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Rufus Sewell | |
|---|---|
.png) Sewell in 2019 | |
| Born | Rufus Frederik Sewell (1967-10-29)29 October 1967 (age 58) Hammersmith, London, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
Rufus Frederik Sewell (/ˈsjuːəl/SYOO-uhl; born 29 October 1967) is a British actor.
In film he has appeared inCarrington (1995),Hamlet (1996),Dangerous Beauty (1998),Dark City (1998),A Knight's Tale (2001),The Legend of Zorro (2005),The Illusionist (2006),Amazing Grace (2006),The Holiday (2006),The Tourist (2010),Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012),Judy (2019),The Father (2020), andOld (2021).
In television he has appeared inMiddlemarch (1994),Cold Comfort Farm (1995),Arabian Nights (2000),Charles II: The Power and the Passion (2003),John Adams (2008),Eleventh Hour (2008–2009),Zen (2011),The Pillars of the Earth (2010),Parade's End (2012),Victoria (2016–2017),The Man in the High Castle (2014–2019),The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2019) andThe Pale Horse (2020). He currently stars in theNetflix seriesThe Diplomat (2023–present).
On stage he originated the role of Septimus Hodge inTom Stoppard'sArcadia (1993) and the role of Jan in Stoppard'sRock 'n' Roll (2006), with the latter earning him anOlivier Award for Best Actor in a Play as well as a nomination for theTony Award for Best Actor in a Play.
Rufus Frederik Sewell[1] was born on 29 October 1967,[2] the son of Jo, a Welsh artist and classically trained pianist.[3] HisAnglo-Australian father, William John Frederick Sewell (1924–1978), was born in Australia to British parents and worked as an animator on the "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" segment of animation forthe Beatles'Yellow Submarine film.[4][5][6] His parents divorced when Sewell was five and his father died when he was 10.[7][8] Sewell's mother subsequently lived at The Pelican,Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, formerly home to the parents of the Welsh poet and writerDylan Thomas.[3][9] Sewell has said that he was a difficult teenager.[7]
Sewell went on to attendOrleans Park School,[10] a statecomprehensive school inTwickenham, which he left in 1984. This was followed by enrolling atWest Thames College, where a drama teacher sent him to audition for drama school. He later matriculated to theRoyal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.[11]
Sewell's breakthrough year was 1993, in which he starred as the unpleasant Tim inMichael Winner's filmDirty Weekend. Winner chose him after seeing him in a play at theCriterion Theatre.[12]
Sewell is known for his villainous roles, such as those inA Knight's Tale,The Legend of Zorro,Bless the Child,Helen of Troy andThe Illusionist. He spoke of his unhappiness about this, saying that "[I] don't want to play a baddie again."[13][14]
He co-starred in the controversial filmDownloading Nancy, which was released on 5 June 2009.[15] At the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, audiences walked out of the screening. Despite the controversy, Sewell continues to staunchly support the film. "It's a film I'm very proud of, whether you consider that it fails or succeeds, whether you like it or don't like it. I'm proud to be in it."[14]
Between 2006 and 2009, onBBC Radio, Sewell read Russell Thorndike's stories ofDoctor Syn—the adventures of an 18th-century clergyman, adventurer, smuggler and pirate.[16] He playedPetruchio in the BBC's 2005 version ofWilliam Shakespeare'sThe Taming of the Shrew, a modern retelling of the story which earned him a Best Actor nomination at the2006 BAFTA Television Awards. This was the fourth time that Sewell had acted in a Shakespeare play since becoming a professional actor: he previously portrayedHotspur inHenry IV, Part 1 in 1995,Fortinbras inHamlet in 1996 and the title role inMacbeth in 1999.[17] He appeared in the premiere and first run ofTom Stoppard's playRock 'n' Roll at theRoyal Court Theatre from June to July 2006 and at theDuke of York's Theatre from July until November 2006.[18]
He has recorded eleven ofIan Fleming'sJames Bond books on 36 CDs for Collins. He continues to work in film, television and theatre, playing the lead role of Dr. Jacob Hood in the CBS TV seriesEleventh Hour.[19] He finished filming in November 2009 for the miniseriesThe Pillars of the Earth, which was shown on TV in 2010.[20]
In 2010 he played the Italian detectiveAurelio Zen, based on the best-selling novels byMichael Dibdin, for theBBC One drama seriesZen. The three episodes were filmed in Rome and shown on BBC One in early January 2011. The series was cancelled by the BBC after just one season.[21] He also had a small part in the filmThe Tourist, which also starredAngelina Jolie andJohnny Depp and was released in cinemas in 2010.[22] He played the lead vampire, Adam, in the filmAbraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,[23] which was filmed inNew Orleans and released in June 2012.[24]
Sewell played the role of Ethics Man inDarkside,Tom Stoppard's 2013 radio drama based onPink Floyd's albumThe Dark Side of the Moon.[25] Sewell co-starred withDwayne Johnson, as Autolycus, in the filmHercules, which was released in July 2014.[26] In 2015, Sewell voiced the role of Sir Claude, a feral cat, inBlinky Bill the Movie. Sewell has most recently appeared as high-ranking American-turned-Nazi official John Smith inThe Man in the High Castle,[27] and asLord Melbourne inVictoria.[citation needed]
In February 2023, it was announced that Sewell had been cast asAndrew Mounbatten-Windsor inScoop, aNetflix drama about Andrew's 2019Newsnight interview, co-starringGillian Anderson asEmily Maitlis,Billie Piper, andKeeley Hawes.[28]
Sewell has been married three times. His first wife was his long-term girlfriend,[7] the Australian fashion journalist Yasmin Abdallah; they were married in 1999 and divorced in 2000.[29] He married his second wife, the scriptwriter and producer Amy Gardner, in 2004[7] and divorced in 2006.[30] They have a son. Rufus Sewell also has a daughter with Ami Komai.[31][32] In July 2024 he married Vivian Benitez, an American actress, 29 years his junior.[33][34]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Gone to Seed | Billy | 6 episodes |
| 1992–94 | Screen Two | Mike Costain Clive | 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Middlemarch | Will Ladislaw | 7 episodes |
| Citizen Locke | Midshipman Clarke | Television movie | |
| 1995 | Cold Comfort Farm | Seth Starkadder | Television film |
| Performance | Harry Percy | Episode: "Henry IV, Part 1" | |
| 2000 | Arabian Nights | Ali Baba | Miniseries |
| 2001 | She Creature | Angus | Television movie |
| 2003 | Helen of Troy | Agamemnon | Miniseries |
| Charles II: The Power and the Passion | Charles II | 4 episodes | |
| 2004 | Taste | Michael Kuhleman | Television movie |
| 2005 | ShakespeaRe-Told | Petruchio | Episode: "The Taming of the Shrew" |
| 2006 | 9/11: Out of the Blue | The Man | Television movie |
| 2008 | John Adams | Alexander Hamilton | 2 episodes |
| 2008–09 | Eleventh Hour | Dr. Jacob Hood | 18 episodes |
| 2010 | The Pillars of the Earth | Tom Builder | Miniseries |
| 2011 | Zen | Aurelio Zen | 3 episodes |
| 2012 | Parade's End | Reverend Duchemin | 3 episodes |
| Restless | Lucas Romer | 2 episodes | |
| 2015 | Killing Jesus | Caiaphas | Television movie |
| 2016 | Secret History | Narrator | Episode: "China's Forgotten Emperor" |
| 2016–17 | Victoria | Lord Melbourne | 7 episodes |
| 2018 | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | Declan Howell | Episode: "Look, She Made a Hat" |
| 2014–19 | The Man in the High Castle | John Smith | 40 episodes |
| 2020 | The Pale Horse | Mark Easterbrook | BBC1 Miniseries |
| 2023 | Kaleidoscope | Roger Salas | Miniseries |
| 2023–present | The Diplomat | Hal Wyler | Main role |
| 2025 | The Sandman | Time | Episode: "Time and Night" |
| TBA | Pride and Prejudice | Mr. Bennet | Filming[36] |
| Year | Production | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Arcadia | Septimus Hodge | Lyttelton Theatre,Royal National Theatre | [37] |
| 1995 | Translations | Owen | Plymouth Theatre, Broadway | [38] |
| 2006–07 | Rock 'n' Roll | Jan | The Royal Court Theatre, London | [37] |
| 2007–08 | Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway | |||
| 2013 | Old Times | Deeley | Harold Pinter Theatre, London | |
| 2015 | Closer | Larry | Donmar Warehouse, London | |
| 2016 | Art | Serge | Old Vic Theatre, London |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Arcadia | Nominated |
| 1998 | London Film Critics' Circle | British Supporting Actor | The Very Thought of You | Nominated |
| 2006 | British Academy Television Award | Best Actor of the Year | ShakespeaRe-Told: The Taming of the Shrew | Nominated |
| 2006 | Evening Standard Theatre Award | Best Actor in a Play | Rock 'n' Roll | Won |
| 2007 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actor in a Play | Won | |
| 2008 | Tony Award | Best Actor in a Play | Nominated | |
| 2008 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Nominated | |
| 2008 | Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance | Nominated | |
| 2016 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | The Man in the High Castle | Nominated |
| 2019 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | Nominated |
| 2024 | Astra TV Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama | The Diplomat | Nominated |
| 2024 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated |
