Jonathan Rhys Meyers - Biography
>> Saturday, January 17, 2009
Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O’Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor and model, best known for playing King Henry VIII in historical drama The Tudors.
Rhys Meyers was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Geraldine Meyers and musician John O'Keeffe. His stage name is derived from his mother's maiden name, Meyers.
Rhys Meyers was born with a serious heart problem and was baptized shortly after his birth, as it was feared he would not survive long enough for a traditional baptism ceremony. He spent the first few months of his life in the hospital. Born in Dublin, he moved to Cork City at one year old and was raised there. He has three younger brothers named Jamie, Alan and Paul, who are all professional musicians.
When Rhys Meyers was three years old, his parents separated. His mother raised Jonathan and his brother Alan, while his other two brothers went to live at their grandmother's house with their father. They had spoken every day for several years.
Rhys Meyers was expelled from the North Monastery Secondary School at age 16, and spent much of his time hanging out in pool halls namely the Victoria Sporting Club on Patricks Quay and the Coliseum Leisure Centre on McCurtain Street. Casting agents looking for Irish boys to appear in War of the Buttons spotted Rhys Meyers at a Cork pool hall, the Victoria Sporting Club, and invited him to audition. Although he was passed over for War of the Buttons, the casting agents encouraged him to pursue a career in acting. His first film role came soon afterward, in A Man of No Importance (1994). In 1996 he appeared in Michael Collins, as Collins' assassin.
Rhys Meyers has starred in television series including Gormenghast (2000) and in the CBS 4-hour mini-series Elvis (2005) as Elvis Presley alongside Rose McGowan as Ann-Margret. The latter earned him an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe win. He is currently starring in the Showtime cable series The Tudors (2007) as young King Henry VIII. He was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Drama in 2007 for the role.
His film roles range from a David Bowie-inspired glam rock star in Velvet Goldmine (1998) to a dedicated girls' football coach in Bend It Like Beckham (2002). He appeared in Vanity Fair (2004) alongside Reese Witherspoon. In 2005, Rhys Meyers starred in Woody Allen's film Match Point, for which he received a Chopard Trophy at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2006, he appeared in Mission: Impossible III. Other projects include August Rush (2007) and "The Children of Huang Shi" (2008). He is rumored to be appearing in Danny Glover's Haitian epic Toussaint (2008) and signed on to star as Lee Falk's comic strip hero Mandrake the Magician in an upcoming movie directed by Chuck Russell. Upcoming projects include Shelter, co-starring Julianne Moore, and From Paris With Love, co-starring John Travolta.
Rhys Meyers, a self-taught singer and guitarist, has appeared in a number of musical roles. His first such role was that of rock star 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 on several occasions in Gormenghast. In the 2007 music drama August Rush, Rhys Meyers 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. "This Time" was not released as a single but peaked at #84 of the Canadian Hot 100.
Rhys Meyers was chosen as the face for the Versace men's collection of Autumn/Winter 2006 and Spring 2007, and he has also been the face of the Hugo Boss men's fragrance range since 2005. He is signed to Independent Models in London.
Rhys Meyers recently added philanthropy to his already impressive CV. In February 2008 he became a celebrity ambassador for The Hope Foundation. This Cork-based charity aims to provide shelter and supplies to Calcutta's impoverished street children. Rhys Meyers hopes that lending his name to the organization will help raise awareness of the issue. As Ambassador he is expected to visit India and record a TV documentary for the charity.
On October 5th, 2008, Rhys Meyers received an Honourary Patronage from the Trinity College Philosophical Society in Dublin, Ireland.
Rhys Meyers was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Geraldine Meyers and musician John O'Keeffe. His stage name is derived from his mother's maiden name, Meyers.
Rhys Meyers was born with a serious heart problem and was baptized shortly after his birth, as it was feared he would not survive long enough for a traditional baptism ceremony. He spent the first few months of his life in the hospital. Born in Dublin, he moved to Cork City at one year old and was raised there. He has three younger brothers named Jamie, Alan and Paul, who are all professional musicians.
When Rhys Meyers was three years old, his parents separated. His mother raised Jonathan and his brother Alan, while his other two brothers went to live at their grandmother's house with their father. They had spoken every day for several years.
Rhys Meyers was expelled from the North Monastery Secondary School at age 16, and spent much of his time hanging out in pool halls namely the Victoria Sporting Club on Patricks Quay and the Coliseum Leisure Centre on McCurtain Street. Casting agents looking for Irish boys to appear in War of the Buttons spotted Rhys Meyers at a Cork pool hall, the Victoria Sporting Club, and invited him to audition. Although he was passed over for War of the Buttons, the casting agents encouraged him to pursue a career in acting. His first film role came soon afterward, in A Man of No Importance (1994). In 1996 he appeared in Michael Collins, as Collins' assassin.
Rhys Meyers has starred in television series including Gormenghast (2000) and in the CBS 4-hour mini-series Elvis (2005) as Elvis Presley alongside Rose McGowan as Ann-Margret. The latter earned him an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe win. He is currently starring in the Showtime cable series The Tudors (2007) as young King Henry VIII. He was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Drama in 2007 for the role.
His film roles range from a David Bowie-inspired glam rock star in Velvet Goldmine (1998) to a dedicated girls' football coach in Bend It Like Beckham (2002). He appeared in Vanity Fair (2004) alongside Reese Witherspoon. In 2005, Rhys Meyers starred in Woody Allen's film Match Point, for which he received a Chopard Trophy at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2006, he appeared in Mission: Impossible III. Other projects include August Rush (2007) and "The Children of Huang Shi" (2008). He is rumored to be appearing in Danny Glover's Haitian epic Toussaint (2008) and signed on to star as Lee Falk's comic strip hero Mandrake the Magician in an upcoming movie directed by Chuck Russell. Upcoming projects include Shelter, co-starring Julianne Moore, and From Paris With Love, co-starring John Travolta.
Rhys Meyers, a self-taught singer and guitarist, has appeared in a number of musical roles. His first such role was that of rock star 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 on several occasions in Gormenghast. In the 2007 music drama August Rush, Rhys Meyers 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. "This Time" was not released as a single but peaked at #84 of the Canadian Hot 100.
Rhys Meyers was chosen as the face for the Versace men's collection of Autumn/Winter 2006 and Spring 2007, and he has also been the face of the Hugo Boss men's fragrance range since 2005. He is signed to Independent Models in London.
Rhys Meyers recently added philanthropy to his already impressive CV. In February 2008 he became a celebrity ambassador for The Hope Foundation. This Cork-based charity aims to provide shelter and supplies to Calcutta's impoverished street children. Rhys Meyers hopes that lending his name to the organization will help raise awareness of the issue. As Ambassador he is expected to visit India and record a TV documentary for the charity.
On October 5th, 2008, Rhys Meyers received an Honourary Patronage from the Trinity College Philosophical Society in Dublin, Ireland.
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