
Paul Rhys (born 19 December 1963) is a Welsh actor with an extensive career in theatre, radio, television and film. Rhys was born in Neath to working-class Catholic parents, Kathryn Ivory and Richard Charles Rhys, a labourer. He is of part-Irish descent on his mother's side. From the age of ten, he bred and trained horses, becoming a highly accomplished rider. A committed punk during his youth, Rhys sang in several bands. His first acting job was playing Liverpudlian judo expert Ralph in John Godber's hit play Bouncers, before leaving for London, where he qualified for his Equity card by singing jazz standards at lunchtime for Peter Boizot's Pizza Express and Kettners. Rhys received a Bernard Shaw Scholarship to study at RADA. In the first term he was spotted by Philip Prowse and was invited to perform in Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre, playing the illegitimate son, Gerald. He also appeared as Dean Swift in Julien Temple's film Absolute Beginners. Rhys completed his education at RADA by winning the William Pole prize and the Bancroft Gold Medal. His next film role was in Franklin J. Schaffner's Lionheart. After a brief spell at the Royal Shakespeare Company he played opposite Colin Firth in Richard Eyre's award-winning film Tumbledown. Soon after this, he appeared in Vincent & Theo, directed by American film director Robert Altman, as Vincent van Gogh's younger brother Theo van Gogh. Continuing the theme of famous brothers, Paul then played Sydney Chaplin opposite Robert Downey Jr.'s Charlie Chaplin in Richard Attenborough's Chaplin. He went on to play Massis in Alan Bennett's 102 Boulevard Haussmann. He then appeared opposite Peter O'Toole in Rebecca's Daughters. A series of films then followed including From Hell, Food of Love, Love Lies Bleeding, Becoming Colette and Hellraiser: Deader. He appears as Talleyrand in Ridley Scott's 2023 epic Napoleon, and as Duncan in Emerald Fennell's Saltburn. Running parallel to Rhys's film work has been a diverse and notable television career, working in leading roles with directors such as Mike Hodges, Stephen Frears, Sir Richard Eyre, Philip Martin, Christopher Morahan, Tom Vaughan, Edward Hall, Harry Bradbeer in productions including Tumbledown, A Dance to the Music of Time, The Heroes, Ghosts, Gallowglass, The Healer, Anna Karenina, The Deal, Beethoven, The Ten Commandments, Borgia, Luther and Spooks. In 2008 Rhys appeared in the series Agatha Christie's Poirot. In 2014, he played the lead as traitor Aldrich Ames, in The Assets miniseries, then as King George III in Turn: Washington's Spies and as Sir John Conroy in Victoria. He has made a minor industry out of playing vampires: Being Human (as Ivan); as Vlad, the Prince of Wallachia aka Dracula in seasons 1–3 of the 2015 series Da Vinci's Demons; and as Andrew Hubbard in two seasons of the 2020–2021 hit, A Discovery of Witches. In 2023, he appears as Tommy in the BBC film, Men Up.

The Cazalets

Murder in Mind

Casanova

名探偵ポワロ

King Lear

Beethoven

サンドマン

刑事ジョン・ルーサー

ディスカバリー・オブ・ウィッチズ

マードック・ミステリー 刑事マードックの捜査ファイル

Spooks

チャーリー

New Tricks

女王ヴィクトリア 愛に生きる

Great Expectations

Borgia

Moving On

Being Human

Murder in Rome

Kavanagh Q.C.

The Queen

Saltburn

Timewatch

ロア~奇妙な伝説~

The Assets

Widow Clicquot

Love Lies Bleeding

The Deal

フロム・ヘル

When Harvey Met Bob

Anna Karenina

Gallowglass

ゴッホ

嵐が丘

ナポレオン

Men Up

Chillers

Rebecca's Daughters

102 Boulevard Haussmann

The Way

Rellik

This World

Vincent & Theo

Performance

Ghosts

Casanova

Tumbledown

Bonekickers

Menja d’amor

Nina Takes a Lover

Absolute Beginners

Lionheart

The Ten Commandments

My Family and Other Animals

Y Mabinogi

The Heroes

ヘルレイザー ワールド・オブ・ペイン

The Haunting of Helen Walker

The Spirit

A Dance to the Music of Time

Becoming Colette

The Healer

The Strange Case of Delfina Potocka

Madfabulous

The Last Machine