Jonathan Rhys Meyers
- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Jonathan Rhys Meyers was born Jonathan Michael Meyers on July 27, 1977, in Dublin, Ireland, to Mary Geraldine (Meyers) and John O'Keeffe, a musician. He and his family moved to County Cork, Ireland, when the actor was nearly a year
old, and then, at the age of 3, his father left the family, leaving his
mother to care for Jonny and his 3 younger brothers alone.
Rhys Meyers grew up with a tumultuous childhood and being permanently expelled from school at age 16.
Happy to be out of school, he began spending time in a local pool hall
where he was discovered by Hubbard Casting. The casting agents were
talent-spotting for the David Puttnam
production of
War of the Buttons (1994), and
asked Rhys Meyers to appear for an audition. After three days of
auditions, however, he did not get the role, and Rhys Meyers gave up on
his acting aspirations. Soon afterward, he received a call to audition
for a national ad campaign for Knorr Soup, and though embarrassed by
the attention from the ad, he soon found himself considered for a major
film. His movie acting debut was a very small role in the film
A Man of No Importance (1994),
where his simple cast credit is as "First Young Man". His first lead
role was in the film
The Disappearance of Finbar (1996).
During a 6-month postponement in production, he returned home to Cork
and there received a call about the film
Michael Collins (1996). He
traveled to Dublin to meet with director
Neil Jordan and successfully won the
role of Collins' assassin. Jordan wrote about his meeting with the
actor, "I have found someone to play Collins' killer. Jonathan
Rees-Myers (sic), from County Cork, apparently, who looks like a young
Tom Cruise. [He] Comes into the casting
session with alarming certainty. Obviously gifted".
Rhys Meyers continued working constantly from that point and appeared
in such films as The Maker (1997),
Telling Lies in America (1997),
and The Tribe (1998). Going on to film
The Governess (1998),
B. Monkey (1998),
Titus (1999) and
Ride with the Devil (1999),
he has received critical acclaim for several performances, most notably
as "Brian Slade" in
Velvet Goldmine (1998), as
"Steerpike" in the British mini-series
Gormenghast (2000), and as a
sympathetic football coach in
Bend It Like Beckham (2002).
Rhys Meyers is also a talented singer and musician, having performed
his own vocals in
Velvet Goldmine (1998) and
appearing on the film's soundtrack. Rhys Meyers still resides in County
Cork, Ireland.
old, and then, at the age of 3, his father left the family, leaving his
mother to care for Jonny and his 3 younger brothers alone.
Rhys Meyers grew up with a tumultuous childhood and being permanently expelled from school at age 16.
Happy to be out of school, he began spending time in a local pool hall
where he was discovered by Hubbard Casting. The casting agents were
talent-spotting for the David Puttnam
production of
War of the Buttons (1994), and
asked Rhys Meyers to appear for an audition. After three days of
auditions, however, he did not get the role, and Rhys Meyers gave up on
his acting aspirations. Soon afterward, he received a call to audition
for a national ad campaign for Knorr Soup, and though embarrassed by
the attention from the ad, he soon found himself considered for a major
film. His movie acting debut was a very small role in the film
A Man of No Importance (1994),
where his simple cast credit is as "First Young Man". His first lead
role was in the film
The Disappearance of Finbar (1996).
During a 6-month postponement in production, he returned home to Cork
and there received a call about the film
Michael Collins (1996). He
traveled to Dublin to meet with director
Neil Jordan and successfully won the
role of Collins' assassin. Jordan wrote about his meeting with the
actor, "I have found someone to play Collins' killer. Jonathan
Rees-Myers (sic), from County Cork, apparently, who looks like a young
Tom Cruise. [He] Comes into the casting
session with alarming certainty. Obviously gifted".
Rhys Meyers continued working constantly from that point and appeared
in such films as The Maker (1997),
Telling Lies in America (1997),
and The Tribe (1998). Going on to film
The Governess (1998),
B. Monkey (1998),
Titus (1999) and
Ride with the Devil (1999),
he has received critical acclaim for several performances, most notably
as "Brian Slade" in
Velvet Goldmine (1998), as
"Steerpike" in the British mini-series
Gormenghast (2000), and as a
sympathetic football coach in
Bend It Like Beckham (2002).
Rhys Meyers is also a talented singer and musician, having performed
his own vocals in
Velvet Goldmine (1998) and
appearing on the film's soundtrack. Rhys Meyers still resides in County
Cork, Ireland.