Stuart Townsend Biography
Summary
"Stuart Townsend" (born on 15 December 1972 in Howth, County Dublin) is an Irish actor and director.
Career
Like fellow Irish actor Colin Farrell, he attended the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin where he made his non-professional stage debut in the school's production of "Tear Up The Black Sail". His professional stage debut was in 1994's "True Lines", directed by John Crowley, who later directed "Intermission". "True Lines" was first performed in Kilkenny; it later moved to the Dublin Theatre Festival and on to Bush Theatre in London.
Townsend's early movie roles were in Irish short films such as 'Godsuit' and 'Summertime'. His first part in a feature length film was "Trojan Eddie", a 1996 UK/Irish co-production. In 1997 he landed a lead role in the British film "Shooting Fish".
After his appearance as the outrageous seducer in the title role of "About Adam", he started to be noticed in the United States by critics and the public alike. In mid-2000, he briefly returned to the London stage in the Tennessee Williams play "Orpheus Descending", starring as Val Xavier, alongside Helen Mirren as Lady Torrance.
In recent years he has appeared in big budget films including "Queen of the Damned", opposite Aaliyah, as the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt; and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" as Dorian Gray.
Townsend was hired to play the part of Aragorn in "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, but was replaced the day before principal photography began.. According to Townsend:
In 2005 Townsend starred alongside Gabrielle Union in "Night Stalker", the remake of the 1974 ABC TV series "Kolchak: The Night Stalker". He played the part of Carl Kolchak, an investigative reporter looking into his wife's murder. "Night Stalker" was abruptly cancelled by ABC after six episodes due to bad viewing figures. Again, he was cited as 'too young' by many reviewers and fans of the original series comparing him to Darren McGavin in the original series.
The same year Townsend played a guest starring role on NBC's "Will & Grace" as the pansexual pastry chef of Karen Walker who seduces her, Will Truman, and later Karen's maid Rosario. He also made an uncredited cameo in 2005's live-action "Æon Flux" film. Townsend recently starred alongside Ryan Reynolds in the comedy "Chaos Theory".
Townsend made his directorial debut with the 2007 film Battle in Seattle which is a realistic portrayal of the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 World Trade Organisation which was successfully undermined by anti-globalization protesters. Despite the films A-list cast, including Townsend's partner of many years: Charlize Theron, Ray Liotta, Woody Harrelson and others, not to mention its being well received by critics, the film enjoyed only limited release and no Blockbuster (entertainment) support.
Television
Director
"Battle in Seattle" (2008)
Personal life
Townsend's father, Peter, was a golfer, who played in the 1969 and 1971 Ryder Cups. His brother Dylan Townsend is a professional model.
Townsend has been with actress Charlize Theron since meeting her on the set of 2002's "Trapped".
The couple live together in Los Angeles and England. They consider themselves married without an actual marriage. 'We didn't have a ceremony,' he added. 'I don't need a certificate or the state or the church to say otherwise. So no there's no big official story on a wedding, but we are married. ... I consider her my wife and she considers me her husband.'
External links
(First Stuart Townsend Fan site and Guest book)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Stuart Townsend.
