RUFUS SEWELL

'Rufus Frederik Sewell' (born October 29, 1967) is a British actor. In film, he appeared in ''The Woodlanders'', ''Dangerous Beauty'', ''Dark City'', ''A Knight's Tale'', and ''Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence''.
On television, he became well known for his role as the hero, Will Ladislaw, in the BBC adaptation of George Eliot's ''Middlemarch''. In 2003, he appeared in the lead role in '' about the life of King Charles II of England. On stage, he originated the role of Septimus Hodge in Tom Stoppard's ''Arcadia'' and the role of Jan in Stoppard's ''Rock 'n' Roll'', which earned him an Olivier Award for the latter performance.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Career

Personal life

Filmography

Sources

References

External links

Biography

Early life

Sewell was born in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London, the son of William Sewell, an Australian animator, and Jo, a Welsh artist and waitress.^[1][2] His father worked on the Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds animation for The Beatles. His parents split up when Sewell was five and his mother supported her two sons by working different jobs. His father died when Rufus was 10 and by his own admission, Sewell was a difficult teenager.^[3]
Sewell attended Orleans Park School, which he left in 1984. It was clear from his lively eccentricities and charismatic behaviour at the school that he would be temperamentally well suited for playing the lead role in several period dramas. A drama teacher at West Thames College spotted his promise and sent him to audition for drama school. He enrolled at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. After graduating, he was set up with an agent by Dame Judi Dench who had directed him in a play while at Central.

Career

1993 turned out to be his breakthrough year when he starred in both the BBC serial of George Eliot's ''Middlemarch'' and on stage in Tom Stoppard's play ''Arcadia'' at The Royal National Theatre (Lyttleton). He continues to be a triple-threat, working continually in film, television and the theater. Although best known for his work in costume dramas, Sewell prefers 'cravat-less' roles in modern pieces. One of his more recent ventures in this genre was playing the part of Petruchio in the BBC's 2005 version of Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' as part of the ''Shakespeare Re-Told'' season, which earned him a Best Actor nomination at the 2006 BAFTA Television Awards. In this modern retelling of the story the action moves from 17th Century Padua, Italy to the glamorous social circles of 21st Century London. This production marks the fourth time that Sewell has acted in a Shakespeare play since becoming a professional actor: he previously portrayed Hotspur in ''Henry IV, Part 1'' in 1995, Fortinbras in ''Hamlet'' in 1996 and Macbeth in ''Macbeth'' in 1999. Moreover, Sewell appeared in the lead role of John Murdoch in the landmark sci-fi film ''Dark City'' in 1998.
He appeared in the premiere of Tom Stoppard's latest play ''Rock 'n' Roll'' at the Royal Court Theatre from June to July 2006 and at the Duke of York's Theatre from July until November 2006. The play was a critical and commercial success; playing to full houses and garnering several awards and nominations, including wins for Sewell in the Best Actor category at The Evening Standard Awards, The Critics' Circle Awards and The Olivier Awards.
Sewell was seen in ''Amazing Grace'' and Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy ''The Holiday''. ''Amazing Grace'' is a film based on the story of William Wilberforce's political fight to abolish slavery in Britain. Sewell portrays Wilberforce's co-campaigner Thomas Clarkson and yet again had to wear a cravat for the part.

Personal life

Sewell lives in London. He has a son, William 'Billy' (born March 18 2002), with ex-wife Amy Gardner, whom he married in 2004. There was also a previous marriage, to Australian writer Yasmin Abdallah. When not working, he enjoys photography and is a fan of Leica equipment. Says Sewell: "My favourite things are just wandering from place to place, going to cafes, taking photographs. My favourite day is a happy accident." ^[4] His current partner is Alice Eve.

Filmography

★ ''Dirty Weekend'' (1993)

★ ''A Man of No Importance'' (1994)

★ ''Middlemarch'' (1994) (TV)

★ ''Cold Comfort Farm'' (1995)

★ ''Hamlet'' (1996)

★ ''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998)

★ ''Dark City'' (1998)

★ ''Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence'' (1998)

★ ''At Sachem Farm'' (1998)

★ ''In a Savage Land'' (1999)

★ ''Bless the Child'' (2000)

★ ''Arabian Nights'' (2000) (TV)

★ ''A Knight's Tale'' (2001)

★ ''She Creature'' (2001) (TV)

★ ''Extreme Ops'' (2002)

★ ''Helen of Troy'' (2003) (TV)

★ '' (2003) (TV)

★ ''Shakespeare Retold: The Taming of the Shrew'' (2005) (TV)

★ ''The Legend of Zorro'' (2005)

★ ''Tristan and Isolde'' (2006)

★ ''Paris, je t'aime'' (2006) (Père-Lachaise arrondissement)

★ ''The Illusionist'' (2006)

★ ''Amazing Grace'' (2006)

★ ''The Holiday'' (2006)

★ ''Downloading Nancy'' (2008)

★ ''John Adams'' (2008) (TV)

★ ''Vinyan'' (2008)

Sources

★ "Playing the Sewell", Mariane Macdonald for The Evening Standard Magazine, November 5 2005.

References

1. http://www.filmreference.com/film/11/Rufus-Sewell.html
2. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800021137/bio
3. http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1967439,00.html
4. Macdonald, M: "The Evening Standard", page 14. Associated Press, 2005

External links

★

★ 2006 Interview with Rufus Sewell on Theatre.com

★ About Rufus

★ The Work of Rufus Sewell