Jonathan Rhys Meyers(bornJonathan
Michael Francis O'Keeffe ; 27 July
1977) is an
Irish actor
. He is best known for his roles in the filmsVelvet
Goldmine ,
Mission Impossible III ,
Bend It Like Beckham ,
Match Pointand his television roles asElvis Presleyin the biographical miniseriesElvis , which earned him aGolden
Globe for
Best Actor , and asKing
Henry VIIIin the historical dramaThe
Tudors .He has been the face model for severalHugo Bossfragrances advertising campaigns. In
2013, Meyers appeared as the villainValentine MorgensterninThe
Mortal Instruments:
City of Bones , based onCassandra
Clare 's novel,City of Bones . He also starred in theNBCdrama seriesDraculaas the titular character. Meyers appeared in the
2015 filmStonewall , directed byRoland Emmerich .He was born 27 July 1977 inDublin,
Ireland , to
Geraldine (née Myers;
1957–
2007) and folk musician
John O'Keeffe.His family isRoman
Catholic . His three brothers are all professional musicians.He attendedNorth Monastery
Christian Brothers School .After being expelled from
North Monastery at 14 for truancy, he spent much of his time working or hanging out inpool halls .
Casting agents looking for Irish boys to appear inWar of the Buttonsspotted him at aCorkpool hall, the
Victoria Sporting Club, and invited him to audition. Although passed over forWar of the
Buttons , the casting agents encouraged him to pursue a career in acting. His first film role came inA Man of No Importance(
1994). In
1996, he appeared inMichael
Collins , asthe title character 's ambusher. In
1999, he appeared inRide with the Devilaspsychopathicguerrilla fighter Pitt
Mackeson.Meyers has starred in television series includingGormenghast(
2000) and in theCBS4-hour mini-seriesElvis(
2005) asElvis PresleyalongsideRandy QuaidasColonel
Tom Parker , but didn't sing for his role in the miniseries. The latter earned him anEmmy nomination and aGolden Globewin. He starred in theCBC /
Showtime co-production
The Tudors(2007) asHenry
VIII . He was nominated for theGolden GlobeforBest
Actor in a
Television Dramain2007for the role.He played aDavid
Bowie -inspiredglam rockstar inVelvet Goldmine(
1998), a dedicated girls'footballcoach inBend It Like Beckham(
2002), inVanity
Fair(2004) oppositeReese Witherspoon . He co-starred in 2004 inOliver
Stone 's epicAlexander .
The following year he starred inWoody
Allen 's dramaMatch
Point(2005), for which he received a
Chopard Trophy at theCannes
Film Festival . In
2006, he appeared inMission:
Impossible III . Subsequent projects includeAugust
Rush(2007) andThe
Children of Huang Shi(2008),ShelterandFrom
Paris with Love(
2010) In
2011, he starred inBelle du Seigneur(an
English-language film
adaptation ofAlbert Cohen 's novel) as
Solal des Solal. The movie was released in
Russia on
29 November 2012 and in
France on 19 June 2013 after premiering at theChamps Elysees Film Festival . A self-taught singer and guitarist, he has appeared in a number of musical roles. His first such role was as "
Brian Slade" inVelvet 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 ofThe
Magnificent Ambersons , performed in studio scenes of the miniseriesElvisand played the flute inGormenghast
. In the 2007 music dramaAugust Rush , he 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 the80th
Academy Awards . "This Time" was not released as a single but peaked at number 84 in theCanadian
Hot 100 .
Besides acting,
Jonathan has also modelled for several clothing companies. He modelled forClub Monacoin
2001 and was chosen as the face for theVersacemen's collection of
Autumn/
Winter 2006 and
Spring 2007, and he was the face of theHugo Bossmen's fragrance range from 2006 until he was replaced withJared Letoin 2011. He is signed to
Independent Models in
London. In
February 2008, he became a celebrity ambassador for the Cork-based charitable organisation
The Hope Foundation.On 5
October 2008, Rhys Meyers received an Honorary
Patronage from theTrinity
College Philosophical Societyin
Dublin. In 2013, Meyers was cast asDracula , in
NBC's television seriesDraculaalongsideOliver Jackson-CohenandJessica De Gouw . It was also announced in May 2013 that Jonathan was to participate in the recording of his brothers' alb
- published: 23 Jul 2016
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