Jonathan Rhys Meyers

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Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Jonathan Rhys Meyers 2013.jpg
Meyers in 2013
Born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe
(1977-07-27) 27 July 1977 (age 47)
Dublin, Ireland
Residence Los Angeles, Callifornia, U.S.
London, England
Nationality Irish
Occupation Actor, producer
Years active 1994–present

Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Velvet Goldmine, Mission Impossible III, Bend It Like Beckham, Match Point and his television roles as Elvis Presley in the biographical miniseries Elvis, which earned him a Golden Globe for Best Actor, and as King Henry VIII in the historical drama The Tudors.[1][2] He has been the face model for several Hugo Boss fragrances advertising campaigns.[3]

In 2013, Meyers appeared as the villain Valentine Morgenstern in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, based on Cassandra Clare's novel, City of Bones. He also starred in the NBC drama series Dracula as the titular character. Meyers appeared in the 2015 film Stonewall, directed by Roland Emmerich.

Early life

He was born 27 July 1977 in Dublin, Ireland, to Geraldine (née Myers; died 20 November 2007 at the age of 50) and folk musician John O'Keeffe.[4][5] His family is Roman Catholic.[6] His three brothers are all professional musicians.[7]

When Meyers was three, his parents separated. His mother raised him and his brother Alan "Ali" in a council flat in Cork, while the other two boys, Jamie and Paul, went to live at their paternal grandmother's home with their father.[8] He also has two half sisters. Meyer's mother drank heavily, and Meyers has spoken in interviews about how close he was to her and their living in poverty.[9] He briefly attended North Monastery Christian Brothers School but was expelled at the age of 14.[9][10]

Soon after, he left home and began working in a pool hall. There, he met a wealthy dairy farmer, Christopher Croft, who invited Meyers to live with him and his three children to work on the farm. Croft was his mentor and father figure, but in 2007, Croft was convicted of sexually abusing a homeless boy and sentenced to one year in prison.[9]

Career

After being expelled from North Monastery at 14 for truancy, he spent much of his time working or hanging out in pool halls. Casting agents looking for Irish boys to appear in War of the Buttons spotted him at a Cork pool hall, the Victoria Sporting Club, and invited him to audition.[11] Although passed over for War of the Buttons, the casting agents encouraged him to pursue a career in acting.[12] His first film role came in A Man of No Importance (1994). In 1996, he appeared in Michael Collins, as the title character's assassin. In 1999, he appeared in Ride with the Devil as psychopathic guerrilla fighter Pitt Mackeson.

Meyers has starred in television series including Gormenghast (2000) and in the CBS 4-hour mini-series Elvis (2005) as Elvis Presley alongside Randy Quaid as Colonel Tom Parker, but didn't sing for his role in the miniseries.[13] The latter earned him an Emmy[14] nomination and a Golden Globe win.[15] He starred in the CBC/Showtime co-production The Tudors (2007) as Henry VIII. He was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Drama in 2007 for the role.[16]

Meyers in 2006

He played a David Bowie-inspired glam rock star in Velvet Goldmine (1998), a dedicated girls' football coach in Bend It Like Beckham (2002), in Vanity Fair (2004) opposite Reese Witherspoon. He co-starred in 2004 in Oliver Stone's epic Alexander. The following year he starred in Woody Allen's drama Match Point (2005), for which he received a Chopard Trophy at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2006, he appeared in Mission: Impossible III. Subsequent projects include August Rush (2007) and The Children of Huang Shi (2008), Shelter and From Paris with Love (2010)[17]

In 2011, he starred in Belle du Seigneur (an English-language film adaptation of Albert Cohen's novel) as Solal des Solal. The movie was released in Russia on 29 November 2012 and in France on 19 June 2013 after premiering at the Champs Elysees Film Festival. A self-taught singer and guitarist, he has appeared in a number of musical roles. His first such role was as "Brian Slade" in Velvet Goldmine; two of the songs he sang ("Baby's on Fire" and "Tumbling Down") are on the film's soundtrack. He sang briefly in the TV miniseries version of The Magnificent Ambersons, performed in studio scenes of the miniseries Elvis and played the flute in Gormenghast.[citation needed]

In the 2007 music drama August Rush, he performed on-screen as singer-songwriter Louis Connelly and is credited for four songs on the soundtrack – "Break", "Moondance", "Something Inside", and "This Time". Of the four, "This Time" and "Break" were considered in the Best Original Song category of the 80th Academy Awards.[18] "This Time" was not released as a single but peaked at number 84 in the Canadian Hot 100.[19]

Besides acting, Jonathan has also modelled for several clothing companies. He modelled for Club Monaco in 2001 and was chosen as the face for the Versace men's collection of Autumn/Winter 2006 and Spring 2007,[20] and he was the face of the Hugo Boss men's fragrance range from 2006[21] until he was replaced with Jared Leto in 2011. He is signed to Independent Models in London.[22] In February 2008, he became a celebrity ambassador for the Cork-based charitable organisation The Hope Foundation.[dead link][23] On 5 October 2008, Rhys Meyers received an Honorary Patronage from the Trinity College Philosophical Society in Dublin.[24]

In 2013, Meyers was cast as Dracula, in NBC's television series Dracula alongside Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Jessica De Gouw.[25] It was also announced in May 2013 that Jonathan was to participate in the recording of his brothers' album entitled "Blossom" which was released on 21 April 2014.

On October 23, 2014 he received The Irish Post Legend Award at the London Hilton on Park Lane in recognition of his remarkable achievements in Film & Television over the previous twenty years.[26]

In February 2015, The Hollywood Reporter[citation needed] and Variety[citation needed] confirmed that Meyers had begun filming the spy thriller, Damascus Cover,[27] based on the novel by Howard Kaplan, in Morocco alongside John Hurt, Olivia Thirlby and Jurgen Prochnow, with Meyers in the lead role as Ari Ben Sion.

Meyers will portray Patrick Pearse, a political activist and one of the leaders of the bloody 1916 Irish Easter Rising, in the centennial commemoration biopic film The Rising, written and produced by Kevin McCann.[28] The film is set to be released on St Patrick's Day, 2016.[29]

Personal life

From 2004 until 2012, Meyers was in a relationship with Reena Hammer, daughter of makeup artist Ruby Hammer.[30][31]

Per unconfirmed media reports, Meyers checked into a rehabilitation facility seeking treatment for unspecified substance abuse in 2005.[32] In 2007, Meyers' representative, Meredith O'Sullivan, confirmed that, "After a non-stop succession of filming, Jonathan Rhys Meyers has entered an alcohol-treatment programme."[33][34]

On 20 November 2007, his mother, Mary Geraldine "Geri" O'Keeffe, died at Mercy University Hospital, Cork, aged 51, following a short, undisclosed illness.[35] Her funeral was attended by "hundreds of mourners" including film director Neil Jordan and actors Cillian Murphy and Colin Farrell.

In February 2009, Meyers reportedly went into rehab again.[36] His representative confirmed Meyers was again receiving treatment in 2010.[37] In November 2011, Meyers was ordered by a French court to pay a restitution of €1,000 and was given a judgment of a suspended sentence for public intoxication 24 months earlier.[38]

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Notes
1994 A Man of No Importance First Young Man
1996 The Killer Tongue Rudolph
1996 The Disappearance of Finbar Finbar Flynn
1996 Michael Collins Collins's assassin
1996 Samson and Delilah Young Samson Television film
1997 The Maker Josh Minnell
1997 Telling Lies in America Kevin Boyle
1998 Velvet Goldmine Brian Slade Nominated—London Critics Circle Film Award for British Newcomer of the Year
1998 The Governess Henry Cavendish
1998 B. Monkey Bruno
1998 The Tribe Adam
1999 The Loss of Sexual Innocence Young Nic
1999 Ride with the Devil Pitt Mackeson
1999 Titus Chiron
2001 Prozac Nation Noah
2001 Tangled Alan Hammond
2001 Happy Now Mark Wraith
2002 Bend It Like Beckham Joe
2002 The Magnificent Ambersons George Amberson Minafer Television film
2003 The Tesseract Sean
2003 Octane The Father
2003 I'll Sleep When I'm Dead Davey Graham
2003 The Emperor's Wife Chamberlain
2003 The Lion in Winter King Philip II Television film
2004 Vanity Fair Captain George Osborne
2004 Alexander Cassander
2005 Elvis Elvis Presley Television film
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
2005 Match Point Chris Wilton
2006 Mission: Impossible III Declan Gormley
2007 August Rush Louis Connelly
2008 The Children of Huang Shi George Hogg
2008 A Film with Me in It Pierce 2 Cameo
2010 Shelter Adam / David / Wesley / Charles / Christian Re-released in 2013 under the title 6 Souls.
2010 From Paris with Love James Reese
2011 Albert Nobbs Viscount Yarrell
2012 Belle du Seigneur Solal
2013 The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Valentine Morgenstern
2014 Another Me John Moffatt
2015 Stonewall Trevor
2015 Damascus Cover Ari Screened at 2015 Cannes Film Festival[39]
2016 The Rising Padraig Pearse Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Gormenghast Steerpike 4 episodes
2007–2010 The Tudors King Henry VIII 38 episodes
Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor on Television
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (2008–09)
Nominated—Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (2009–11)
Nominated—Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor on Television (2009–11)
2013–2014 Dracula Dracula / Alexander Grayson 10 episodes
Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Actor in a New TV Series

Awards and nominations

Year Group Award Result Notes
1999 London Critics Circle Film Awards British Newcomer of the Year Nominated Velvet Goldmine
2002 Venice Film Festival Canal Grande Award for the Best Young Promising Actor Won The Magnificent Ambersons
2005 Satellite Awards Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television Won Elvis
2005 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated Elvis
2005 Cannes Film Festival Outstanding Newcomer Won Match Point
2006 GQ UK Men of the Year Awards / Lab Series Man of the Year Won
2006 Golden Globes Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television Won Elvis
2008 Monte-Carlo Television Festival Outstanding Actor – Drama Series Won The Tudors
2008 Irish Film and Television Awards Best Actor in a Lead Role in Television Won The Tudors
2008 Golden Globe Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama Nominated The Tudors
2009 Monte-Carlo Television Festival Outstanding Actor – Drama Series Nominated The Tudors
2009 Irish Film and Television Awards Best Actor in a Lead Role in Television Nominated The Tudors
2009 Golden Globe Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama Nominated The Tudors
2010 Irish Film and Television Awards Best Actor in a Lead Role in Television Nominated The Tudors
2010 Monte-Carlo Television Festival Outstanding Actor – Drama Series Nominated The Tudors
2011 Monte-Carlo Television Festival Outstanding Actor – Drama Series Nominated The Tudors
2011 Irish Film and Television Awards Best Actor in a Lead Role in Television Nominated The Tudors
2014 People's Choice Awards Favorite Actor in a New TV Series Nominated Dracula
2014 The Irish Post Awards Legend Award Won

References

  1. ↑ Monroe, Justin. "Reign Man", Complex, October 2007; Retrieved 10 April 2008.
  2. ↑ Wolf, Matt. "Earning an 'A' for Androgyny on the Screen", New York Times, 13 September 1998; retrieved 10 April 2008.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ "2006 Golden Globe Awards Nominations & Winners", HFPA, January 2006; Retrieved 14 April 2008.
  16. ↑ "2008 Golden Globe Awards Nominations & Winners", HFPA, January 2008; Retrieved 14 April 2008.
  17. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy "EuropaCorp begins shoot on From Paris With Love", Screen Daily, 23 September 2008; Retrieved 24 September 2008.
  18. ↑ "59 Songs Tune Up for 2007 Oscar", Oscars.org, 12 December 2007
  19. ↑ "Jonathan Rhys Meyers – This Time", aCharts.us. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Rhys Meyers profile at independent.codegent.org
  23. ↑ "Rhys Meyers to help Calcutta children", RTÉ Entertainment, 18 February 2008; Retrieved 6 October 2008.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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