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Paul Rhys (born 19 December 1963) is a Welsh actor with an extensive career in theatre, radio, television and film. Rhys was born in Neath to working-class Catholic parents, Kathryn Ivory and Richard Charles Rhys, a labourer. He is of part-Irish descent on his mother's side. From the age of ten, he bred and trained horses, becoming a highly accomplished rider. A committed punk during his youth, Rhys sang in several bands. His first acting job was playing Liverpudlian judo expert Ralph in John Godber's hit play Bouncers, before leaving for London, where he qualified for his Equity card by singing jazz standards at lunchtime for Peter Boizot's Pizza Express and Kettners. Rhys received a Bernard Shaw Scholarship to study at RADA. In the first term he was spotted by Philip Prowse and was invited to perform in Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre, playing the illegitimate son, Gerald. He also appeared as Dean Swift in Julien Temple's film Absolute Beginners. Rhys completed his education at RADA by winning the William Pole prize and the Bancroft Gold Medal. His next film role was in Franklin J. Schaffner's Lionheart. After a brief spell at the Royal Shakespeare Company he played opposite Colin Firth in Richard Eyre's award-winning film Tumbledown. Soon after this, he appeared in Vincent & Theo, directed by American film director Robert Altman, as Vincent van Gogh's younger brother Theo van Gogh. Continuing the theme of famous brothers, Paul then played Sydney Chaplin opposite Robert Downey Jr.'s Charlie Chaplin in Richard Attenborough's Chaplin. He went on to play Massis in Alan Bennett's 102 Boulevard Haussmann. He then appeared opposite Peter O'Toole in Rebecca's Daughters. A series of films then followed including From Hell, Food of Love, Love Lies Bleeding, Becoming Colette and Hellraiser: Deader. He appears as Talleyrand in Ridley Scott's 2023 epic Napoleon, and as Duncan in Emerald Fennell's Saltburn. Running parallel to Rhys's film work has been a diverse and notable television career, working in leading roles with directors such as Mike Hodges, Stephen Frears, Sir Richard Eyre, Philip Martin, Christopher Morahan, Tom Vaughan, Edward Hall, Harry Bradbeer in productions including Tumbledown, A Dance to the Music of Time, The Heroes, Ghosts, Gallowglass, The Healer, Anna Karenina, The Deal, Beethoven, The Ten Commandments, Borgia, Luther and Spooks. In 2008 Rhys appeared in the series Agatha Christie's Poirot. In 2014, he played the lead as traitor Aldrich Ames, in The Assets miniseries, then as King George III in Turn: Washington's Spies and as Sir John Conroy in Victoria. He has made a minor industry out of playing vampires: Being Human (as Ivan); as Vlad, the Prince of Wallachia aka Dracula in seasons 1–3 of the 2015 series Da Vinci's Demons; and as Andrew Hubbard in two seasons of the 2020–2021 hit, A Discovery of Witches. In 2023, he appears as Tommy in the BBC film, Men Up.

Madfabulous
as Lord Penrhyn

"Wuthering Heights"
as Heathcliff's Father

Men Up
as Tommy Cadogan

Widow Clicquot
as Droite

The Way
as Akela

Napoleon
as Talleyrand

Saltburn
as Duncan

The Sandman
as Hippogriff (voice)

A Discovery of Witches
as Andrew Hubbard

Lore
as Philip Smith

Rellik
as Patrick Barker

Victoria
as Sir John Conroy

Casanova
as Comte De St Germain

Casanova
as Comte De St Germain

The Assets
as Aldrich Ames

Great Expectations
as Compeyson

Borgia

Eliminate: Archie Cookson
as Archie Cookson

When Harvey Met Bob
as Paul McCartney

Luther
as Lucien Burgess

The Queen

Moving On
as Andy

Being Human
as Ivan

Bonekickers

Murdoch Mysteries
as Dr. Llewllyn Francis

The Ten Commandments
as Ramses

Hellraiser: Deader
as Winter

Beethoven
as Ludwig van Beethoven

Murder in Rome
as Cicero

This World

New Tricks
as Sebastian Carter

The Deal
as Peter Mandelson

Otherworld
as Lord Pwyll (voice)

Spooks
as Alexis Meynell

Food of Love
as Richard Kennington

The Cazalets
as Rupert Cazalet

Murder in Mind
as Matthew Hopkins

From Hell
as Dr. Ferral
The Innocent
as David Pastorov

Anna Karenina
as Nikolai
Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)

Love Lies Bleeding
as Jonathan

The Strange Case of Delfina Potocka
as Chopin

King Lear
as Edgar

A Dance to the Music of Time
as Charles Stringham

The Haunting of Helen Walker
as Edward Goffe

Nina Takes a Lover
as Photographer

Ghosts
as Captain Peter Buckle

The Last Machine

Kavanagh Q.C.
as Sam Wicks

The Healer
as Dr. John Lassiter

Gallowglass
as Sandor

Chaplin
as Sydney Chaplin

Rebecca's Daughters
as Anthony Raine

Becoming Colette
as Chapo

Performance
as Edgar

Vincent & Theo
as Theodore 'Theo' Van Gogh

102 Boulevard Haussmann
as Amable Massis

Vincent & Theo
as Theo Van Gogh

Chillers
as Adam Marshall