Rufus Sewell

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Rufus Sewell

Born Rufus Frederik Sewell
29 October 1967 (1967-10-29) (age 40)
Twickenham, England
Years active 1993 - present

Rufus Frederik Sewell (born October 29, 1967) is an English 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 Charles II: The Power and The Passion 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.

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[edit] Biography

[edit] 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.

[edit] Career

Sewell found 1993 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 (Lyttelton). In 1995 he was directed by John Schlesinger in the cult film Cold Comfort Farm. 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 recently seen in Amazing Grace, The Illusionist 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.

Rufus is widely known by his vileness roles, as in A Knight's Tale, The Legend of Zorro and The Illusionist, and recently manifested his unhappiness about this, saying that "don't want to play a baddie again".[4]

He read 11 of Ian Fleming's James Bond books on 36 CDs for Collins.

[edit] Personal life

Sewell lives in London.

He has been married and divorced twice. His first wife was Australian fashion journalist Yasmin Abdallah; they married in 1999 and divorced a few months later.[5] By Amy Gardner, whom he married in 2004, he has a son, William 'Billy' (born March 18, 2002). His current partner is Alice Eve.

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".[6]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Sources

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

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rufus Sewell Biography (1967-)
  2. ^ Rufus Sewell Biography - Yahoo! Movies
  3. ^ Dark star | | Guardian Unlimited Arts
  4. ^ Leonard, Tom.'I really don't want to play a baddie again', December 8, 2006. Accessed May 26, 2008.
  5. ^ Chloe Fox, "Cut and Thrust", Telegraph Magazine, October 2003
  6. ^ Macdonald, M: "The Evening Standard", page 14. Associated Press, 2005

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Sewell, Rufus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sewell, Rufus Frederik
SHORT DESCRIPTION English film, television, and theater actor.
DATE OF BIRTH October 29, 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH Twickenham, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH