Jonathan Rhys Meyers Biography:
Born on July 27, 1977 in Dublin, Ireland, Jonathan Rhys Meyers grew up with his mother and 3 younger brothers in County Cork, Ireland. He resided in an orphanage for some time and was removed from school when he was sixteen years old. After being expelled, he spent most of his time hanging out in a pool hall, where he eventually caught the eye of Hubbard Casting. His very first audition was for a role in the 1994 film, War of the Buttons, but unfortunately, was turned down, leading Rhys Meyers to abandon his acting career temporarily. He was able to gain some popularity when he appeared in a campaign for Knorr soup, and eventually landed a lead role in the movie Disappearance of Finbar. Since then, Rhys Meyers has appeared in numerous motion pictures, such as Maker, Telling Lies in America, The Tribe, Governess and Ride with the Devil. Among his many recognitions include a London Film Critics Circle Award nomination for his work on Velvet Goldmine, a Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie and an Emmy nomination for his performance in Elvis and a Chopard trophy award for Male Revelation for his work in Woody Allen’s Matchpoint. Currently, Rhys Meyers is starring in Showtime’s historical drama series, The Tudors.
King Henry VIII is played by Jonathan Ryhs Meyers on the show, The Tudors. The son of Henry VII and Elizabeth York, King Henry VIII is married off to Catherine of Aragon on his father’s hopes of uniting England and Spain. Intelligent and highly-driven, he introduces the idea of Humanism into his kingdom by appointing Thomas Wolsey and Sir Thomas More into office. His athleticism is also apparent, as he is quite talented in jousting, hunting and real tennis. His other interests include music, poetry and his mistress, Anne Boleyn.
(Photo courtesy of Showtime)
Personal tidbits…
Early on in his acting career, Jonathan said many times that he didn’t love acting but was doing it because it kept him off the streets and out of jail. However, he has grown quite passionate about acting and hopes he is accomplishing something with his diverse roles. Jonathan also enjoys listening to all kinds of music from Bob Marley to rap.
Jonathan currently resides in London but still visits Cork, spending time with friends and family whenever he has a break from filming. One of his first big purchases when he started making a living as an actor was to buy his mother a proper house in Cork. He also owns an apartment in Morocco, a place Jonathan loves to get away to when he’s not busy with his latest acting jobs. Jonny is also a talented musician and singer of traditional Irish music and if you’ve seen “Velvet Goldmine”, you can hear a sampling of his skills on tracks 15 and 18 of the official soundtrack. His guitar and vocal skills are also on display in “August Rush” in several beautiful songs.
Emmy Awards
Nominated: Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a Movie (2005), Elvis
Golden Globe Awards
Won: Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (2006), Elvis
Nominated: Best Actor in a Television Series (2008), The Tudors
Nominated: Best Actor in a Television Series (2009), The Tudors
Irish Film & Television Awards (IFTA)
won: Best Lead Actor - Television (2008), The Tudors
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' assassin
1997 - The Maker - Josh Minnell
1997 - Telling Lies in America - Kevin Boyle
1998 - Velvet Goldmine - Brian Slade
1998 - The Governess - Henry Cavendish
1998 - B. Monkey - Bruno
1998 - The Tribe - Adam - released on TV
1999 - The Loss of Sexual Innocence - Nic, aged 16
1999 - Ride with the Devil - Pitt Mackeson
1999 - Titus - Chiron
2001 - Prozac Nation - Noah - released on TV
2001 - Tangled - Alan Hammond - straight to DVD
2001 - Happy Now - Mark Wraith
2002 - Bend It Like Beckham - Joe
2003 - The Tesseract - Jean - straight to DVD
2003 - Octane - The Father - straight to DVD
2003 - I'll Sleep When I'm Dead - Davey
2003 - The Emperor's Wife - Chamberlain
2004 - Vanity Fair - George Osborne
2004 - Alexander - Cassander
2005 - Match Point - Chris Wilton
2006 - Mission: Impossible III - Declan
2007 - August Rush - Louis Connelly
2008 - The Children of Huang Shi - George Hogg
2008 - A Film with Me in It - cameo
2009 - Shelter - Adam - post-production
2009 - From Paris with Love - Richard Stevens - filming
2009 - Mandrake - Mandrake - on hold