Paul Bettany
| Paul Bettany | |
|---|---|
 Bettany at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International | |
| Born |
27 May 1971 Shepherd's Bush, London, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Citizenship | British |
| Alma mater | Drama Centre London |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Spouse(s) | Jennifer Connelly (m. 2003) |
| Children | 3 |
Paul Bettany (born 27 May 1971) is a British actor. He first came to the attention of mainstream audiences when he appeared in the British film Gangster No. 1 (2000), and director Brian Helgeland's film A Knight's Tale (2001). He has gone on to appear in a wide variety of films, including A Beautiful Mind (2001), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), Dogville (2003), Wimbledon (2004), and the adaptation of the novel The Da Vinci Code (2006). He is also known for his voice role as J.A.R.V.I.S. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, specifically the films Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), in which he also portrayed the Vision, for which he garnered praise. He reprised his role as the Vision in Captain America: Civil War (2016).
He has been nominated for various awards, including BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Bettany is married to American actress Jennifer Connelly, with whom he has three children. His most commercially successful films have been The Avengers, which grossed over US$1.5 billion, its sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron, which grossed over $1.4 billion, Iron Man 3, which grossed over US$1.2 billion, and The Da Vinci Code, which grossed US$758 million.[1]
Early life
Bettany was born in Shepherd's Bush, west London, the son of Anne (née Kettle), a stage singer, theatre teacher, and stage manager, and Thane Bettany, a dancer, actor, and drama teacher.[2] Initially, Bettany was raised Roman Catholic,[3][4] although his church attendance drifted after his confirmation.[5] Later he attended Methodist and Church of England congregations with his father as the latter experimented with different Christian branches.[6] Bettany later became an atheist.[7] While his father taught at the all-girls boarding school Queenswood School near Hatfield, Hertfordshire, the family lived on the campus.[8]
When Bettany was 16, his brother Matthew died at age 8 after falling onto concrete from a tennis pavilion roof at Queenswood.[9] Soon after, Bettany dropped out of school, left home, and went to live on his own as a street performer in London.[10] There, he lived in a small flat and earned money by playing his guitar in the streets as a busker.[10] His parents later divorced.[11] After two years, he found a new job in a home for the elderly.[10] After working there for a year, Bettany enrolled at the Drama Centre in London.[10]
Career
In 1990 at the age of 19, Bettany began a three-year course at the Drama Centre London in Chalk Farm.[12] He made his stage debut in Stephen Daldry's acclaimed West End revival of An Inspector Calls at the Aldwych Theatre, playing the part of Eric Birling. He also appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar (for which he received a Charleson Award nomination). When Bettany was 21 he appeared in a BBC production of Oliver Twist, playing Bill Sikes.
After appearing in the finale of Sean Bean's series Sharpe as HRH The Prince of Orange at the Battle of Waterloo, he made his film debut with a small part in Bent, a Holocaust drama which also featured Clive Owen, Jude Law, and Ian McKellen. He continued doing work in stage and television: these included Joe Penhall's Love and Understanding, which played at London's Bush Theatre and then ran in Connecticut. He had roles in the television productions Killer Net and Coming Home, during which he met and dated Emily Mortimer. His last stage work was in One More Wasted Year and Stranger's House at the Royal Court Theatre. He filmed several more movies, including his first leading role in Gangster No. 1. The British Independent Film Awards nominated him for Best Actor, and the London Film Critics' Circle nominated him for British Newcomer of the Year.
Back in Hollywood, writer/director Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential) was planning a new film called The Sin Eater (also known as The Order). He was impressed by Bettany's audition tape, though Helgeland eventually decided to film A Knight's Tale instead. The studio executives were not impressed, but Helgeland was determined to cast him, even writing the part of Chaucer for him. A Knight's Tale would be Bettany's first big Hollywood production. He received critical acclaim for A Knight's Tale, including winning the London Film Critics Circle Award for Best British Supporting Actor. After the movie wrapped, Helgeland, determined that Hollywood should recognize Bettany's talent, showed the audition tape to many of his peers, including Ron Howard, who promptly cast Bettany in A Beautiful Mind. After A Beautiful Mind, Bettany was offered the role of serial killer Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon, opposite Edward Norton and Anthony Hopkins. He turned down the role in favour of accepting a part with Stellan Skarsgård and Nicole Kidman in Lars von Trier's Dogville.
Bettany's next major project saw him starring again alongside Russell Crowe in Peter Weir's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. His portrayal of surgeon and naturalist Stephen Maturin brought him a BAFTA nomination, and he was named British Actor of the Year (London Film Critics' Circle), and Best Actor (Evening Standard).
On 28 June 2004, Bettany and 13 other actors were included in the 2004 invitation to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Dogville and The Reckoning were released in limited cinemas in 2004. In September of that year, Bettany made his leading-man debut in Wimbledon, a romantic comedy with Kirsten Dunst. The film's cast would also introduce him to Jon Favreau, playing his manager, a relationship that would return when Favreau cast him as the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S. in Iron Man. In mid-2005, Bettany filmed Firewall in Vancouver, Canada, a thriller also starring Harrison Ford and Virginia Madsen, which reunited him with Wimbledon director Richard Loncraine. He spent the autumn of 2005 filming The Da Vinci Code, based on Dan Brown's best-selling novel and starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou. In the film, he played an Opus Dei monk named Silas.
In 2007, Bettany went to London to star in There For Me, written by his friends Dan Fredenburgh and Doraly Rosen.[13] In 2008, he appeared in the New Line Cinema family fantasy Inkheart, playing the part of a fire-eater named Dustfinger.[14] In 2009, he appeared as Charles Darwin in Creation, starring opposite wife Jennifer Connelly. In 2010, Bettany appeared alongside Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie in The Tourist and portrayed the archangel Michael in Legion, a movie based on God's vengeance against humanity. He starred in the films Priest and Margin Call, both released in 2011.
Bettany reprised his voice role as J.A.R.V.I.S. in 2010's Iron Man 2, 2012's The Avengers, 2013's Iron Man 3, and Disneyland's Innoventions attraction.[15] In 2014 Bettany starred alongside Johnny Depp and fellow British actor Rebecca Hall in the feature film Transcendence. He was once again paired with Depp in Mortdecai, a 2015 motion picture also starring Gwyneth Paltrow.[16] He played the Vision in the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron,[17] and reprised his voice role as J.A.R.V.I.S. again in the same film. Bettany portrayed The Vision again in Captain America: Civil War.[18]
Personal life
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On 1 January 2003, Bettany married American actress Jennifer Connelly in Scotland; they met when they starred together in A Beautiful Mind.[19] He moved to Brooklyn, New York with Connelly and her son Kai. The couple also have two children together, son Stellan (b. 2003) and daughter Agnes (b. 2011).[20]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Bent | Captain | |
| 1997 | Sharpe's Waterloo | Prince William of Orange | TV series |
| 1998 | Coming Home | Edward Carey-Lewis | TV movie |
| 1998 | Killer Net | Joe Hunter | TV mini-series |
| 1998 | The Land Girls | Philip | |
| 1999 | Every Woman Knows a Secret | Rob | TV mini-series |
| 1999 | After the Rain | Steph | |
| 2000 | Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) | Jimmy | |
| 2000 | The Suicide Club (a.k.a. Game of Death) | Shaw | |
| 2000 | David Copperfield | James Steerforth | TV movie |
| 2000 | Dead Babies | Quentin | |
| 2000 | Gangster No. 1 | Young Gangster | |
| 2001 | A Knight's Tale | Geoffrey Chaucer | |
| 2001 | A Beautiful Mind | Charles Herman | |
| 2002 | Euston Road | "Y" | Short |
| 2002 | The Heart of Me | Rickie | |
| 2003 | Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World | Dr. Stephen Maturin | |
| 2003 | The Reckoning | Nicholas | |
| 2003 | Dogville | Tom Edison | |
| 2004 | Wimbledon | Peter Colt | |
| 2006 | Firewall | Bill Cox | |
| 2006 | The Da Vinci Code | Silas | |
| 2008 | Iron Man | J.A.R.V.I.S. (voice) | |
| 2008 | The Secret Life of Bees | T. Ray Owens | |
| 2008 | Inkheart | Dustfinger | |
| 2008 | Broken Lines | Chester | |
| 2009 | The Young Victoria | Lord Melbourne | |
| 2009 | Creation | Charles Darwin | |
| 2010 | Legion | Michael | |
| 2010 | Iron Man 2 | J.A.R.V.I.S. (voice) | |
| 2010 | The Tourist | John Acheson | |
| 2011 | Priest | Priest | |
| 2011 | Margin Call | Will Emerson | |
| 2012 | The Avengers | J.A.R.V.I.S. (voice) | |
| 2013 | Blood | Joe Fairburn | |
| 2013 | Iron Man 3 | J.A.R.V.I.S. (voice) | |
| 2014 | Transcendence | Max Waters | |
| 2014 | Shelter | N/A | Writer & director |
| 2015 | Mortdecai | Jock Strapp | |
| 2015 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | Vision J.A.R.V.I.S. (voice) |
|
| 2015 | Legend | Charlie Richardson | |
| 2016 | Captain America: Civil War | Vision |
Awards and nominations
References
- ↑ "Worldwide Gross Total (unadjusted)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
- ↑ "Paul Bettany biography site". Tiscali.co.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ↑ Barton, Laura (12 May 2006). "When albino monks attack". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 27 May 2010.
Bettany was himself raised as a Catholic,...
- ↑ Carnevale, Rob (September 2006). "Paul Bettany: The Da Vinci Code". BBC. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
I was born a Catholic and now I'm a lapsed Catholic.
- ↑ Laura Barton. "Paul Bettany tells Laura Barton why he was born to play Silas in The Da Vinci Code". the Guardian.
- ↑ David Germain (15 May 2006). "Pious killer: Bettany dons robes as monk assassin in 'Da Vinci'". Associated Press. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ↑ Adam Rutherford (12 February 2009). "Paul Bettany: Playing Darwin with Creation". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ↑ Julie McCaffery (16 May 2006). "Tragedy, Drugs and a Dad Who Wanted to Have a Sex Change Op". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
- ↑ Annabel Rivkin (24 March 2006). "Paul's progress". Evening Standard. p. 29. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 Mal Vincent (18 September 2004). ""Wimbledon" serves as a change of pace". Virginia Pilot and Ledger-Star. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ↑ Standing, Sarah (28 May 2009). "Rise of the strays (that's formerly straight, now gay)". Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ↑ Jamie Portman (17 September 2004). "Wimbledon actor glimpses fame on set: Hollywood is grooming Paul Bettany as a major international star". Vancouver Sun. p. H1.
- ↑ "Film Stars Come To Hanwell". Ealingtimes.co.uk. 12 July 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ↑ "Paul Bettany joins the fantasy INKHEART". Cinescape.com. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ↑ Goldman, Eric (12 April 2013). "Disneyland Introduces Their First Marvel Exhibit with Iron Man Tech". IGN. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ↑ "Hedsor House used in the film Mortdecai (2015)". Hedsor House. 2015. Retrieved 2015-01-20.
- ↑ "Superhero Paul Bettany signs up for the Marvel party: British actor will star as The Vision in new Avengers movie Age of Ultron". Dailymail. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
- ↑ "Marvel Studios Begins Production on Marvel's 'Captain America: Civil War'". Marvel.com. 2015-05-07. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- ↑ Mark Armstrong (10 January 2003). "Jennifer Connelly marries Paul Bettany". People.com. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ↑ Tim Adams (25 January 2004). "'I'm just a blond actor, you know'". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paul Bettany. |
- Paul Bettany at the Internet Movie Database
- Paul Bettany biography and credits at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
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