Matthew Rhys

Some news about the surfer dude/boyo: Iris highs for Matthew Sep 29 2007 by Gavin Allen, South Wales Echo IN one sense Matthew Rhys and Ioan Gruffudd haven’t really moved very far apart since their days as flatmates in London. The best friends don’t live together now but there is still just a mile or so between their new homes – in Los Angeles. “He lives in West Hollywood and I live in Hancock Park,” said Rhys, who fights Gruffudd for clay pigeon shooting over golf in their sparse social time together. “We do see each other but we’ve both been busy lately.” When the pair were united as starry-eyed youths, both dreamed of being in this position. While Gruffudd has soared to box office success in films such as Fantastic Four and Amazing Grace, Rhys has made a considerable mark on the small screen in hit drama Brothers & Sisters. It is his role as gay lawyer Kevin Walker in the Emmy award-winning ABC programme that saw Berwyn Rowlands approach him to become a patron of The Iris Festival, a major international gay and lesbian short film festival which launches in at Cardiff Cineworld on Thursday. “I was approached by Berwyn because of my connections through Brothers & Sisters and I thought it was a good tie-in,” said Rhys. “I’m a fan of filmmaking in general but something groundbreaking like this in Cardiff has to be good.” With the second series of Brothers And Sisters launching in the US at the end of this month, Rhys is filming in the winelands of Santa Barbara. But in May this year he was enjoying the rolling fields of Wales again as he returned home to film Edge of Love, the first movie to be made about Dylan Thomas, with Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller. In it, Rhys plays genius Thomas and, as a Welshman taking the role of one of our nation’s grea-*test*-('") talents, scrutiny will be thorough. “I’ve never felt so pressured in my life,” he snuffled through a deep cold, the result of his recently taking up surfing. “I put an enormous amount on myself but you would get little comments from people when you told them who you were playing. “They’d just look at you and say ‘Oh. Don’t mess that up’.” With the filming now wrapped how does he feel he did in hindsight? “I don’t know,” he groaned. “I’ve never been one to be able to look at my work objectively. “I’ve looked at a few scenes and winced and thought why didn’t I do that differently? Ultimately, it’s up to other people to judge.” With one huge career role wrapped, Rhys headed back to America to fulfil a major social engagement – best man to Ioan Gruffudd’s when he married his long-term love Alice Evans on September 14 at Palmilla Hotel in Los Cabos, Mexico. “It was fantastic,” said Rhys aptly. “It all went according to plan which is the grea-*test*-('") achievement and there was a great enclave of Welsh out there for the ceremony.” Did he go easy on Mr Fantastic at the stag do? “We were good boys and that’s all I can say,” he laughed wolfishly. We made a pact before going, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. “His brother and myself split best man duties and we had to think very carefully about what we were going to include in the speech at the wedding because, well, we just had to,” he said cryptically, before reflecting on the journey on which their friendship has taken them, and may yet take them. “We started coming to America from quite an early age and Ioan enjoyed a degree of success so he made the bold move to come out here permanently. “I was happy to just come out for a few weeks in TV pilot season for auditions but it had got to the point where I was thinking, ‘actually this is just a waste of money every year’, and I was approaching what would have been the end of the LA trips. “Then I got my break.” Does he ever get homesick? “I always miss Cardiff,” he said longingly. I don’t know how long this adventure will last, for long or short, but I’m still trying to embrace all this, the California lifestyle.” Touch wood it doesn’t happen but if Brothers And Sisters was cancelled tomorrow would he head back to Wales? “I have a three-year visa and I would stay until the end of that because it’s too good an opportunity to waste. But I could definitely see myself moving back to the UK, not specifically London, and then going where the work is. “That’s the dream.” The Iris film festival runs from October 4 to 6. http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0900entertainment/0050artsnews/tm_method=full%26objectid=19864979%26siteid=50082-name_page.html

Oh, lovely, muvidlover, I just like the way Matthew continues to speak with love about Cardiff. I hope it doesn't 'drown' in the Hollywood life-style, but that he stays this grounded.

Matthew Rhys bio - the long one - part 1/5
Disclaimer: I never met Matthew Rhys, never spoke to him, don’t know him in any other way than as a great actor, who captured my attention in Heart of America. This bio is based on loads and loads of interviews I read on Matthew. Given either by him and/or Ioan Gruffudd to journalists or written about him. So, Matthew, if there is anything in here that is incorrect, try to remember what you said that particular year, sue a journalist or have a good talk with Ioan. :cool: Or let ME know. (But I will not hold my breath on that last option.) :cool: Made not to earn money with, but just out of interest in an actor. Sylviane Matthew Rhys (Last name is pronounced “Reese”). Born 4 November 1974 in the historic city of Cardiff, South Glamorgan, South Wales. Father Glyn Evans (headmaster), mother Helen Evans (teaches special needs children) and an older sister Rachel Evans, who is a BBC broadcast journalist . His parents were strict when necessary, but also gave him free rein to live his life. He would not call himself a bad child, but did the ‘typical setting fire to my mum’s carpet’. He looks back at his childhood affectionately 'through the old rose-tinted spectacles'. He was educated in the Welsh language at Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Melin Gruffydd, Whitchurch, Cardiff where he met Ioan Gruffudd. Matthew: “We didn't get off to the best of starts. It was a snowball fight. He ended up running away and I ended up going after him and hacking him to the floor. I tripped him and he started to cry and I panicked because I'd made someone cry.” Ioan: “I was so embarrassed about this, because he was a year younger than me.” Inspite of this incident Matthew and Ioan remained friends outside school and attended chapel and Sunday School together. First movie Matthew recalls seeing was Flash Gordon(1980). He believes that his first record ever bought was Adam and the Ants – Stand and deliver – (1981) because the video was so cool! He had his first famous person crush on Daisy Duke from ‘the Dukes of Hazzard’. Considering that his father's family were farmers, his mother's people lived near the sea, it is only natural that he wanted to be a farmer. "Don't ask me why. I thought maybe I'd be a farmer. That was another silly notion. I think I'd last about five minutes, being a farmer." But when he was 10 or 11 years old, he saw the movie that inspired him: ‘Look back in anger’ with Richard Burton. His father told him Richard Burton was Welsh “…and I realized it was possible to be Welsh and make it in the filmworld.” He than transferred to a Welsh-speaking co-ed comprehensive Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf where Ioan also went to. His first job was a paper round, but it was short-lived, because his bike got stolen. His walls were covered with Army posters. "Oh God, this is stupid, but I thought I'd be in the armed forces," he says, but fortunately he changed his mind. He liked sport. Rugby off course, but when he decided he was not good enough he went for ice hockey, but that turned out too expensive, so he moved to street hockey instead. Had his first kiss at age 16, first sex at age 17. First falling in love at age 18. "I was always the lead in the school play, mainly because I was the only boy who did drama." At seventeen, he played the lead role of Elvis Presley in a school musical, “I loved it. I had to sing some songs and thought I'd like to apply for drama school. I still love Elvis.” According to himself in school he did ‘just enough to get by’. When he left school he applied to the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London (RADA). and was accepted after an audition that won him the first annual free grant, the Patricia Rothermere Scholarship in 1993. He moved in with Ioan who had been accepted at RADA the year before. At RADA he had to unlearn before he could learn a thing. “I was told in week two to stop rubbing my nose when speaking. I had no idea I was doing it. It was not really student life as you expect. I didn’t get to know anywhere in London apart from the Tube journey- Kilburn to college – for three years. When we had to pretend to be amoebas, I thought ‘shit, what am I doing here?’ – but that did not happen very often. It was a shock. I was expecting a university lifestyle. It was three years of six days a week in college. Six long days. Doing voice, singing, fencing and acrobatics. At times, it was slightly psychoanalytical. They're big into the Method. On my supposed day off Sunday I would have to learn scripts." During his time at RADA, 1996, Rhys made his film debut with Sian Phillips and Steven Mackintosh in House of America, He got that job also because Ioan was auditioning for it, and Ioan told the casting-director that Matthew would be perfect for the role. So Matthew auditioned for the film and landed the part of Boyo, the son of a dysfunctional family living in the South Wales Valleys, who watches his sister Gwenny (Lisa Palfrey) and brother Sid (Steven Mackintosh) lose themselves in a drug and alcohol enduced fantasy world, while his unstable mother (Sian Phillips) sinks into madness and he discovers the secret of his father’s disappearance. Sian Philips was nominated for a BAFTA for best actress in 1996, for her part of the mother. "It was a dark piece, but a great learning curve," Matthew says. He also appeared in Back-Up, the BBC police series about the operational support units Hooli Vans, as PC Steve Higson. This was a series of 13 episodes about the lives and action packed adventures of the nine men and women aboard a police Operational Support Unit (OSU) van that is responsible for going anywhere and doing anything in support of operations carried out by other branches of the West Midlands Police. After three months filming in Birmingham in and out of police vans, Matthew was pleased to have the chance to return to Cardiff. Upon his return in Cardiff he plays in his own language in the Welsh film Bydd yn Wrol (Be Brave) together with Daniel Evans, Menna Trussler and Islwyn Morris. For this movie he won Best Actor award at the Welsh BAFTA's in 1997 This movie was made in 1997 and is a comic, moving portrait of a community that learns to work together and the individuals who learn about themselves in the process, when a group of old-age pensioners must fight to save their municipal hall from developers and corrupt councilors. They are joined by their teenage neighbors. And apparently it also involves the singer Tom Jones February 1997: Along comes Cardiff East. His first play. He had just graduated from RADA, when he started it. Cardiff East raises essential questions: What is family value? What does it feel like to be an immigrant in your own country? Uncompromising and desperately real, with an undercurrent of ironic humour, Cardiff East builds towards an inexorable climax, which combines hope and tragedy in equal parts. Matthew won critical acclaim for his role as the young Tommy who is enjoying a gay liaison with Neil. The play shocked audiences with its gay nude scenes. “However many times you strip you clothes off on the stage, it doesn't get any easier. The worst was when we took the show to my hometown of Cardiff. All my family and friends came to see me - and they saw everything. It was very embarrassing.” Followed by “Grace Note” in July 1997 co-starring Geraldine McEwan (Grace), Holly Aird (Ellie), Jonathan Cullen (Daniel), Emma Amos (Jennifer) and Neil Stuke (Jack). It is a play about a woman with Alzheimer, Grace, and her daughter-in-law, Ellie, who seems to understand Grace's need to dwell on the past and her passion for the soprano Joan Sutherland. The family gathers round to protect its inheritance, but the senility is cunning: Grace has plans of her own. Her affections fall on the resident outsiders with whom she claims to have some empathy: Her son Daniel's Australian wife, Ellie (Holly Aird), whom he married in order to grant her a work permit and his young Welsh boyfriend, Nick (Matthew Rhys), whose musical skills extend to playing "Stairway to Heaven" on the guitar. He continued on the stage and played Pierre in One More Wasted Year, about two young men, in their late twenties they already seem too old for a youth-obsessed world; who inhabit a world of cafes and rented bed-sits. Followed by the part of Yanne in Stranger's House, with also Paul Bettany. A play about a group of immigrants from the former Yugoslavia who fled at various times to Germany, it is a play about values. Yanne, a young Macedonian fleeing military service, turns up seeking sanctuary at the tobacconist's shop run by his father's bosom friend Hristo in an un-named, godforsaken German town. Hristo is revered as a hero back home, having supposedly escaped from Yugoslavia when the high ideals of the Tito revolution turned sour. If Yanne hopes for a warm welcome and sympathy over his own desertion, he's soon disillusioned. Hristo is a bitter, chain-smoking man, his crushed wife Terese is a small-time prostitute; his daughter, Agnes, is married to the uncaring mechanic Jorg, who crippled her in a car crash. Secrets burn beneath the surface of every relationship, and Yanne's decision to flee the coming war in his homeland is treated with the deepest suspicion. He had a small part in Elizabeth, with Cate Blanchett, Joseph Fiennes and Christopher Eccleston, but that part ended on the editing floor. Although the rumour goes that he is still somewhere to be seen in the movie. And he was as unlucky with the following film, Heart , a movie starring Saskia Reeves, Kate Hardie, Christopher Eccleston and Rhys Ifans.. He got paid, but he was hardly seen on the screen. Allthough he is credited as playing Sean McCardle he's appears only in a few small scenes (on a motorcycle, in a scene on a videotape and in a scene in the hospital. Less than 5 minutes of screentime.) In January 1998, Rhys went to New Zealand to star in Green Stone, a colonial costume drama for television, about a love story played out on a grand scale against impossible odds. The sweeping saga of a woman caught in a love during New Zealand's turbulent birth as a nation in the mid-1800s. Greenstone enables two worlds to meet - the English and the Maori. As soon as Matthew read the script for Greenstone he says he loved the ideas - especially the meeting of two different cultures. Rhys stars as Sam Markham - a young, bold, optimistic gunsmith who is the product of the Victorian industrial hinterland. He falls under the spell of Marama (Simone Kessell), the daughter of one of the most powerful and feared Maori warrior chiefs, and his love for her places him at the centre of a brutal blood clash between Maori and pakeha. "It's a very rich story with so many things in it. It's a love story, it's got wars and it’s historical. I loved the thought of riding and the shooting. It's a real adventure story as well," he says. According to Matthew his character is basically an angry young man, but there are parts of him that he relates to well’. "He's tired of the aristocratic oppressive rulers of England, he wants to get out and make a new world for himself. He's very interested in change and progress - he hates the suffocating feeling that heritage and ritual imposes on him," he says. "He's also very idealistic and very determined in what he wants. He's a believer and he'll follow through to the end. I can be like that." Acting with children was a new experience for Matthew who at times says he nearly lost his patience. "It's been very trying - you definitely have to have a lot of patience," he says. He found acting with animals was more fun. "There's been a lot on the horses - I loved it. The wagon driving and so on was fantastic. I've done a little but not much so it was a real baptism of fire." He also takes the part of Ray Smith in “Whatever happened to Harold Smith?” A small film situated in the ‘70’s in which he plays the brother of a boy who discovers that his (their) father has a special gift. It stars amongst others Tom Courtenay, Stephen Fry and Lulu.

I hope it doesn't 'drown' in the Hollywood life-style, but that he stays this grounded. He seems to be very level-headed about his roots, that he doesn't have to or want to give up one life for another. I like that about him. Really nice job on the Biography, Sylviane! :applaud:

2/5
In 1999 he is in Italy for eight weeks filming with Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange in a new movie called Titus, in which he and Irish actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyers played the sadistic sons of Tamora, Queen of the Goths, who was played by Jessica Lange. Working on Titus was the most physically demanding role of Matthew Rhys's career to date - he was suspended naked upside down before his character met a gory demise. "Titus was a great experience, purely because of being able to watch the 'master' - Anthony Hopkins - at work. That was a hell of a frightening experience because it was my first big film with Hopkins and Jessica Lange, a Shakespeare as well and a very extreme character I had to play. Demetrius was a rapist psychopath with blond hair and tattoos. So it was a bit intimidating but a hell of an experience. It's quite a diverse film - it's not your average cinema film. You spend years with your mates watching Hopkins’ films, analysing every minute of what he does, then you find yourself acting with him. It was really weird. What I was most excited about was finding out how he does it, but you don't. He's doing his Tommy Cooper impressions right up until "action", then he's in floods of tears until "cut", and straight back into Tommy Cooper.. He is an amazing mimic who can do lots of different voices - he did his Tommy Cooper and Marlon Brando impressions. So working with him scared the hell out of me. In the film, he ends up slitting my throat as I hang naked from the ceiling. Not much acting went on there. I was terrified!" Titus received mixed reviews. But in all, Matthew looked back on it with a positive attitude: “One minute I was in Cardiff, the next I was at the Cannes Film Festival in front of 250 journalists sitting next to Jessica Lange talking about Titus Andronicus. From Cardiff to Cannes, I'd never have believed it!” Trivia: His most embarrassing scene in this movie would be: “I had to film the orgy scene with an Italian gymnast who couldn’t speak a word of English. We had to simulate love making while floating in a small boat, but we couldn’t stay on it and we had the director shouting at us across the swimming pool. It was just awful.” Trivia: Although there is ONE thing about Anthony Hopkins that Matthew did not understand: "I got on well with him - but why he has taken American citizenship I will never understand. I could never do that - my roots are too deep." Trivia: He would love to make a film with Robert De Niro. “because I always believed what he does, I just love him, he's great.” Favorite director would be Martin Scorsese. In 2000 Matthew suddenly becomes a more famous name. He is going to be on stage opposite Kathleen Turner in a new adaptation of “The Graduate”. Rhys stars as Benjamin Braddock, the role made famous in the film by Dustin Hoffmann. He has a torrid affair with Turner's character Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father's employer. "Benjamin is such a great character to play; this disillusioned guy who's worked really hard for four years to get a degree, mainly to please his parents, and then thinks, 'What about me?' He just wants to feel alive . His is a rite of passage story that fulfills a lot of young men's fantasies. The story is set in California in 1964, which was not in the throes of the Swinging Sixties as we think of them now. The values and morals of the Fifties were still prevalent then, which made such an affair much more shocking. It's harder to generate that kind of response today but I still think the play can have enormous shock value." Matthew admits that he never saw the movie with Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman. And he would not see it until after the play is finished, because of the pressure that it brings. He would rather find his own performance: “I might be drawn into doing it in a certain way just to be different.” What mostly catches everyone’s attention: Kathleen Turner will appear nude on the stage. The media descended on them. Kathleen Turner had a say in the casting. There were several auditions before he was chosen for the part. After quite a few auditions, she flew over in November and they lined up four boys for her to see, she read with Matthew and a few other actors, but Matthew got it because of the chemistry she felt with him. So he must have done OK.. At the audition, he felt 'blind panic', daunted at the thought of the naked scenes between himself and the Hollywood star. "We did the seduction scene and I didn't have to do much acting really, so I just blushed and stuttered my way through it, and felt very embarrassed . . . so it worked well. She was lovely - I felt quite intimidated but excited at the same time. For the first 40 minutes I was a dribbling mess. She was brilliant: she had been there, done that. She's a real taskmaster and a complete perfectionist. She works very hard and really cares about the project she's doing, working on it over again until she's entirely happy with it. I liked that about her." Rehearsals for The Graduate started in February and it opened in March 2000. It would run for 12 weeks. Almost every night it was sold out. He was intimidated by Turner at first, but three weeks into rehearsal, that has subsided. "It's like having a game of tennis with a legendary player - it raises your game. I'm relishing the challenge, which sounds like a cliché, but it is true." Kathleen was also impressed with Matthew: " He can really act. You know if an actor is good or not and he is good. I call it dancing, when an actor really starts to move with you and respond to you it is kind of a dance, where one leads and the other follows, and then they change over and Matthew started dancing." The chemistry was evident straight away. Matthew Rhys and Kathleen Turner were promoting their new stage production of The Graduate. As they posed for cameras they looked every inch the generation-gap lovers they are due to play. "There is chemistry between us. You just have to get on with it. She is very easy to get on with. The chemistry is very professional, strictly professional." It was impossible not to be conscious of the audience build-up to That Scene every night. "The scene comes very early in the play, thankfully, which is good because, after all the hype in the press, it causes so much expectation in the audience. It was good to get it out of the way early every night. And, you know, it's only seconds. Just the drop of a towel. It's incredible in the 21st century that a scene like that, and one so brief, can cause such a fuss. That was a real eye-opener. And not because my co-star got naked for a few seconds. What was interesting was seeing how the media works with such a scene, milking the titillation factor for all its worth. It made me realise just how the press works, and how it can exaggerate any situation to make a story. You realise that everything is really spin in this day and age, where the media has blurred the line between real news and entertainment." Curiously enough, Rhys got to keep his pants on for the scene. "I don't think it would have generated as much interest if it had been a man who was naked," he says. The day after the premiere theatre critics were divided over the Turner's performance. But Rhys was praised for his American accent and the chemistry between the couple. Even a comment that the few scenes, in which he did not appear, seemed to suffer from his absence. Matthew’s mother told: "We went to see the play in its earliest preview last week. Matthew has grown in confidence immensely since then. They have changed a few things and the play ran incredibly smoothly. We were sat in front of Cilla Black in the stalls and we could hear her laughing all the way through. Kathleen has been very kind about Matthew and it was good he had somebody so experienced with him. She is a very charming lady and Matthew and her get on so well." His sister, Rachel, said: "When Matthew gets nervous he fiddles with his hands. He also shouts and slams doors. "We ended up laughing in the moments when everyone else was quiet because we could see him doing it." About some bitchy remarks about her fulsome, womanly shape Matthew gallantly said: "It's a case of the green-eyed monster. She has a beautiful figure and is great to go to bed with. Not that I'm really taking notice, of course. I was far too embarrassed to begin with. When she turned on the seductive charm, the acting went out the window. I was sweating for real. This woman, who you've seen in Body Heat and Romancing the Stone, and the next minute she's whispering in your ear. You're like: Oh my God! Oh shit! I can honestly say, in five months of doing it, I never properly looked at her when she was naked." Rhys admitted that when he starring opposite Kathleen Turner, he was forced to think on his feet. "My character, Benjamin, has an argument with Mrs Robinson's daughter and she's meant to stomp out through the door. But one night the door wouldn't open, so we had to start improvising. I said something like, 'I hope you've brought your overnight bag'. The people we saw after the show said that had been their favorite part. The audience love it when it goes wrong. They feel like they're being let in on a secret and they want to see how you will get out of it." In a 2002 interview he would admit : “As much as I loved it, I found it extremely nerve-racking, particularly the endless comparisons to Dustin Hoffman. Almost everyone over a certain age had seen the film, and came in with a strong view of what it meant to them. To bring a new life to a character that has been set in stone was very hard. But I did get to meet James Coburn. He came to see it and he hugged me. So I've been hugged by one of the Magnificent Seven.” Trivia: Apart from Turner, Rhys says he would have loved to have starred opposite Audrey Hepburn. "She had it all - she was classy and sexy." Trivia : Matthew donated a pair of boxer shorts, which he wore in the bedroom scene with Katherine Turner, to a Cardiff woman organising a prize draw in aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind. Trivia: "It's really important for me to keep my links with Wales strong. I love my country”, he hopes to make a film about Llewellyn, the 12th-century prince who fought the English. "It's a wonderful epic story that needs committing to film. It's horses and swords basically - I enjoy a good swashbuckle." Trivia: Rhys seems to think, as many actors do, that one day he will be somehow found out and that all the fame will vanish. Trivia: There are no roles that he won’t go near, because that would limit himself. He’d rather take a role that scares him. Trivia: Asked if Ioan and he finally get their lives organised he replies: "We have a good time. We have our days of being messy but then we get a bit fed up. We are just normal lads when we are not working. I am sad to say we have got a Nintendo and we make a habit of supporting our local pubs!" Rhys, even admitted that they clean up their own mess rather than employ a cleaner. This however does not stop him from being one of the voices in the documentary-series “A history of Britain”, where can be heard in 2 episodes: “Nations” and “King Death”. Next is the ITV-series Metropolis, based on a group of twenty-somethings from Leeds living in London, Rhys plays a law graduate who becomes a dope-smoking drop-out. He is vile to his girlfriends but there is a kind of sexual provocation to his insults and he is rewarded for his lack of charm. Rhys describes his character “Matthew” as "...the angry young man of our generation. I understand why he's like that. He went to university and was really bright. But since he left, he's not found his feet and has ended up watching daytime TV and smoking dope. He's angry which can manifest itself in malice. He's got a significant amount of growing up to do. When Charlotte says she's had enough of him, he has to realise that he has to get his life in order. I like a lot about him. He's bright, doesn't suffer fools gladly and is very perceptive about people and situations. It's why I liked the part. All the characters are human. They're not beautiful twenty-somethings having a great time in London. They've got problems. It's quite gritty. To act with a group of actors my own age, like Louise Lombard, Kris Marshall, Emily Bruni, Jason Barry and James Purefoy was just fantastic. You very rarely get to do that as an actor. Normally you're one of the youngest people on the set, but to act in a group was great, and with some really interesting storylines." He is himself seen stripping off in a scene. “I spend a lot of time watching daytime TV and occasionally having sex with my girlfriend. It's great. Well, in that particular scene it is her birthday . . . that and a cake, what more could a girl want?" Not to forget that memorable scene where he made cooing noises like a pigeon while having sex with his girlfriend. But that is a scene Matthew does not want to be reminded about. “ I did not want to do that, but ultimately it’s up the director. You don’t want to compromise your own performance. I was just worried that people would laugh.” Then comes his first leading role in Sorted, a contemporary thriller set in the London club scene. Rhys plays northerner Carl who arrives in London after his brother, a successful lawyer who lived in the city, is killed in an accident. He teams up with his brother's girlfriend Sunny and together they try to unravel the mystery surrounding his death. Raving with such conviction took ‘’intense research” he jokes, but than he continues: “Actually I don’t really take drugs. And I feel like a pensioner when I go to clubs in Cardiff.” It also stars Sienna Guillory, Tim Curry and Jason Donovan. And some interesting scenes about rave parties. He also plays smaller roles like that of Jonathan in the movie “The -*test*-('")imony of Talisien Jones” a film about a dysfunctional single-parent family in which he played the elder son. Angry about his mother walking out on him, seeing his father bitter about the divorce and his younger brother discovery of God is a bit too much for Jonathan to handle.

3/5
And then, he’s the leading man again, in a movie called Peaches, this time. "In Peaches I play a cocky, confident, almost arrogant man who believes he has a God given talent for women but never quite pulls it off. I think Peaches gives a different take on the boys culture, it really is different - it doesn't rely on any conventional plot work or anything like that. That's what attracted me to the script initially. To fund a picture like that is very difficult because, you know, you try and pitch it and they say 'well, what happens?' and you're like 'well...nothing much.' The film itself relies on the dialogue, so to finance a film like this was difficult, so it was done for a very low budget, but that's why the actors did it, because it was a great script. It's a great challenge for a new actor, this sort of script." In Peaches, Rhys manages to capture the character of Frank, a bit lazy, a bit ignorant at times and with the usual issues of fear of taking responsibility, settle down and get a job. It takes some time before it dawns on him that he is now a grown-up, and that he should start behaving like one. Does he feel a certain affinity with that character? "Yes, definitely, and I certainly know a few Franks, or certain elements of Frank in a lot of people. Another reason I liked the script was its very strong grasp of boys at that age, and the certain insecurities that come with leaving college, or looking for jobs and women, and the bravado that comes with it. There were bits to Frank I could relate to. I always try to empathise with the character. If you resent them, then you judge them, and you shouldn't do that as an actor. There were a lot of things about him that made sense. He is at a crossroads in his life, where he's deciding it's time to take a step into the real world and same with girls, he can't commit to a cup of coffee let alone a girlfriend. I think the observations about boys are quite accurate and it doesn't enter the vein of lad culture, and I like the fact that it's not loaded territory, not ironic. It's a look at a stage we can all empathise with. In all honesty, I think Frank in Peaches was my most demanding role to date, because although I found much in him that I could identify with and I understood his character, I didn't really feel close to him and the kind of person he was. The accent I found was very distancing and doing a cockney was difficult. So it was hard maintaining Frank, being an exhibitionist at times but ultimately quite scared. I think men do talk a lot about sex, there's an enormous insecurity about women that follows men. Well, men of a certain age anyway. You haven't quite ... you're not that comfortable in front of your friends and you're not that comfortable with yourself, so there's a lot of bravado. For men in their 20s, growing up is a huge deal. It’s made harder by the fact that women seem to have reached the age of maturity shortly after leaving primary school. I don’t think we ever catch up with the opposite sex. I don't think Peaches is going to set the world's box-offices alight, but it's great that small films like this are being made. Having the opportunity to work outside the studio system is important. Whether you can beat Hollywood at their own game is another matter entirely. As I said, Peaches isn't the sort of film that's going to turn into this year's Full Monty or whatever, but I think its heart is in the right place. Nick Grosso, who adapted it from his own hit play, has captured a certain kind of cultural clique wonderfully, and if even half of the charm he managed to put into those words makes it up there onto the screen, then you've got a film worth seeing." But while he enjoyed it, the shoot took its toll. "I think everyone involved in it would use the word 'enjoy' loosely; it was an extremely difficult shoot. We gave ourselves 24 days, which is a ludicrously short time to do a feature film. We were proud to finish the first week, let alone the whole film. It was a difficult film to make and we set ourselves a difficult task because it's dialogue-driven, so you can’t rely on gimmicks or car chases. It really was a team effort...the crew worked for nothing. That same year he can also be seen in Shooters. Star actors in this are Adrian Dunbar and Gerard Butler, as two criminals trying once more and than everything goes wrong. It is a rather violent, harsh movie. Matthew can only be seen in the first 5 minutes of the film and plays the part of Eddie, a young gun-dealer. This movie would also have a small guest role for Ioan Gruffudd as Freddy Guns. They however don’t share the screen together. The movie would not be released until 2002. Trivia 2001: Talking about gruelling auditions: "Some people deal with rejection very well. It took me time to harden myself. At first you don't cope with rejection, it hurts. You're only out of drama college a few months and you want to give it up. But I found 'resting' a terrifying experience, too. The lull didn't last very long but at the time it was so scary. I'd never known an insecurity like that. All your life you've been told what to do, you've been in a structure where you know what's going to happen. Then, all of a sudden, you don't." Cute quote: Give your best tip for overcoming depression. “Well, it only really works for me, but I get on a train and go back to Wales.” The start of 2001 took Matthew to New Zealand to shoot the adventure-movie, The Lost World for the BBC. He starred alongside Bob Hoskins, James Fox, Tom Ward and Elaine Cassidy in an adventure recreating Conan Doyle’s tale of British explorers searching for an undiscovered plateau that avoided evolving and is inhabited by prehistoric beasts. The Lost World is Walking With Dinosaurs meets period drama.. As the hapless journalist/explorer Edward Malone, who joins the explorers only in an attempt to impress his girl-friend, Gladys, Rhys mostly fancied the part because it involved heroics and action. "I'm a sucker for any Boy's Own adventure stuff. I'm an action tart." It would take a lot of Matthew’s acting capacities and concentration, as he had to deal with imagining where the dinosaurs are, because they would only be put in the movie later by use of CGI. It was like being a child again. “As far as acting goes, you’re basically reacting to something that isn’t there at all. It’s left to your imagination. You picture something that frightens you.” Because he’s the journalist who writes the story down, his voice is also heard as the narrator. The fact that the cast were shipped out to New Zealand to film was a bonus. "It's God's own country," he says before adding: "after Wales." He also stars in Tabloid, in which he plays the host of a sleazy television show. A satire on celebrity television. Rhys stars as Darren Daniels, a charismatic but deeply insincere talk show host (Jerry Springer kind of guy) who seeks to out the darkest secrets of his celebrity guests. But then it’s pay back time and suddenly Darren finds himself with some skeletons in his own closet. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio plays the TV producer, ex-lover to Daniel, who drives him on to further excesses, and the cast also features John Hurt, David Soul and Stephen Tompkinson. "It's a pretty funny but insightful film really. You only have to look at how violent and intrusive TV has now become to see that a film like this is somewhat timely too. Why these people allow themselves to be ripped apart on TV just baffles me. Maybe just for the fame. Kinda like the pot calling the kettle black, I guess.” Contradiction in interviews: Asked if he, like Darren in Tabloid, had skeletons in his closet he replied: “Yes, but there is no way I’m telling you what they are.” But one of his answers was also: “No, I always tell people everything, so no secrets.” Finally, Ioan and Matthew get a chance to make appear in a movie together. They are offered the parts of Hob and Nob in ‘Very Annie Mary’, a film by the Welsh Sara Sugarman. The film, which was shot in Wales, is an uplifting account of a young woman, Annie Mary (Rachel Griffiths) and her dream to break free of her domineering father played by Jonathan Price, the local baker, a powerful figure known as "The Voice of the Valleys", a man revered for his singing. Unfortunately she’s forced to become a full-time nurse for her father after he suffers a stroke. She initially appears as a loser, catering to her father, but she has a mind of her own. Gradually we discover that she was offered a place at the Milan School of Opera, but she denied it to stay with her father. She is unable to sing anymore and the film charts her progress in rediscovering herself. Her best friends are Hob and Nob, a bitchy gay couple, who run the corner shop in the village of Ogw in the south Wales Valleys. Ioan and Matthew were offered the parts, although the director did not believe that they would actually take it, being both heart-throbs, and than playing a gay couple… But Ioan had just returned from filming Horatio Hornblower: Retribution and he and Matthew both liked the idea of doing something light-hearted together. “The first time I worked with Ioan, playing a gay couple together, it was mad and a lot of fun. A scream. We were given free range, so we took a bit of a risk and had fun with the characters. Which is also dangerous. Because we've got so much history maybe we were in danger of going over the top, I don't know. Maybe some people think we have. It was just like being at home messing about in the flat. We do have a few characters that we like to mess about with. These two established themselves on the tube ride, when we used go to college and back everyday, and we went from there. It was a gift really. I’m not at all worried about playing a gay couple with Ioan. In all honesty there have been the rumours, which we have heard, that we are gay in real life. What do you do? You laugh. Good luck. No, they are a light-hearted couple in the film. Even if we played a couple who the film centred around and it was a serious piece and they were lovers, if the work's good and we want to do it, we'll do it.” Trivia: When Ioan was asked what Matthews most annoying habit is, he replied: “I don't know what I can say. There isn't anything.” Matthew himself thinks his most unappealing habit is: Burping. Trivia: Ioan had this to say about Matthew: ”First and foremost he's my best friend in the whole world. He's always there, he always listens and we have good intuition. I'm very impressed by his patience and generosity with people and with strangers. I think his tolerance level is much higher than mine, say in a social environment when somebody is getting on your nerves, he's always the one to keep a lid on it, but I want to get away. He's probably my favourite actor. I think he's probably one of the best actors of our generation. He inspires me, professionally. I do not really envy Matthew or his career. We are both up for the same parts so often. Very often if one of us hasn't landed the part the other has. This time we had a chance to work together. Q&A OCT 2001 What is your grea-*test*-('") fear? Rats and failure. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? My constant self-criticism. What is the trait you most deplore in others? Arrogance and rudeness. Do you believe in capital punishment? Sometimes. For what cause would you die? My family. Have you ever said 'I love you' and not meant it? No. What would your motto be? Dyfal donc a dyr y garreg (keep hitting and the rock will break). How would you like to die? With a sword in my hand (as long as someone shouted 'Cut!'). Do you believe in life after death? Sometimes What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done? I was mugged by a pregnant woman on Kilburn High Road - she took GBP 20. Ioan has made it his story, which I don't think is really fair as it was actually me who was mugged. Not that I was aware, or anything - I was drunk at the time. What was the last conversation you had with a London cabbie?A Jewish cab driver was telling me about Jews who fled to Wales during the Second World War. He was very interesting, actually. When was the last time you broke the law? Seven months ago. I got off with a caution. I can't say why - but I did get all my clothes back. What's your favourite meal to cook at home? That's easy: pasta and tomato sauce. I've been cooking it for eight years. What last made you cry? I'm not a cryer, so I can't remember. Sorry, that sounds heartless. Where in London would you have your ashes scattered? The beginning of the M4 so they would hopefully make it back to Wales. If it all stopped tomorrow, what would you do? I don't know what the hell else I could do Slowly it became 2002 and by now Matthew considers giving up acting. Although HIS performance is usually highly regarded, the movies themselves fail one after the other in the eyes of the critics. . “Yes, in all honesty. This is the kind of profession where many do because of the insecurity that comes with it. There are moments which are pretty dark because you get a stinging review. For me, there's been no formula that has got me through that. Usually, it's advice from older actors that helps. You can't take it as personally as some reviews can be or it will get inside your head.” Trivia: In 2002, the worst review he can remember is that someone said that he walked like a chicken for Sorted Also in 2002, he finished shooting opposite Billy Elliot's Jamie Bell, in a first world war film called Deathwatch . “It’s loosely based on a story from World War I. This platoon on men gets separated from their troops after a night-attack. I play an inept doctor who panics a lot.” The movie is combination of a ghost-story, a horror movie and a war movie and features Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis and Laurence Fox. He returned to Cardiff to act as president of the day at the Urdd Eisteddfod.

And following this, he gets offered the part of Tiny in ‘The Associate’. Back to the theatre than. "It is a hell of a play. Two young fly-by-night decorators come to do up an old guy's house. A strange relationship evolves and things take a turn for the more sinister. It is a cruel play but done in an extremely comic way. I loved the play when I first read it and my part, Tiny, is a gift. This is the first time I will have toured with a play and I am very excited." 2002 also sees the premiere of Abduction Club co-starring Daniel Lapaine and Matthew has Sophia Myles as a love interest. Allthough usually the abduction by such clubs were quite violent, (abductions would take place and rape would follow quickly after. A lot of abductors were hanged for it.) the film itself is a romantic comedy. About this character Strang Matthew said: "That was an incredibly fun movie to make. Running around on horses, giving it loads of swashbuckling with the old swords. We had a great time making that movie - when it wasn't pouring rain, that is. We'd do a short scene, then the skies would suddenly open up, and we'd all be huddled under a tree for the next hour or so waiting for the next dry spell. And I thought Wales got a lot of rain..." Matthew was no exception either when he found himself volunteering to do a death-defying jump from a cliff. “There's one scene where my character has to jump off a cliff into the sea, I really wanted to do that jump myself because the director would brief us and tell us to make it active and exciting. I remember looking up at the cliff and thinking, 'I don't know what the problem with this insurance thing is, I can do the jump', but it was a different story when I stood on the edge, I thought 'No way'. When I saw our stunt guy jump from the cliff, I realised I got the better deal. We stuck with a recurring theme, which was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, with me as Sundance. Not that I like to compare myself to Redford, but in character terms, he's the quieter of the two. He would rather punch people than talk - a man of action. He's one of those characters that I grew up loving. I was a sucker for McQueen, Eastwood and all those boys. For me, it's a return to boyhood fantasies. When you're young, you always want to gallop around on horses, shoot guns, have sword-fights and get the girl. I used to pretend to gallop in my garden. I mimed and acted out everything!” Asked if he would marry a woman for her money: (cheekily grinning) “If she had an extensive luxury car collection, than absolutely.” But then continues more seriously, “Not really. I like equality.” And does he have women cashing in on his fame? “No! When you say ‘I’m an actor’ they think you’re either unemployed or living off their tax…. Saying you’re a fireman is best.” Trivia: He would like to kidnap Catherine Zeta Jones, but he fears Michael Douglas might not approve. Trivia: from an interview with Alice Evans, one of Matthews co-stars in Abduction Club and in 2002 Ioan Gruffudd’s girlfriend: “Is it true that Ioan sleeps with his Hornblower sword next to his bed? Yes - it's a really smart sword, but very heavy. It's tucked into a little niche by the bed. Hornblower is very important to Ioan - he says it's grounding to have it there. It's also for self-defence of course, although it's not very sharp. There was one time when his flat-mate, Matthew Rhys, came home when he was meant to be in Wales. Ioan thought he was a burglar. He was hiding behind the door, waiting to attack him with his sword, and scared the shit out of Matthew. “ And Ioan’s take on it was he was in his room, not wearing anything and suddenly he heard this crash, he went downstairs and grabbed his Hornblower sword and went to clobber the 'burglar' on the head with the sword but realised at the last moment it was Matthew. No matter how the story is told. Matthew must have been terrified! :cool: In October 2002 he and Ioan Gruffudd headed a guest list at a charity ball to help people with spinal injuries. The charity, called Trust PA, was being launched at a gala ball in Cardiff in memory of a young rugby player who was paralysed in a rugby match and later died. Paul Andre Blundell - known as PA - was a former Wales rugby player who died in January five months after suffering spinal injuries while playing in a rugby game. He was 26, had been playing for Keynsham RFC at a match against Maidenhead RFC in September 2001 when the accident happened. It was the first league game he had played in following a badly broken leg which had kept him out of the game since the previous year. He was a personal friend of Matthew’s. Matthew Rhys had known PA since the age of five when they met in primary school. He had spoken of the great shock he felt seeing his friend, who was a sports fanatic and very fit according to the actor, left paralysed by his injuries. He had been making good progress, and was very positive about the future according to his family. But he died very suddenly five months to the day after his injury from a pulmonary embolism (blood clot) which killed him instantly. Both, Matthew and Ioan, agreed to be official patrons of the trust. Matthew would in an 2000 interview tell about Paul Andre that when he was 13, he and PA raided his (PA’s) parents drinking cabinet of vodka. “Needless to say, it got very messy and we got very ill. We tried using yoghurt to settle our stomachs and stop us feeling sick. Funnily enough, it didn’t work. It was just horrible, really horrible. "When you throw money into a charity box you never really think about it" said Rhys "but I saw the treatment that Paul had to undergo and the pain he was in, so you can understand why people get involved with charity work" At the same time he lends his voice to the character of Lleu Llaw Gyffes in Y Mabinogi. Based on the legendary Welsh folk story Mabinogi. It's Lleu's 18th birthday and he and his friend Rhiannon and younger brother Dan put aside their teenage troubles to take a celebratory boat trip along the coast. That's when they discover the magical portal beneath the waves which leads them back to a legendary time, the time of Mabinogi... The Mabinogen are medieval Welsh legends about brotherhood, adolescence, conflicts, resolutions, acts of brutal violence and magic. The original tales break down into four specific "branches" or "strands" and the inter-woven narrative makes it ferociously difficult to translate them into one story. The film toured around the country on a limited run between November 2002 and February 2003 and received mixed reviews. In December 2002 he teams up with Rhys Ifans and Ioan Gruffudd to lend his voice to a one-off Christmas Eve show from animation powerhouse S4C. Made by US animators Rainbow Studios, Donner follows the plight of one of Santa's reindeer as he battles to overcome his unlikely fear of flying. His fleet of reindeer is gathered in an army boot camp where strict sergeant major Blitzen (Ifans) looks to prepare them for their big night. But all does not go according to plan when Skeezer (Rhys), a mischievous elf cast aside for his naughty antics, causes havoc for poor Donner (Gruffudd). "Skeezer's a real wide boy of a character. He's there to cause trouble for Donner and I've tried to convey his personality and character in the voice. As an actor I find voicing animated characters quite a challenge. It's very technical and timing is imperative, but I also find it very enjoyable." Atsain producer Pat Griffiths said: "I'm delighted that Matthew, Ioan and Rhys were available to return to Wales to take part in this production. Their contribution gives added value to Donner as an animation for both children and adults." Just prior to that Matthew joined singer Cerys Matthews, Ioan Gruffudd, Velvet Underground founder member John Cale, actress Siân Phillips, Rhys Ifans and Nia Roberts for Dal: Yma/Nawr: a film about the diversity of the Welsh literary, musical and poetic offerings. The title translates as "Still Here Now" and it is a 73-minute documentary style film that has been filmed in a number of formats - film, video, using computer graphics - to try and add a visual depth to match the range of works. The film, commissioned by the Welsh-language broadcaster S4C took seven months to complete and was most shot in Wales, although other locations include London, New York, Los Angeles and Nashville. In 2003 he gets his chance in Los Angeles, playing in one episode of Columbo. Columbo Likes the nightlife starring Peter Falk, with who he worked in ‘The lost world, and Jennifer Sky, Julius Carry, Douglas Roberts, Carmine Giovinazzo and Steven R. Schirripa. Story: When a tabloid reporter with more than a few enemies turns up dead in an apparent suicide, Lt. Columbo gets suspicious, especially when he finds the reporter was blackmailing Justin Price (Rhys) , a rave promoter who's about to open a big-time club, and Vanessa Farrow (Sky), an up-and-coming young actress. Things get even more complicated when someone else goes missing: Tony Galper, the man who was bankrolling Justin's club, who just happens to be the son of a notorious mobster … and Vanessa's ex-husband. He also appears as Jimmy McDevitt in straight to dvd movie “Partners and crime” (aka Violent Crime) with Jennifer Esposito. And in episode 5 of the ITV series POW, about a POW camp during World War 2, where he plays Alfie Harris, a British spy searched by the SS for the information he has. Filmed in Lithuania, one of Matthews main concerns was whether he would get on with the other members of the cast, who had been already established there for several months of filming. However, he needn’t have worried. "…, in all honesty, as a newcomer coming into a series, but they really couldn’t have been a more welcoming bunch of guys. The location was incredibly authentic, although you can’t for a second imagine the horrors that the real POWs faced during the war in Germany.” Matthew and the rest of the crew also enjoyed the nightlife of the capital Vilnius, as not only were there plenty of bars, but the beer was very cheap! In October 2003 Matthew plays in Under Milk Wood co-starring Lisa Palfrey and Nia Roberts, This to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the writer's death. Under Milk Wood was premiered at the Poetry Centre in New York on 14 May 1953, Thomas played the part of First Voice. There were 14 curtain calls before Thomas stepped out alone for the final round of applause, and he was said to have tears on his cheeks. Dylan, aged 39, died six months later in a New York hospital after a drinking binge. The play was originally written for the radio and was first broadcast weeks after Thomas' death in 1953. Richard Burton played the narrator, or First Voice, and set the example. Matthew Rhys, feels that Burton casts a long shadow. "It's always slightly intimidating that you're recreating a part that has been set in stone by Richard Burton and people remember the part because of him.” Following in the footsteps of screen legend Richard Burton, Matthew Rhys plays the role of First Voice. Matthew is a fan of Dylan Thomas' work because "his imagination is wonderful and he's such a wordsmith, and those two things combined make for something like Under Milk Wood. "I'm very proud of the fact that this has become a timeless piece and people still want to come and see it 50 years on from his death.” Under Milk Wood clings a bit to him that year as he’s also featured in a 50th anniversary BBC4 production of the play which used original recordings of screen legend Richard Burton. , with newly recorded voices of not only Matthew but also Sian Phillips, Glyn Houston, John Humphrys, & other Welsh stars. Rhys said, " They played Richard Burton's voice, then we joined in. To be in a play with that voice is very exciting. It was quite bizarre, but I have to say I was happy to be on the same cast list as him! I play the part of Mog Edards, who is, as he says himself, 'a draper mad with love'. He's in love with Myfanwy Price and they have this quite intense relationship by post. They never seen to get it together, so there's a lot of unrequited passion. We were given the cast list on the first day and you look at it and it reads 'Voice Number 1: Richard Burton' and then you look down and there's your own name on the same cast list. It was fantastic to say 'Look Mam, I've worked with Richard Burton'. That was quite a proud day - playing opposite Burton.”The CD is called ‘A season of Dylan Thomas’ and aside from the new version of Under Milk Wood, with the voices of Richard Burton and Matthew, Matthew can also be heard reading ‘A story’ from Dylan Thomas’ book ‘Portrait of the artist as a Young Dog’. At the same time Matthew and Ioan revealed that their 10 years of flat-sharing would soon come to an end. Rhys said his friendship with Gruffudd was still as strong as ever, having shared a home for longer than many couples remained married. “The reality is we don't see much of each other because of work. We've lived together for 10 years, but Ioan has a serious girlfriend now so I don't know how much longer it will last." He denied there had been any tension between the two. "There are no issues between us whatsoever. If there were we wouldn't still be living with each other." Trivia: Matthew gets annoyed at directors who disliked his Welsh accent. "Most people are accepting of my accent, but occasionally directors have said, 'Do you mind not using it?' And you go 'Why? Why can't he be Welsh?' I'm intensely proud of my Welshness and, although there are times when you want to -*test*-('") yourself and use other accents, if the accent isn't important then why shouldn't you use the Welsh one? There have been occasions that, just to be stubborn, I'll say 'Well why not?' and use it." He also had the leading role in a movie called “Fakers” in which he plays Nick Edward, who owes an amount of 50.000 pounds to a crime-lord (Art Malik) and he believes he’s a dead man, because he is unable to pay the amount back. In an attempt to win over the heart of Eve (Kate Ashfield), he gives her brother Tony (Tom Chambers), a sketch-artist who copies other people’s works an box with sketch material. As it turns out, the box belonged to Antonio Fraccini, and it contains a ‘lost’ sketch of the artist. But it’s not worth more than 15.000. Nick talks Tony into forging the drawing and he and Eve set up a plan. To sell the drawing to five Art Galleries in the same district, within 1 hour. And to try to get away with it… From April to October 2004 he is in the play Romeo and Juliet, playing the part of Romeo. “Initially, when I heard I'd got the part I was a bit daunted! I suppose joining the RSC is a bit like playing football in the Premiere League. The Company has a phenomenal reputation. An amazing role call of actors has worked here and you can't help but wonder if you can ever match up. I had to keep pinching myself at first but thankfully, as soon as I started rehearsals, I felt at home. It's a very actor-friendly environment: everything is designed to enable the actor to give the best performance they can. It's been an amazing opportunity to refresh skills I learned at drama school. I loved working on the fights in rehearsal - it was the highlight of my week. I've worked with Terry King before: he taught me at RADA. That was my highlight of college life, getting my certification in stage combat. Playing the part of Romeo, which is well known, does fill me with dread! I'm not exactly sure how old Romeo is - 16 or so I suppose. Some of my friends have given me grief saying "You're a bit old, aren't you??" - I suppose I am. Youthful energy is needed and if you see how young Romeo is, how vulnerable, you can forgive his inconsistencies. It's not pity I want an audience to feel but I want them to see that there are situations he can't control. I want his predicament to be real. In rehearsal I did play around with ways of making him more boyish. I tried to make my voice lighter, higher, but I ended up losing it, so I use my own range and a neutralised version of my own accent. So many productions have set the action in different places and periods, but this isn't a modern production - we are wearing tights, so I suppose this so-called "traditional production" is in fact almost subversive! I have to admit I did resist the idea of wearing tights for a while. My friends had a field day when they heard about my costume.” Early 2005 Matthew is back on the stage, this time for the part of Edmund in “King Lear” at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford. Corin Redgrave stars as King Lear, Edgar is played by Pal Aron, As Edmund he schemes his way through the play, causing trouble for Edgar, going after Goneril and Regan. Allthough he dies trying to save Cordelia, his death is unmourned. “When I first read the play, I thought Edmund was evil through-and-through. But then I re-read that short speech of Gloucester’s at the beginning (when he’s talking about his illegitimate son) and I was appalled. Gloucester tells Kent, ‘the whoreson must be acknowledged … He hath been out nine years, and away he shall again.’ Should Gloucester be telling anyone ‘there was good sport at his making’? I felt sorry for Edmund because he’s had such a raw deal. So to my way of thinking, he’s not evil at all, just hard done-by, feeling rejected he asks why he is branded with the word ‘bastard’. Edgar, his half-brother, is only 12 or 14 months older than him. They have the same father and yet he is deemed to be vile and despicable simply because he was born out of wedlock. I think his argument is completely justified and so my starting point was to think whatever action he takes is justifiable. I suppose I’m applying what might be termed modern psychology to the role when, in any given situation, I’m asking how I personally would react. For example, Gloucester says he loves both his sons equally and yet Edgar will inherit the land. Gloucester doesn’t say that Edgar will inherit because he’s the elder son, he says it’s because he’s the legitimate one. For me, that thought quickly gives rise to anger. The wheel comes full circle though because, when Edgar kills him, it’s he, the wronged brother, who is the avenging angel.”

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In May 2005 Matthew , read a fairy-tale for a CD produced by a group of teenagers at Blackwood Comprehensive School to help raise funds for the Noah's Ark Appeal. A quarter of the profits made from the CD would go to the fundraising efforts for the Children's Hospital for Wales. Several traditional fairy tales including Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast were read by Matthew but also Brian Hibbard (actor and he was in the band the Flying Pickets), TV-presenter Sarra Elgan, Pobol Y Cwm actor Llinor ap Gwynedd and Boyd Clack, who starred in the BBC Wales comedy Satellite City. Called Tiny Tales with Big Names, the double CD features stories narrated by the stars in Welsh and English and is aimed at children aged between four and five. The five celebrities did the reading for free. In 2006 he's films Virgin Territory, about a set of young Florentines regaling one another in the Italian countryside while the black plague decimates their city. He co-stars with Hayden Christensen, The OC's Mischa Barton and Tim Roth in the movie, which will be released in 2007. Matthew plays the part of Count Dzerzhinsky In October 2005 Matthew is mentioned as starring opposite Brittany Murphy and Gwyneth Paltrow as one of the actors in Love and Other Disasters, a comedy romance about an American intern working at UK's Vogue magazine who tries to help her friends find love. Also starring in the flick are Stephanie Beacham, Orlando Bloom, Gwyneth Paltrow Dawn French and Catherine Tate. Matthew plays a gay man, Peter, with a dysfunctional love life and a role where he can actually speak in his Welsh accent. Returning to America, late for pilot season, he gets ask to audition for the part of Kevin Walker in the new series called “Brothers & Sisters”, predicted to be a flop and a miss, the series is a huge success and gives Matthew recognition amongst the American audience. He is to play the part of Kevin Walker, son and brother, lawyer, and gay. He was asked after Jonathan LaPaglia's, the original Kevin, left. “It was all a matter of beautiful timing. When I did come over, they were recasting. I'm very lucky, really. “ He works opposite actresses like Sally Field, Callista Flockhart. And teams up with Rachel Griffiths from Very Annie-Mary. In it’s first season it already wins the AfterElton.com Visibility Award and an Emmy Award. He is surprised by the impact that his character, gay lawyer Kevin Walker, has on the American audience, feeling there should be a higher degree of exposure for gay characters. “I was a little shocked at the reaction of the press at the beginning. A lot of the questions were, you know, “Was it a problem for you to play gay roles?” Or “Were you concerned about getting typecast?” You know, I was a little confused as to why I was getting... I thought we'd passed those times, really. …” Matthew gets asked a lot of questions and is required to share some opinions On what Kevin and Matthew have in common: “I think the writers were careful. They didn't want to give him specifically gay problems. And commitment-phobia, you know is a human and universal flaw. So I was happy about that character trait. There are elements of that aspect of Kevin that I can relate to. Especially in your 20s. In your 30s, things do change. I like the fact that they've gone for another universal theme in that you don't necessarily fall for those people who are right for you, or you don't choose the people you fall for. And with that comes conflict, obviously, then drama, which makes it all the more entertaining to see. … On kissing another man: “Kissing a man, I don't think it's ever really problematic. I just think if you're fortunate enough to be confident and secure in yourself, and you know it's a role you play, I don't see where the problem lies, really. Actually, my first theater job was a gay part with a lot of kissing it in it. So, I wouldn't say it was a hurdle really, but I got over that really early on. You realize there's nothing to it. I've played gay roles before and it's not awkward at all. The amount of women on set that love coming to watch it is surprising, though. And dear Jason Lewis. It was his first male kiss and just before...I said to him: "I'm going to tell you what you had for lunch.' THAT relaxed him." Ken Olin, producer, joked of Rhys' gay kissing scenes: "It just gives me such great joy to see Matthew who has to kiss a straight actor for the first time. He's like a black widow spider." On suppressing his Welsh accent: "I still have to put the hours in on the accent. It still manages to flip me and throw me. But we get a dialect coach that puts all our words down on a CD for us, so I'm continually working on it. It's the rhythm and the cadence and the intonation rather than the actual sound that is always tripping me up. And the emphasis on all the wrong words that make you stick out sometimes. On gay marriage? “You know, I don't see it as a problem. Nor should it be an issue, really.” On ‘home’: “I've pretty much relocated to LA, though I still call Wales “home.” On working out? "Oh my God. The first time Jason Lewis took his top off, I ran to the gym. You can bring in your washing and do it on his abdominals. But I come from a British sensibility, where we actually like to make the audience feel better about themselves, so we don't work out very much." (Laughing) Trivia: Ioan Gruffudd and Matthew are still close. And during an interview Ioan gives for the promotion of Amazing Grace, a journalist asks Ioan about Matthew and Ioan turned into a playful mood when he discusses Rhys' success in hit US television drama Brothers & Sisters and on his playing a gay lawyer. 'He says he modelled his gay walk on my walk,' he jokes. But after filming the first season on Brothers & Sisters has finished Matthew returns to Wales to play the part of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas with Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Cillian Murphy. Although the title has changed several time, it now seems to stay with The Edge of Love. He is conscious that his portrayal will, yet again, have to compete with the public's image of Thomas. The movie focuses on a well-documented incident in New Quay in 1945, Cardigan Bay, when Dylan was shot by the husband (Murphy) of an old school friend (Knightly) . Following an argument in the town's Black Lion pub, Killick was accused of firing a machine gun at Thomas' home in New Quay, but he was cleared when the matter went to court. Rhys said he thought it was "surprising" how few people knew about the incident. "It was a major part of Thomas' life and it has not been that well reported," he said. Besides that, Matthew has chosen to imitate the legendary figure's real dialect. He says: "Everyone has their own take and their own idea on the image of Dylan Thomas. It slightly reminds me of the feeling I had when I said I was going to be appearing in The Graduate. Before it opened people would say, 'Are you playing the Dustin Hoffman part?' They had this immediate image of who he was, and it's the same with Dylan. Everyone's saying, 'Oh, are you are going to be really fat?' And then there's the voice. He had quite a distinct, posh, plummy voice that a lot of people won't know about that is the voice I'll be speaking in. It's like Capote when Phillip Seymour Hoffman made the decision about his voice, it is quite a brave voice and you have to stick with it and engage an audience with it. People have to believe it.” He said that Thomas' daughter, Aeronwy, had advised him not to try and impersonate the poet but rather to capture his "spirit or essence". Matthew has admitted he feels "terrified" portraying Dylan Thomas in this la-*test*-('") film. “To play Dylan is a dream come true. I came on board about a month ago. Keira Knightley's mother wrote the film and I'm bricking myself that I'm going to play Dylan. Dylan has never been committed to a film before and you're dealing with one of the ultimate Welsh icons so I'm going to be nervous. We're not doing his life story, we're just focusing on a period in his life. It's very interesting in the parts where they've handled his poetry and I think they've really done well to humanise him.” I don't think nervous actually quite qualifies the way I feel - terrified is a more accurate description. I was enormously nervous and worried about taking on the mantle of one of Wales' grea-*test*-('") sons," he added. However, Rhys said his colleagues made his job easier. "I'm happy about how passionate they are about the script and story. We all share the same enthusiasm for the amazing story," he said. Many locals have signed up to play extras in the film which will also be shot in the boat house in Laugharne where Thomas did much of his writing. It is believed The Edge of Love will be released in spring 2008. Trivia: Another actor going for the part was Ioan Gruffudd, but Matthew got the part in the end. After filming ended on “The edge of Love” Matthew returned to Los Angeles for the filming of the second season of “Brothers and Sisters” On September 14th, 2007, Matthew was the Ioan Gruffudd’s best man at his wedding to Alice Evans. This is the story so far…… Thanks: To Matthew Rhys for being a great actor. :cool: All the journalists who made all the interviews. :cool: And thanks to those ‘survivors’ of IoanOnLine, who are now on forumer.com" target="_blank">http://ioanzone.19.forumer.com for rebooting their dusty memory-banks about some Matthew/Ioan data that I needed to see confirmed. :wink:

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