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| Birth Name(s) : Paul Bettany |
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Full Paul Bettany Biography
Paul Bettany (born May 27, 1971) is an English actor best known for his roles as Geoffrey Chaucer in A Knight's Tale, Charles Herman in A Beautiful Mind, Stephen Maturin in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Peter Colt in Wimbledon and as Silas in The Da Vinci Code.
When Bettany was nineteen, he decided to be an actor, and he pursued that career with determination, studying at the London Drama Centre in Chalk Farm. 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 as Bill Sykes.
Back in Hollywood, Oscar-winning 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 Bettany 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, and most American audiences would have their first look at Paul Bettany when he walked onscreen muddy and naked. "My buttocks entered the American market before I did," Paul joked on the movie's DVD commentary track.
Critical acclaim poured in after A Knight's Tale, for which he won the London Critics Circle Award for 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. It was on that set that Bettany would befriend Russell Crowe and meet his future wife, Jennifer Connelly. Both were already in relationships, so they kept themselves only to friendship for about a year. Finally both single, they began dating. After A Beautiful Mind, Bettany was offered the role of the brutal serial killer "The Tooth Fairy" in Red Dragon, opposite Edward Norton and Anthony Hopkins. To the great displeasure of his managers, he turned down the role in favor of accepting a part with Stellan Skarsgård and Nicole Kidman in controversial director Lars Von Trier's Dogville.
Bettany's next major project would make his talent undoubtable: he teamed up again with Russell Crowe to film Peter Weir's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. His quiet, powerful portrayal of surgeon and naturalist Stephen Maturin brought in even more critical acclaim, including a BAFTA nomination, British Actor of the Year (London Critics Circle), and Best Actor (Evening Standard). On June 28, 2004, Bettany and thirteen 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, proving for anyone who might still have doubts that he could carry a movie. Reviews for the movie were somewhat lukewarm, but every critic had praise for Bettany's performance. In spring 2005, Bettany went to Vancouver to film Firewall, a thriller starring Harrison Ford and Virginia Madsen, directed by Richard Loncraine (Wimbledon). He spent the autumn of 2005 filming The Da Vinci Code, based on Dan Brown's bestselling novel and starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou. In the film he plays an Opus Dei monk called Silas. Ironically however, he was recently quoted in the Sun “I was brought up a Catholic. I’m lapsed. From the age of three I was with nuns. Now I’m an atheist.”
In 2004 and 2005, there were rumours about Bettany and Connelly teaming up to film Brideshead Revisited, but nothing seems to have come of that project. Bettany was rumored to be in the running for the role of the Joker in the next Batman movie, contending for it against numerous other high-profile actors, such as Crispin Glover, Adrien Brody, Johnny Depp, Lachy Hulme, and others; however, it has been confirmed by studio sources that Heath Ledger has won the coveted role. Another rumor attaches Bettany to the part of Lord Asriel in the film adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, however, it has now been confirmed the role went to Daniel Craig. Bettany has joined the New Line family fantasy Inkheart, playing the part of a fire-eater named Dustfinger.
On New Year's Day of 2003, Bettany married Jennifer Connelly in a Scottish ceremony attended by a small circle of friends and family. He moved to Brooklyn with Jennifer and her son Kai, and the couple welcomed their own son Stellan (named for Stellan Skarsgård) on August 5, 2003.
2004 Evening Standard British Film Awards
- Won, Best Actor for The Heart of Me and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
2001 Screen Actors Guild Awards
- Nominated, Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for A Beautiful Mind |
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