matthew Rhys | |
---|---|
Born | Matthew Rhys Evans 8 November 1974 Cardiff, Wales |
Education | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1997–present |
Spouse | [1][2] |
Children | 1 |
Matthew Rhys Evans (/riːs/ REESS; born 8 November 1974[3][4]) is a Welsh actor. He gained recognition for playing Kevin Walker in the family drama series Brothers & Sisters (2006–2011) and Philip Jennings in the spy drama series The Americans (2013–2018). For his performance in The Americans, he earned the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2018. He was also Emmy-nominated for his guest role in Girls (2017) and for playing the title role in the period series Perry Mason (2020–2023).
In film, Rhys appeared as Dylan Thomas in The Edge of Love (2008) and as Daniel Ellsberg in The Post (2017) and starred as a cynical journalist in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019). He has also voiced several characters in animated series, including in The Owl House (2020–2023).
Early life and education
[edit]Rhys was born in Cardiff, Wales, on 8 November 1974[3] (some sources say 4 November).[4] His first language is Welsh.[5] He grew up in Cardiff and attended Welsh-medium schools, Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Melin Gruffydd (in Whitchurch, Cardiff) and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf (in Llandaff North, Cardiff). In 1993, he was awarded the Patricia Rothermere Scholarship.[6]
At age 17, after playing Elvis Presley in a school musical, he applied to and was accepted at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.[7] During Rhys's time at RADA, he appeared in the BBC police series Backup and in House of America. He returned to Cardiff to act in his own language in the Welsh film Bydd yn Wrol (Be Brave),[8] 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 comedy film 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.[9]
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.[7] Next he starred in Peaches, the film of the play written and directed by Nick Grosso.[10][11] 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.[12] Rhys travelled to Ireland to star in the 18th-century swashbuckling adventure The Abduction Club.[13] He played the lead role of Darren Daniels in Tabloid and then returned to New Zealand to shoot the epic drama The Lost World for the BBC. His other film credits include the independent horror film Deathwatch in Prague and Fakers, a comic crime caper.
In 2003, he played Justin Price in the final episode of the long-running television series Columbo.[14] He appeared in the independent feature Love and Other Disasters, in Virgin Territory, and as poet Dylan Thomas in the love quadrangle biographical film The Edge of Love.[15] He moved to Santa Monica after being cast in ABC's show Brothers & Sisters as gay lawyer Kevin Walker. The show had a five-season run, coming to an end in 2011.[12]
In January 2012, Rhys appeared in a BBC Two two-part drama adaptation of Charles Dickens' last, unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.[16] The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) aired it in the United States as one feature-length episode on 15 April 2012. In 2012, Rhys reprised Sir Alec Guinness' 1959 double role of John Barratt / Jacques DeGué in a new adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's The Scapegoat.[17] That 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 8 April 2012.[18] In 2013, Rhys starred in the television adaptation of the P. D. James novel Death Comes to Pemberley as Jane Austen hero Fitzwilliam Darcy.[19]
He starred opposite Keri Russell in the FX series The Americans, a 1980s Cold War spy drama about Russian KGB sleeper agents (Rhys and Russell, who portray married KGB agents with two children, among other agents and handlers). Rhys and Russell are partners off-screen as well. The show debuted in January 2013.[20] The series aired its sixth and final season in 2018. Rhys received a Primetime Emmy Award for his acting in the sixth season.[21]
Business ventures
[edit]In New York City, Rhys owns and rents a charter boat named Rarebit. The Wheeler boat was constructed around 1934; Rhys bought it from eBay after researching the venture in 2017 and rebuilt the boat himself with the advice of shipwrights.[22][23][24]
With the help of Welsh actor Rhys Ifans, Rhys supported fundraising for the pub Vale of Aeron in Ystrad Aeron, Ceredigion, Wales.[25][26]
Rhys' father grew up in Pennal, a town in Gwynedd, North Wales, and Rhys would spend summers and Easters visiting. In 2019, a pub named Glan Yr Afon (also Riverside) in Pennal was put on the market in 2019 without any buyers, but through a campaign supported by Rhys, there was a shares offering for the public; this raised £450,000 to save the pub, which was purchased by the local community in December 2022.[27][28][29]
Rhys set up his own production company, Patagonia, in 2011. It has two projects in development. One of them involves an adaptation of a book titled Operation Julie, written by Lyn Ebenezer,[30] about the biggest LSD drugs bust in Wales's history; Rhys bought the film rights in December 2010.[31][32][33]
Personal life
[edit]Rhys has been in a relationship with his The Americans co-star Keri Russell since 2014.[34][35] They had their first child, a son, in 2016.[36][37] In interviews conducted in 2021, they referred to each other as husband and wife.[1][2]
He is a supporter of Plaid Cymru,[38] actively supporting Welsh independence.[39][better source needed]
On 15 July 2008, Aberystwyth University honoured Rhys as a fellow.[40] 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[41] 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.[42]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Bydd yn Wrol | N/A | |
1997 | House of America | Boyo | |
1999 | Heart | Sean McCardle | |
Titus | Demetrius | ||
Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? | Ray Smith | ||
2000 | Sorted | Carl | |
The Testimony of Taliesin Jones | Jonathan | ||
2001 | Peaches | Frank | |
Tabloid | Darren Daniels | ||
Very Annie Mary | Nob | ||
2002 | The Abduction Club | James Strang | |
Deathwatch | Doc Fairweather | ||
Shooters | Eddie | ||
2003 | Y Mabinogi | Lleu Llaw Gyffes | |
2004 | Fakers | Nick Edwards | |
2006 | Love and Other Disasters | Peter Simon | |
2007 | Virgin Territory | Count Dzerzhinsky | |
2008 | The Edge of Love | Dylan Thomas | |
2010 | Luster | Joseph Miller | |
Patagonia | Mateo | ||
2012 | The Scapegoat | John Standing / Johnny Spence | |
2015 | Burnt | Montgomery Reece | |
Come What May | Percy | ||
2017 | The Post | Daniel Ellsberg | |
2018 | Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle | John Lockwood | |
2019 | A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood | Lloyd Vogel | |
The Report | New York Times reporter | ||
2021 | Seal Team | Grimes (voice) | [43] |
2023 | Cocaine Bear | Andrew C. Thornton II | |
2024 | IF | Ghost (voice) | |
Watchmen Chapter I | Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl II, Photographer #3 (voice) | Direct-to-video[44] | |
Saturday Night | George Carlin | ||
Watchmen: Chapter 2 | Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl II (voice) | Direct-to-video | |
TBA | Hallow Road | TBA | Post-production |
Television
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Backup | PC Steve 'Hiccup' Higson | 6 episodes |
1999 | Greenstone | Sam Markham | Unknown episodes |
2000 | A History of Britain | N/A | Unknown episodes |
Metropolis | Matthew Bishop | 5 episodes | |
2001 | The Lost World | Edward Malone | 2 episodes |
2003 | Columbo | Justin Price | Episode: "Columbo Likes the Nightlife" |
Partners and Crime | N/A | Television film | |
POW | Alfie Harris | Episode #1.5 | |
2006 | Beau Brummell: This Charming Man | Lord Byron | Television film |
2006–2011 | Brothers & Sisters | Kevin Walker | Main role |
2010 | Mr Hollywood | — | Producer; S4C-TV documentary[45] |
2011 | LA Phil Live | Hamlet | Episode: "Dudamel Conducts Tchiakovsky" |
2012 | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | John Jasper | 2 episodes |
2013 | Death Comes to Pemberley | Fitzwilliam Darcy | 3 episodes |
2013–2018 | The Americans | Philip Jennings | Main role |
2014 | Under Milk Wood | New York Voice | Television film |
2015 | Archer | Lloyd Llewellyn (voice) | Episode: "Achub y Morfilod"; credited for episode's story |
The Bastard Executioner | Gruffudd y Blaidd / the Wolf | 4 episodes | |
2016–2020 | The Wine Show | Himself (co-host) | Main role |
2017 | Girls | Chuck Palmer | Episode: "American Bitch" |
Snowdonia 1890 | Narrator | Main role | |
2018 | Death and Nightingales | Billy | 3 episodes |
Down the Caravan | Dai | Television film | |
2019 | BoJack Horseman | Justin Kenyon (voice) | Episode: "A Quick One, While He's Away" |
Carpool Karaoke: The Series | Himself (co-host) | Season 2, episode 17 | |
Infinity Train | Aloysius / Alrick (voices) | 2 episodes[43] | |
2020–2023 | Perry Mason | Perry Mason | Main role; also executive producer |
The Owl House | Emperor Belos (voice) | Recurring role[43] | |
2022 | Tuca & Bertie | Figgy (voice) | 6 episodes |
2023 | Extrapolations | Junior | Episode: "2037: A Raven Story" |
Gremlins | Riley Greene (voice) | 10 episodes[46][43] | |
2024 | The Wingfeather Saga | Gammon Felda/The Florid Sword (voice) | Season 2 recurring role; 3 episodes[47] |
TBA | Wyrd | Wyrd | FX's TV show [48] |
Towards Zero | Filming[49] | ||
The Beast in Me | Filming[50] |
Theatre
[edit]Year | Play | Role | Playwright | Venue | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | Cardiff East | Tommy | Peter Gill | Royal National Theatre | [51] |
Grace Note | Nick | Samuel Adamson | The Old Vic | [52] | |
One More Wasted Year | Pierre | Christophe Pellet | Royal Court Theatre | [53] | |
Stranger's House (Fremdes Haus) | Yanne | Dea Loher | [54] | ||
2000 | The Graduate | Benjamin Braddock | Charles Webb | Gielgud Theatre | [55] |
2002 | The Associate | Tiny | Simon Bent | Royal National Theatre | [56] |
2003 | Under Milk Wood | Mog Edwards | Dylan Thomas | New Theatre (Cardiff) | |
2004 | King Lear | Edmund | William Shakespeare | Royal Shakespeare Company | [57] |
Macbeth | Macduff | The Young Vic | [58] | ||
Romeo and Juliet | Romeo | Royal Shakespeare Company | [59] | ||
2012 | Look Back in Anger | Jimmy | John Osborne | Roundabout Theatre Company | [60] |
Awards and nominations
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- 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.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Keri Russell's Kids Call Her Friend Group "Moms Gone Wild"". YouTube.
- ^ a b "Watch Matthew Rhys Set Sail with al Roker". YouTube.
- ^ a b @MatthewRhys (8 November 2018). "Thank you for the messages...diolch am y negeseuon. 'My Birthday began with the water birds.....'" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "Matthew Rhys". AllMovie. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ^ "Being Dylan | Matthew Rhys". Visit Wales. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ Greenstreet, Rosanna (13 October 2001). "Q & A Matthew Rhys". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
- ^ a b Kellaway, Kate (30 April 2000). "The new prince of Wales". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ "Bydd yn Wrol". sky.com. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- ^ "Matthew Rhys - ABC News Interview December 5, 2006". 7 October 2007. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2017 – via YouTube.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (12 October 2001). "Peaches". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ "PEACHES (2000)". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ^ a b Gilbert, Gerard (8 September 2012). "Matthew Rhys:'We'd troll off to LA and try to nick jobs off the Americans". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ Elley, Derek (18 July 2002). "The Abduction Club". Variety. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ Erickson, Hal (2014). "Columbo: Columbo Likes the Nightlife (2003)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ French, Philip (22 June 2008). "Review: The Edge of Love". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ "BBC - Press Office - Cast announced for The Mystery Of Edwin Drood on BBC Two". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ Island Pictures
- ^ Isherwood, Charles (2 February 2012). "The wounded and wounding in '50s Britain". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ "Death Comes to Pemberley". BBC. 15 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (31 January 2013). "Ratings: The Americans spies strong debut". TVLine.com. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (16 March 2012). "Brothers & Sisters alumn Matthew Rhys cast opposite Keri Russell in FX's The Americans". TVLine.com. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ "About". moveablefeastny.com. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "The Legendary Pilar". wheeleryachts.com. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "Inside Matthew Rhys' Hemingway-inspired 'tale of madness' to restore a boat". ew.com. 1 June 2021.
- ^ "'Glyndŵr would be proud,' Hollywood star Matthew Rhys backs Welsh community pub hopes". nation.cymru. 4 November 2022.
- ^ "Fundraising target 'surpassed' in bid to resurrect community pub supported by Rhys Ifans and Matthew Rhys". nation.cymru. 13 December 2021.
- ^ "Hollywood star helps reopen rescued village pub". bbc.co.uk. 30 July 2023.
- ^ "Riverside / Glan Yr Afon, Pennal". riversidepennal.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "Menter y Glan Business Plan" (PDF). menterglan.org. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ Lyn Ebenezer – Cymru
- ^ Ebenezer, Lyn (22 February 2007). "The mythology of Operation Julie". BBC.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ "BBC - Matthew Rhys buys Operation Julie film rights". news.bbc.co.uk. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ Kelly, Jon (12 July 2011). "Operation Julie: How an LSD raid began the war on drugs". BBC News. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ Telling, Gillian (26 December 2013). "Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys: Are They Dating?". People. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ Ortved, John (30 April 2015). "Oliver Jeffers's Art of Bearing Witness". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "Keri Russell Gives Birth, Welcomes First Child With 'Americans' Costar Matthew Rhys!". usmagazine.com. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
- ^ "Keri Russell Reveals Name and Sex of Her First Child with Matthew Rhys – and Says the Baby Is Doing 'So Good'". People. 1 July 2016. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ "Matthew Rhys yn ymuno â Phlaid Cymru". 7 July 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ "Matthew Rhys". yes is more. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Graduation 2008 - Aberystwyth University". www.aber.ac.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ "BBC NEWS - UK - Wales - Hollywood star Rhys joins druids". news.bbc.co.uk. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ "Performing with National Youth Orchestra". Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Matthew Rhys (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 4 December 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
- ^ "Watchmen Chapter I: Exclusive Trailer, Voice Cast, Boxart and Release Date". ign.com. 10 July 2024.
- ^ "Ffeithiol S4C". www.s4c.co.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ Zorrilla, Mónica Marie (16 February 2021). "'Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai' Adds Ming-Na Wen, BD Wong, Matthew Rhys to Cast (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ "Matthew Rhys". IMDb. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ "Deadline". Deadline Hollywood. 16 December 2020. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ Ford, Lily (5 June 2024). "Anjelica Huston, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Mimi Keene to Star in Agatha Christie Adaptation 'Towards Zero'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ Franco, Judi (18 September 2024). "Claire Danes spotted in Red Bank filming new Netflix series". nj1015. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
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- ^ "Matthew Rhys and the Mystery of Edwin Drood". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "The Graduate – Turner's Mrs. Robinson Turns Heads in London's West End". Variety. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "The Associate". Variety. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "King Lear". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Macbeth 2004". RSC. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Sian Brooke to Play Juliet to Matthew Rhys' Romeo at RSC". Playbill. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Adam Driver, Matthew Rhys Cast in Roundabout's Look Back in Anger". Playbill. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Critics' Choice Awards". Critics Choice Awards. Archived from the original on 2 June 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Critics' Choice Television Awards 2014: Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
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External links
[edit]- 1974 births
- 20th-century Welsh male actors
- 20th-century British male actors
- 21st-century Welsh male actors
- 21st-century British male actors
- Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
- Bards of the Gorsedd
- Living people
- People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf
- Male actors from Cardiff
- Welsh male Shakespearean actors
- Welsh male stage actors
- Welsh male film actors
- Welsh male television actors
- British male television actors
- Welsh male voice actors
- Welsh-speaking actors
- Welsh expatriate male actors in the United States
- Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners