Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O’Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish film and television actor. He is known for playing morally ambiguous characters with great charisma and in his early career, for his androgynous appearance. His looks and distinct style allow him to also work as a model, most notably for Club Monaco, Versace, and Hugo Boss.
Early life
Meyers was born Jonathan Michael Francis O’Keeffe in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Geraldine Meyers and John O’Keeffe, who was a musician. His stage name is derived from his mother’s maiden name, Meyers.
Rhys Meyers was born with a serious heart problem and was baptized shortly after his birth, as it was feared he would not survive long enough for a traditional baptism ceremony. He spent the first few months of his life in the hospital. Meyers still lives in County Cork, Ireland where his family moved when he was a few months old. He has three younger brothers named Jamie, Alan and Paul.
When Rhys Meyers was three years old, his parents separated. His mother raised Jonathan and his brother Alan, while his other two brothers went to live at their grandmother’s house with their father. They had spoken every day for several years.
Career
Rhys Meyers was expelled from the North Monastery Secondary School at age 16, and spent much of his time hanging out in pool halls namely the Victoria Sporting Club on Patricks Quay and the Coliseum Leisure Centre on McCurtain Street. Casting agents looking for Irish boys to appear in War of the Buttons spotted Rhys Meyers at a Cork pool hall, the Victoria Sporting Club, and invited him to audition. Although he was passed over for War of the Buttons, the casting agents encouraged him to pursue a career in acting. His first film role came soon afterward, in A Man of No Importance (1994). In 1996 he appeared in Michael Collins, as Collins’ assassin.
Rhys Meyers has starred in television series including Gormenghast (2000) and in the CBS 4-hour mini-series Elvis (2005) as Elvis Presley alongside Rose McGowan as Ann-Margret. The latter earned him an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe win. He is currently starring in the Showtime series The Tudors (2007) as young King Henry VIII. He was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Drama in 2007 for the role.
His film roles range from a David Bowie-inspired glam rock star in Velvet Goldmine (1998) to a dedicated girls’ football coach in Bend It Like Beckham (2002). He appeared in Vanity Fair (2004) alongside Reese Witherspoon. In 2005, Rhys Meyers starred in Woody Allen’s film Match Point, for which he received a Chopard Trophy at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2006, he appeared in Mission: Impossible III. Other projects include August Rush (2007) and "The Children of Huang Shi" (2007). He is rumored to be appearing in Danny Glover’s Haitian epic Toussaint (2008). He is also signed on to star as Lee Falk’s comic strip hero Mandrake the Magician in an upcoming movie directed by Chuck Russell, but is confirmed to star in Shelter along with Julianne Moore for an expected 2009 release.
Rhys Meyers also has experience as a singer. He did much of his own singing in the role of rock star Brian Slade in Velvet Goldmine, although some of these songs were replaced on the CD release of the soundtrack with alternate tracks by better-known vocalists. Rhys Meyers also sings briefly in the TV miniseries version of The Magnificent Ambersons. His singing voice is also featured in his film August Rush and on the film’s soundtrack on songs "Break," "Moondance," "This Time" and "Something Inside."
Rhys Meyers was chosen as the face for the Versace men’s collection of Autumn/Winter 2006 and Spring 2007, and he has also been the face of the Hugo Boss men’s fragrance range since 2005. He is signed to Independent Models in London.
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Personal life
Rhys Meyers has been romantically linked to several actresses in the past, including his Velvet Goldmine co-star Toni Collette. The pair were together for a year following the completion of the film and the actress has confessed to having suffered panic attacks for eight months following their breakup. Other short relationships include Rachael Leigh Cook (rumoured), Asia Argento (during the filming of B. Monkey), Irish model Glenda Gilson (rumoured), and Estella Warren (rumoured). He and co-star Scarlett Johansson both denied persistent rumors of romantic involvement while working on Match Point. His engagement to Dublin socialite/model Cha Cha Seigne, whom he considers his first true love, ended in separation in 2002. He has also been linked to English socialite Lady Victoria Hervey in the past and dated fashion model Lisa Butcher on and off for a year, beginning in the summer of 2002, where they met in France at a party held for the film The Importance of Being Earnest.
In 2004, Rhys Meyers met Reena Hammer, London-based student and heiress to mother Ruby Hammer’s cosmetics line (Ruby & Millie) and father George Hammer, owner of Urban Retreat Spa at Harrods. The relationship has been on and off through the years with frequent rumors of engagements. Ms. Hammer is often by his side for premieres, events, and at the November 2007 funeral of Jonathan’s mother. They attended the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala, in New York on Monday, May 5, 2008 and were most recently seen together on June 12, 2008 attending the Monte Carlo Television Festival.
In May 2005, Rhys Meyers checked into rehab facility Promises in California seeking treatment for alcohol abuse. On 24 April 2007, the Associated Press reported that Rhys Meyers returned to treatment. The actor’s representative Meredith O’Sullivan confirmed the news to People magazine citing his need to take a break from his busy schedule in order to maintain sobriety. On Sunday 18 November 2007 Rhys Meyers was arrested in Dublin Airport and charged with being drunk and in breach of the peace. He was later released on bail to appear at the Dublin District Court on 5 December 2007. He was in Dublin to promote his new movie August Rush on the Irish television programme Tubridy Tonight. The charges were later dropped.
On November 20, 2007, the actor’s mother, Geraldine Meyers-O’Keeffe, died after being admitted to the Mercy Hospital in Cork. She was 50 years old.
He owns houses and apartments in Nichols Canyon, Dublin, London and Morocco, splitting his time between Los Angeles and London when not working.
Filmography
| Year | Movie |
| 1994 | “A Man of No Importance” |
| 1996 | “The Killer Tongue”, “The Disappearance of Finbar”, “Michael Collins” |
| 1997 | “The Maker”, “Telling Lies in America” |
| 1998 | “Velvet Goldmine”, “The Governess”, “B. Monkey”, “The Tribe” |
| 1999 | “The Loss of Sexual Innocence”, “Ride with the Devil”, “Titus” |
| 2001 | “Prozac Nation”, “Tangled”, “Happy Now” |
| 2002 | “Bend It Like Beckham” |
| 2003 | “The Tesseract”, “Octane”, “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”, “The Emperor’s Wife” |
| 2004 | “Vanity Fair”, “Alexander” |
| 2005 | “Match Point” |
| 2006 | “Mission: Impossible III” |
| 2007 | “August Rush” |
| 2008 | “The Children of Huang Shi”, “A Film with Me in It” |
| 2009 | “Shelter”, “Toussaint”, “Mandrake” |
Reign Man
Years removed from his pretty-boy days, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is ready to assume the throne.
By Justin Monroe
Contrary to what Medieval Times employees might tell you (before the jousting, and after the appetizers), kings aren’t born, they’re made—and Jonathan Rhys Meyers is no stranger to the coronation, having already been anointed twice. As the King of (Stolen) Rock ’n’ Roll in 2005’s TV movie Elvis and as England’s Henry VIII on Showtime’s hit The Tudors, Meyers learned that rulers grow into power, expectations, and even their own skin. In fact, the 30-year-old Ireland native has done all three since splashing off in the 1996 biopic Michael Collins.
Labeled “pretty” as a youth, Meyers spent his teens and much of his twenties portraying weak, physically androgynous, and sexually ambiguous characters that ranged from bisexual rocker to tortured male rape victim to Alexander the Great’s bitchy lover. In 2004, Meyers began bulking up to nab more commanding roles. After stepping into Elvis’s blue suede shoes—and winning a 2006 Golden Globe for it—he lived out your fantasies by catching Scarlett (Johansson) fever in Woody Allen’s Match Point. Then this past January, he manned up his damn self by going into rehab for alcoholism…and then doing it again in April. (Um, isn’t that called being Irish? We kid, we kid. Cheers!) Clear-headed, Meyers is now preparing for the November premieres of The Tudors’ second season and the romantic drama August Rush. Complex got down with the king to talk about sobriety, the difference between celebrity and real royalty, and keeping it in your pants…at least on-set.
Complex: August Rush isn’t the first film you’ve sung in. What do you think when you hear yourself sing?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: Oh, it’s dreadful. We don’t even have to continue with the question. I’m absolutely horrified and stunned that I could shame myself so much. I don’t like listening to myself speak.
C: Really?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: At this point in my career I don’t mind watching myself on camera; I’ve come to terms with my flaws. When I first started watching myself on camera I wasn’t happy, and yes, I’m still not happy, but it’s not with how I am physically but more with performance things. But I still don’t like listening to my own voice—it’s never quite convincing.
C: How did having an absent musician father inform your August Rush role—a musician separated from his son at infancy?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: I’m sure, in retrospect, it had some effect
because my father wasn’t there, but I don’t think I searched into that to play the character.
C: Did the parallels make it an emotionally taxing role?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: Oh, no, no. It was emotionally taxing because films are.
C: The Tudors got an Emmy nomination for outstanding casting, but none of the cast was recognized. Do you wish you could have the nominations committee beheaded?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: You’ve got to be realistic about awards because if you think you’re so deserving of them, then you’re probably not. Maybe it wasn’t my turn. I haven’t done enough yet; James Gandolfini, Kiefer Sutherland, Denis Leary, and James Spader, these are guys who have put in big time.
C: Is it true Snoop Dogg is a fan of The Tudors?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: I was told that. I’m a fan of his, so that’s really cool. I can just imagine Snoop being into this because it’s about the rise to power, about being a king. Paying the cost to be the boss.
C: [Laughs.] Sharp reference. Do you feel a kinship with Henry VIII?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: Well, we don’t really have much in common. That’s one of the hardest parts of playing Henry VIII. Being born into royalty, you have an energy. You didn’t have to achieve power, it was given by birth. That’s something extraordinary. Unless you know what that’s like, you don’t know what that’s like. Everything that I’ve earned in my life I’ve had to earn because I wasn’t born a king. So to get into the mentality that every good thing that happens to you, every bit of wealth, every palace, every horse that you own, every woman you bed, you deserve, just by your birth, that’s quite an extraordinary thing.
read full interview with
Jonathan Rhys Meyers at Complex
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