Stephen Rea

Stephen Rea (born October 31, 1946) is an Irish actor. He is known for his Oscar-nominated role in the 1992 film The Crying Game.

Biography

Early life

Rea was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. One of four children in a working-class Presbyterian Protestant^[1][2] but nationalist family, he attended Belfast High School and the Queen's University of Belfast, taking a degree in English.

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 (1941-1988, the uncle of Irish theatre director Lynne Parker) for example, began when they were students together at QUB.

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^[3] and the University of Ulster^[4] in 2004.

Personal life

Rea was married to former Provisional Irish Republican Army member and hunger striker, Dolours Price from 1983 to 2003. They have three children. He resides in Donabate in north Co. Dublin and frequents Superquinn in Swords, Dublin.

Awards and nominations

• Tony Awards - nominee, best actor, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (1993)
• Academy Awards - nominee, best actor, The Crying Game (1993)
• BAFTA Awards - nominee, best actor, The Crying Game (1993)
• National Society of Film Critics - winner, The Crying Game (1993)
• National Board of Review - winner, best acting by an ensemble (shared), Prêt-à-Porter (1994)
• Catalonian International Film Festival - winner, best actor, Citizen X (1995)
• Golden Globes - nominee, best actor in a made-for-TV movie for mini-series, Crime of the Century (1997)
• Daytime Emmy Awards - nominee, outstanding performer in a children's special, Snow in August (2002)
• IFTA Awards - nominee, best actor, The Halo Effect (2004)

Filmography

• Crossroads (1964) (TV series)
• Angel (1982)
• The Company of Wolves (1984)
• Life Is Sweet (1990)
• The Crying Game (1992)
• Hedda Gabler (1993) (TV)
• Princess Caraboo (1994)
• Interview with the Vampire (1994)
• Prêt-à-Porter (1994)
• Citizen X (1995) (TV)
• Michael Collins (1996)
• Fever Pitch (1997)
• The Butcher Boy (1997)
• Guinevere (1999)
• The End of the Affair (1999)
• The Musketeer (2001)
• On the Edge (2001)
• FeardotCom (2002)
• Copenhagen (2002) (TV)
• The i Inside (2003)
• Bloom (2003)
• Breakfast on Pluto (2005)
• Tara Road (2005)
• River Queen (2005)
• V for Vendetta (2006)
• The Reaping (2007)

Footnotes

Wikipedia information about Stephen Rea This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Stephen Rea". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.