Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (real name Jonathan Michael Francis O’Keefe), is an Irish actor, best known for his starring role as Henry VIII in the “Tudors” series. Also a singer and model, the young Dubliner knows how to shine in artistic fields.
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers was born in Dublin in 1977. He was the son of Geraldine Meyers (whose surname he later adopted for stage purposes), and John O’Keeffe, a musician.
His family left Dublin the year after he was born, and Jonathan lived with his parents, three brothers and two sisters. Unfortunately, his parents split up when he was just 3 years old.
His childhood was uneventful. An unruly student, Jonathan was finally expelled from school at the age of 16. Out of work, he decides to hang out in pool halls, where he meets casting directors looking for a lead role in an Irish film.
They spotted him immediately, and were seduced by his good looks and presence. Although he wasn’t selected in the end, the casting directors urged him to go into comedy.
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers began attending castings, and won his first film role with “A Man of No Importance” in 1994. His next film was Michael Collins, in which he was only an extra.
Three years later, he was back in the limelight with “Chevauchée avec le Diable”, “Joue la comme Beckam”, “Vanity Fair” and “Alexandre”. His athletic physique and talent as an actor have enabled him to star alongside such film greats as his Irish counterpart Collin Farrell and the ravishing Reese Witherspoon.
In 2005, the young Dubliner even got the chance to star in Woody Allen’s film “Match Point”, for which he was awarded the Chopard Trophy at the Cannes Film Festival. The young man’s acting quickly matured, and he was given increasingly interesting roles.
He also appeared in “Mission Impossible III” in 2006, and “The Orphans of Huang Shui” in 2008. But Jonathan didn’t want to confine himself to the cinema, and decided to explore new horizons – those of TV series.
He played Elvis in “Gormenghast” (for which he won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe). He was then offered the lead role in the famous historical series The Tudors, playing Henry VIII. His performance earned him the greatest success of his career.
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