Rufus Sewell Biography
Summary
"Rufus Frederik Sewell" (born 29 October 1967) is an English actor. In film, he appeared in "The Woodlanders", "Dangerous Beauty", "Dark City", "A Knight's Tale", "The Illusionist", 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.
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. His father worked on the Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds animation for The Beatles. His parents divorced when Sewell was five and his mother worked to support her two sons. His father died when Sewell was 10, and by his own admission he was a difficult teenager.
Sewell attended Orleans Park School, which he left in 1984. 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 was Sewell's breakthrough year; he starred in the BBC serial of George Eliot's "Middlemarch" and on stage in Tom Stoppard's play "Arcadia" at The Royal National Theatre (Lyttelton). His film work includes 1995's "Cold Comfort Farm", directed by John Schlesinger, the lead role of John Murdoch in the sci-fi film "Dark City" in 1998, "Amazing Grace", "The Illusionist" and Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy "The Holiday". "Amazing Grace" deals with William Wilberforce's political fight to abolish slavery in Britain, with Sewell playing Wilberforce's co-campaigner Thomas Clarkson. Sewell is known for his villainous roles, such as those in "A Knight's Tale", "The Legend of Zorro", "Bless the Child", "Helen of Troy" and "The Illusionist". He spoke of his unhappiness about this, saying that 'I don't want to play a baddie again'.
Although best known for his work in costume dramas, Sewell prefers 'cravat-less' roles in modern pieces, such as the role of Petruchio in the BBC's 2005 version of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew". This was shown as part of the "ShakespeaRe-Told" season, and the role 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 21st Century London. This production marked the fourth time that Sewell had acted in a work based on 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 the title role in "Macbeth" in 1999.
He appeared in the premiere and first run 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.
He recorded eleven of Ian Fleming's James Bond books on 36 CDs for Collins. He continues to work in film, television and theatre, currently playing Jacob Hood in the CBS TV series "Eleventh Hour".
Personal life
Sewell currently divides his time between London and Los Angeles.
He has been married twice. His first wife was Australian fashion journalist Yasmin Abdallah; they married in 1999 and divorced a few months later. He and second wife, Amy Gardner, whom he married in 2004, have a son, William 'Billy' (born March 18, 2002). They are currently separated.
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'.
Filmography
"Twenty One" (1991)
"Gone to Seed" (1992)
"Dirty Weekend" (1993)
"A Man of No Importance" (1994)
"Middlemarch" (1994) (TV)
"Cold Comfort Farm" (1995)
"Victory" (1995)
"Henry IV" (1995)
"Hamlet" (1996)
"Dangerous Beauty" (1998)
"The Woolanders" (1998)
"Dark City" (1998)
"Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence" (1998)
"At Sachem Farm" (1998)
"Higer Love" (1998)
"Macbeth" (1999)
"Illuminata" (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)
"Charles II: The Power and the Passion" (2003) (TV)
"ShakespeaRe-Told: The Taming of the Shrew" (2005) (TV)
"The Legend of Zorro" (2005)
"Tristan and Isolde" (2006)
"Out of the Blue" (2006)
"Rock 'n' Roll" (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)
"Eleventh Hour" (2008) (TV series)
Sources
'Playing the Sewell', Mariane Macdonald for The Evening Standard Magazine, November 5 2005.
External links
(2006 Interview with Rufus Sewell on Theatre.com)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Rufus Sewell.
