Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Jonathan Rhys Meyers,^[1] often credited as Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe on 27 July, 1977) is an Irish actor and Golden Globe winner.

Biography

Jonathan Rhys Meyers was born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe in County Dublin, Ireland. His stage name is derived from his mother's maiden name, Meyers. Rhys Meyers was born with a serious heart problem and was baptised 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.

One year after his birth, his family moved to County Cork, Ireland, where they still reside. When Rhys Meyers was 3 years old, his father left the family. He has three younger brothers named Jamie, Alan and Paul. His mother raised him and his brothers on her own in rural Cork with little money.

When Jonathan was a teenager, he befriended an Anglo-Irish gentleman farmer called Christopher (whom he affectionately refers to as his "gay dad"). He was taken in by the farmer and his family and went to live with them in Buttevant.

Rhys Meyers was expelled from school at age 16, and spent much of his time hanging out in pool halls. Casting agents looking for Irish boys to appear in War of the Buttons spotted Rhys Meyers at a Cork pool hall, and 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.

Career

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.

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). 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. He also scored a role in Vanity Fair (2004) alongside Reese Witherspoon. He will next be seen in the Showtime series The Tudors (2007), where he will portray young Henry VIII, August Rush (2006) and "The Children of Huang Shi" (2007). He is in talks to play Branwell Bronte in the movie Bronte (2007), and is rumored to be appearing in Danny Glover's Haitian epic Toussaint (2007).

According to the Internet Movie Database, in 2004, the actor found himself typecast in weak, junkie and androgynous roles. In order to avoid this and attempt to play, as well as be considered for, more masculine and heroic roles, Rhys Meyers underwent a massive fitness regimen. He ended up gaining, and keeping, 25 extra pounds of muscle.

He is rumored to have been considered for the role of James Bond, succeeding Pierce Brosnan. However, like similar rumours concerning actors Clive Owen, Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor and various other actors, the rumour was unconfirmed. The part eventually went to Daniel Craig.

Aside from his acting skills, Rhys Meyers also has experience as a singer. He did much of his own singing in the role of rock star Brian Slade in Velvet Goldmine, although some of these songs were replaced on the CD release of the soundtrack with alternate tracks by better-known vocalists. Rhys Meyers also sings briefly in the TV miniseries version of The Magnificent Ambersons. His singing voice is also featured in his upcoming film August Rush.

With several modeling campaigns in his past, Jonathan has been chosen as the "face" for the Versace men's collection of Autumn/Winter 2006 and Spring 2007. He is also the face of the new Hugo Boss men's frangrance.

Private life

Rhys Meyers has been romantically linked to several actresses in the past, including his Velvet Goldmine co-star Toni Collette, Asia Argento, Rachael Leigh Cook and Estella Warren. He and Match Point co-star Scarlett Johansson both deny persistent rumors of romantic involvement.

Rhys Meyers is currently dating heiress Reena Hammer. Hammer is the daughter of George and Ruby Hammer, the owner of Harrods Spa and co-creator of Ruby & Millie makeup, respectively; she was educated at Francis Holland Clarence Gate. Their off again on again relationship is apparently 'On' again with numerous pictures of the happy couple popping up on various online gossip pages during March 2007.

Filmography

• A Man of No Importance (1994)
• The Killer Tongue (1996)
• The Disappearance of Finbar (1996)
• Michael Collins (1996)
• Samson and Delilah (1996)
• The Tribe (1996)
• The Maker (1997)
• Telling Lies in America (1997)
• The Governess (1998)
• Velvet Goldmine (1998)
• The Loss of Sexual Innocence (1999)
• B. Monkey (1999)
• Ride with the Devil (1999)
• Titus (1999)
• Gormenghast (2000)
• Prozac Nation (2002)
• Tangled (2002)
• Happy Now (2002)
• The Magnificent Ambersons (2002)
• Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
• The Tesseract (2002)
• Octane (2002)
• I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2003)
• The Emperor's Wife (2003)
• The Lion in Winter (2003)
• Vanity Fair (2004)
• Alexander (2004)
• Elvis (2005)
• Match Point (2005)
• Mission: Impossible III (2006)
• August Rush (2006)
• The Tudors (2007)
• Brontë (2007)
• Toussaint (2007)
• The Children of Huang Shi (2007)

References

1. ^ [1], [2] and [3] Hyphenated and un-hyphenated forms of the surname are often used interchangeably in the media, however Rhys Meyers has been quoted more than once specifically asserting that his surname is not hyphenated. "Pausing to clear up one important detail - "No hyphen!" - Rhys Meyers, cheekbones now a little less terrifyingly sharp than before, chatted amiably..."

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