Jonathan Rhys Meyers Biography
Jonathan Rhys Meyers is a Hollywood actor of Irish descent, who gained worldwide fame for his leading role in the musical biographical drama "Elvis." For his portrayal of Elvis Presley, Jonathan was honored with a "Golden Globe" and the "Chopard" award at the Cannes Film Festival. In another significant project in his filmography, the series "The Tudors," Meyers appeared as Henry VIII and again received rave reviews.
Childhood, Youth, Family
Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe (the actor's full name) was born in the summer of 1977 to Dublin natives Mary Geraldine O'Keeffe and John O'Keeffe. He was born premature - in the eighth month - and was on the brink of death. His parents were not married at the time. Having heard from doctors a grim prognosis and advice to quickly name and baptize their son, they hastened to follow it, and before that, they got married in the Church of Saint Peter in Cork.
But the actor's father's true love was always folk music. He mentioned in an interview:
At some point, he left his wife and sons, embarking on a free journey through musical waves, but he did not forget about his children, visited them from time to time. His mother and wife took care of the little ones, dividing the boys between them evenly: two lived with their mother, two - with their grandmother.Those were hard days. I was 21 years old, and I already had four children. Music didn't bring money, and I had to spend a lot of time away from home.
The future actor was sixteen when he was expelled from school for constant truancy. He got a job in a bar where wealthy people came to relax and play billiards. There, a rich farmer named Christopher Crofts saw the young man and invited Jonathan to assist on their farm in Buttevant Co Cork. Soon, their relationship became so warm that the Crofts started calling Jonathan their son, and the actor still considers their home his parental home.As a child, I spent a lot of time pretending to be someone else - playing, imagining. I think growing up in the eighties was not that exciting, and so it was necessary to create this secret life, as if you are someone else. You pretend that you can be anyone and live in this dream world. So being an actor is no trouble for me. I played a lot like an actor when I was a child. Not professionally, but just to get into trouble and avoid it.
Acting Career
Jonathan's debut in cinema was a tiny role in the film "A Man of No Importance" (1994). A couple of years later, he already played the lead role in the mystical drama "The Disappearance of Finbar".
At the turn of the millennium, the world premiere of the TV series "Gormenghast" took place, in which Rhys Meyers brilliantly embodied the main villain, Steerpike.”Velvet Goldmine” was a difficult film. People expected a commercial movie, but Todd Haynes' film is eccentric: he is a philosopher with a camera. He is one of the few directors who implement their idea on screen without sparing expenses… I felt wooden and limited. It was very tiring to shoot. I remember one moment where it was too much. In a scene with Ewan McGregor: he in his cool leather suit, and me in my ridiculous polka dot one, everything fell out of my hands. And I said: “I look like a Christmas tree, and he looks like the god of Rock!”
Jonathan Rhys Meyers' Personal Life
The actor, frequently named among the most attractive Hollywood stars, has always been selective in relationships. Despite frequent rumors about affairs with co-stars, Jonathan has never confirmed them, although beauties such as Katie McGrath, Marinika Smirnova, Scarlett Johansson were rumored to be his girlfriends.
Soon, Jonathan was seen in the company of Australian model Victoria Keon-Cohen, but their romance didn't last even a year.
In 2020, the actor was caught drunk driving and had a car accident. He was fined $500 and received a 12-month probation period.We have sad news: Jonathan and I lost our second child. We were eagerly awaiting him, especially Jonathan, who took this very hard. Now we're trying to deal with our grief. It's hard to fight depression when you have problems and suffer from alcoholism. But Jonathan is the strongest person I know. He turns his problems and pain into art. I don't know anyone else who has gone through as much as he has and still achieved such success.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers Now
Despite battling alcohol issues, Jonathan remains in demand in the film industry. In the summer of 2022, the thriller "The Aspern Papers," in which he played the lead role, was premiered.
In 2023, the actor could be seen in several feature films: the thrillers "97 Minutes" and "Ambush," the horror movie "Disquiet," and the action film "Mercy."He starts as a human. She starts as artificial intelligence. By the end of the movie, he became AI, and she became human. The story is about this transcendence. How one man can lose his humanity, while one woman can gain hers. I was very interested in this twist of fate.
Interesting Facts
- Jonathan Rhys Meyers' younger brothers live with their father in Jersey. All three of them became professional musicians, working in the band Suzy’s Field. Jamie is the drummer, and Alan and Paul are guitarists. Jonathan once joked that, unlike his brothers, he has no ear for music or voice, but in fact, the actor knows how to play the flute, and he does have a voice: he performed all the vocal parts himself in the movie "Velvet Goldmine".
Jonathan Rhys Meyers – The Ballad of Maxwell Demon - Jonathan Rhys Meyers spent his first paycheck from a "big movie" on buying a spacious home for his mother. Despite the complicated relationship with Mary Geraldine during his teenage years, the actor loved her dearly, leaving all grudges behind, and was deeply affected by her death in 2012.
- Neighbors describe Jonathan as an intelligent and well-read individual. The actor likes to spend his free time reading books. He enjoys Cormac McCarthy's novel "Blood Meridian" and the works of Mark Twain. But he only allows himself to relax after he has made his house perfectly clean. He begins every Sunday morning with cleaning.
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