Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe on July 27, 1977, in Dublin, Ireland, is an acclaimed Irish actor and singer. He is the eldest of four boys born to Mary Geraldine (Meyers) and John O'Keeffe, a musician. Meyers was raised in County Cork, Ireland, after his family moved there when he was nearly a year old. His father left the family when he was three, leaving his mother to care for him and his three younger brothers.

Meyers had a tumultuous childhood and was permanently expelled from school at age 16. He spent much of his time in a local pool hall, where he was discovered by casting agents looking for Irish boys to appear in "War of the Buttons". Although he did not get the role, the casting agents encouraged him to pursue a career in acting.

Meyers made his film debut in "A Man of No Importance" (1994) and gained recognition for his role in "Michael Collins" (1996), where he played the Anti-Treaty IRA sniper who kills the title character. He continued to build his career with notable roles in "Velvet Goldmine" (1998), "Titus" (1999), "Bend It Like Beckham" (2002), "Alexander" (2004), "Match Point" (2005), and "Mission: Impossible III" (2006).

Meyers received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in the biographical miniseries "Elvis" (2005), for which he won a Golden Globe Award and earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He also starred as King Henry VIII in the historical drama series "The Tudors" (2007-2010), earning two Golden Globe Award nominations. His other notable television roles include the title character in the NBC drama series "Dracula" (2013-2014) and Bishop Heahmund in the History Channel series "Vikings" (2017-2019).

In addition to his television work, Meyers has appeared in films such as "Albert Nobbs" (2011), "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" (2013), "Stonewall" (2015), "The 12th Man" (2017), and "Damascus Cover" (2018), for which he won the Best Actor award at the Manchester Film Festival. In 2020, he was listed as number 44 on The Irish Times' list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

Meyers has been the face of several Hugo Boss advertising campaigns and is involved in charitable causes, including the Hope Foundation and the children's charity Barretstown. He is married to Mara Lane, and they have one son together.

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