Rufus Sewell
Encyclopedia
Rufus Frederik Sewell is an English actor. In film, he has appeared in The Woodlanders
, Dangerous Beauty
, Dark City, A Knight's Tale
, The Illusionist, Tristan and Isolde, and Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence
. On television, he starred in the 2010 mini-series The Pillars of the Earth
. Earlier he played the hero, Will Ladislaw, in the BBC
adaptation of George Eliot
's Middlemarch
. In 2003, he appeared in the lead role in Charles II: The Power and The Passion
. He starred in the CBS
drama Eleventh Hour
which was cancelled in April 2009. On stage, he originated the role of Septimus Hodge in Tom Stoppard
's Arcadia
and the role of Jan in Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll
, which earned him an Olivier Award
and a Tony Award
nomination for the latter performance.
in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
in South West London
, the son of William, an Australian animator, and Jo Sewell, a Welsh artist and waitress. His father worked on the "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
" segment of animation for The Beatles
' Yellow Submarine film. His parents divorced when Sewell was five and his mother worked to support her two sons. His father died when Sewell was 10. By his own admission, Sewell was a difficult teenager.
, a state comprehensive school in Twickenham, which he left in 1984, followed by West Thames College
, where a drama teacher sent him to audition for drama school. He later enrolled at the Central School of Speech and Drama
in London.
who had directed him in a play while at the Central School of Speech and Drama. His breakthrough year was in 1993, in which he starred in the BBC
serial of George Eliot
's Middlemarch
and on stage in Tom Stoppard's play Arcadia
at The Royal National Theatre
(Lyttelton). His film work includes 1995's Cold Comfort Farm, directed by John Schlesinger
, the lead role of John Murdoch in the science fiction film Dark City in 1998, Amazing Grace
, The Illusionist and Nancy Meyers
' romantic comedy The Holiday
. Amazing Grace deals with William Wilberforce
's political fight to abolish slavery in Britain, with Sewell playing Wilberforce's co-campaigner Thomas Clarkson
. Sewell is known for his villainous roles, such as those in A Knight's Tale, The Legend of Zorro
, Bless the Child
, Helen of Troy
and The Illusionist. He spoke of his unhappiness about this, saying that "[I] don't want to play a baddie again." "Everyone has their thing they have to get around", notes Sewell. "With me, it's like okay, how can I make this upper class bad guy in the 19th century different and interesting?"
In 2008 Sewell appeared in the HBO miniseries John Adams
as Alexander Hamilton
.
He received critical praise for his portrayal of "merry monarch" Charles II
in the BBC's Charles II: The Power and The Passion
. The series' cast included Ian McDiarmid
, Helen McCrory
, Rupert Graves
and Shirley Henderson
and spanned the life of the king from his last days in exile to his death. He co-starred in the controversial film Downloading Nancy
, which hit screens on 5 June 2009. It faced a rocky road to movie theatres. At the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, audiences walked out of the screening, and as of summer 2008, any theatrical release was still uncertain. Despite the controversy, Sewell continues to staunchly support the film. "It's a film I'm very proud of, whether you consider that it fails or succeeds, whether you like it or don't like it. I'm proud to be in it."
Although best known for his work in costume dramas, Sewell prefers "cravat
-less" roles in modern pieces, such as the role of Petruchio
in the BBC's 2005 version of Shakespeare
's The Taming of the Shrew
. This was shown as part of the ShakespeaRe-Told
season, and the role earned him a Best Actor nomination at the 2006 BAFTA Television Awards
. In this modern retelling of the story, the action moves from 17th Century Padua, Italy to 21st Century London. This production marked the fourth time that Sewell had acted in a work based on a Shakespeare play since becoming a professional actor: he previously portrayed Hotspur in Henry IV, Part 1
in 1995, Fortinbras
in Hamlet
in 1996 and the title role in Macbeth
in 1999. The role also reunited him with his Charles II co-star Shirley Henderson.
He appeared in the premiere and first run of Tom Stoppard's latest play Rock 'n' Roll
at the Royal Court Theatre
from June to July 2006 and at the Duke of York's Theatre
from July until November 2006. The play was a critical and commercial success, playing to full houses and collecting several awards and nominations, including wins for Sewell in the Best Actor category at The Evening Standard Awards, The Critics' Circle Awards and The Olivier Awards.
He has recorded eleven of Ian Fleming
's James Bond
books on 36 CDs for Collins. He continues to work in film, television and theatre, he played the lead role Dr Jacob Hood in the CBS TV series Eleventh Hour
. He finished filming in November 2009 for a miniseries The Pillars of the Earth
, which was shown on TV in 2010. In 2010, he played the Italian detective Aurelio Zen
, based on the bestselling novels by Michael Dibdin
for the BBC One drama series Zen. The three episodes were filmed in Rome and shown on BBC One
in early January 2011. The series was cancelled by the BBC after just one season. He also had a small part in the film The Tourist
, which also starred Angelina Jolie
and Johnny Depp
and was released in cinemas in 2010. In April 2011, it was announced that he will play the lead vampire, Adam, in the forthcoming film Vampire Hunter
, which is currently being filmed in New Orleans .
Sewell has said: "My favourite things are just wandering from place to place, going to cafés, taking photographs. My favourite day is a happy accident."
The Woodlanders
The Woodlanders is a novel by Thomas Hardy. It was published in 1887.-Plot summary:The story takes place in a small woodland village called Little Hintock, and concerns the efforts of an honest woodsman, Giles Winterborne, to marry his childhood sweetheart, Grace Melbury...
, Dangerous Beauty
Dangerous Beauty
Dangerous Beauty is a biographical drama film directed by Marshall Herskovitz. It is adapted from the non-fiction book The Honest Courtesan, by Margaret Rosenthal, , about the life of Veronica Franco , a courtesan in 16th century Venice.A stage musical version of the film premiered on July 25,...
, Dark City, A Knight's Tale
A Knight's Tale (film)
A Knight's Tale is a 2001 American action-adventure film directed, produced, and written by Brian Helgeland. The film stars Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer, and James Purefoy as Sir Thomas Colville/Edward, the Black Prince.The...
, The Illusionist, Tristan and Isolde, and Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence
Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence
Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence is a 1998 British romantic comedy directed by Nick Hamm...
. On television, he starred in the 2010 mini-series The Pillars of the Earth
The Pillars of the Earth
The Pillars of the Earth is a historical novel by Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. It is set in the middle of the 12th century, primarily during the Anarchy, between the time of the sinking of the White Ship and the...
. Earlier he played the hero, Will Ladislaw, in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
adaptation of George Eliot
George Eliot
Mary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era...
's Middlemarch
Middlemarch
Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life is a novel by George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Anne Evans, later Marian Evans. It is her seventh novel, begun in 1869 and then put aside during the final illness of Thornton Lewes, the son of her companion George Henry Lewes...
. In 2003, he appeared in the lead role in Charles II: The Power and The Passion
Charles II: The Power and The Passion
Charles II: The Power and the Passion is an award-winning British television mini-series, broadcast on BBC One in 2003, and produced by the BBC in association with the A&E Network in the United States...
. He starred in the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
drama Eleventh Hour
Eleventh Hour (U.S. TV series)
Eleventh Hour is an American science-based drama television series, which is based on the 2006 British series of the same name. The series originally ran on CBS from October 9, 2008 to April 2, 2009 and aired on Thursdays at 10 pm . The series was a joint venture between Jerry Bruckheimer...
which was cancelled in April 2009. On stage, he originated the role of Septimus Hodge in Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
's Arcadia
Arcadia (play)
Arcadia is a 1993 play by Tom Stoppard concerning the relationship between past and present and between order and disorder and the certainty of knowledge...
and the role of Jan in Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll
Rock 'n' Roll (play)
Rock 'n' Roll is a play by British playwright Tom Stoppard that premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2006.-Plot summary:The play is concerned with the significance of rock and roll in the emergence of the socialist movement in Eastern Bloc Czechoslovakia between the Prague Spring of...
, which earned him an Olivier Award
Laurence Olivier Awards
The Laurence Olivier Award is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Named after the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier, they are given for West End shows and other productions staged in London...
and a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nomination for the latter performance.
Early life
Sewell was born in TwickenhamTwickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a London borough in South West London, UK, which forms part of Outer London. It is unique because it is the only London borough situated both north and south of the River Thames.-Settlement:...
in South West London
South West (London sub region)
The South West is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of London Borough of , Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Merton, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton and Wandsworth. The sub region was established in 2008. The south west has a population of 1,600,000 and is the location...
, the son of William, an Australian animator, and Jo Sewell, a Welsh artist and waitress. His father worked on the "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, for The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...
" segment of animation for The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' Yellow Submarine film. His parents divorced when Sewell was five and his mother worked to support her two sons. His father died when Sewell was 10. By his own admission, Sewell was a difficult teenager.
Education
Sewell was educated at Orleans Park SchoolOrleans Park School
Orleans Park School is a mixed, state-run comprehensive secondary school located in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, 10 miles south-west of central London.Orleans Park teaches pupils in years 7–11 , with 8 tutor groups in each school year...
, a state comprehensive school in Twickenham, which he left in 1984, followed by West Thames College
West Thames College
West Thames College is a medium sized college of further and higher education. It has two campuses in the London Borough of Hounslow in Middlesex, England: a main campus in Isleworth and a smaller Skills Centre in Feltham...
, where a drama teacher sent him to audition for drama school. He later enrolled at the Central School of Speech and Drama
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...
in London.
Career
After graduating, Sewell was set up with an agent by Judi DenchJudi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
who had directed him in a play while at the Central School of Speech and Drama. His breakthrough year was in 1993, in which he starred in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
serial of George Eliot
George Eliot
Mary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era...
's Middlemarch
Middlemarch (1994 TV serial)
George Eliot's novel Middlemarch has been adapted for television twice. The most recent version in 1994 was directed by Anthony Page from a screenplay by Andrew Davies...
and on stage in Tom Stoppard's play Arcadia
Arcadia (play)
Arcadia is a 1993 play by Tom Stoppard concerning the relationship between past and present and between order and disorder and the certainty of knowledge...
at The Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
(Lyttelton). His film work includes 1995's Cold Comfort Farm, directed by John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
, the lead role of John Murdoch in the science fiction film Dark City in 1998, Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace (2006 film)
Amazing Grace is a 2006 U.S.–UK co-production film, directed by Michael Apted, about the campaign against slave trade in the British Empire, led by William Wilberforce, who was responsible for steering anti-slave trade legislation through the British parliament. The title is a reference to the hymn...
, The Illusionist and Nancy Meyers
Nancy Meyers
Nancy Jane Meyers is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. She is the writer, producer and director of several big-screen successes, including The Parent Trap , Something's Gotta Give , The Holiday , and It's Complicated...
' romantic comedy The Holiday
The Holiday
The Holiday is a 2006 American romantic comedy film written, produced and directed by Nancy Meyers. Distributed by Columbia Pictures and Universal Studios, it stars Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet as two lovelorn women from opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, who temporarily exchange homes to...
. Amazing Grace deals with William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
's political fight to abolish slavery in Britain, with Sewell playing Wilberforce's co-campaigner Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson , was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves...
. Sewell is known for his villainous roles, such as those in A Knight's Tale, The Legend of Zorro
The Legend of Zorro
The Legend of Zorro is a 2005 sequel to The Mask of Zorro , both directed by Martin Campbell. Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reprise their roles as the titular hero and his spouse, and Rufus Sewell stars as the villain...
, Bless the Child
Bless the Child
Bless the Child is a 2000 supernatural thriller film directed by Chuck Russell, starring Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits, Angela Bettis, Rufus Sewell, Christina Ricci, and Holliston Coleman...
, Helen of Troy
Helen of Troy (TV miniseries)
Helen of Troy is a 2003 television miniseries based upon Homer's story of the Trojan War, as recounted in the epic poem, Iliad. This TV miniseries also shares the name with a 1956 movie starring Stanley Baker...
and The Illusionist. He spoke of his unhappiness about this, saying that "[I] don't want to play a baddie again." "Everyone has their thing they have to get around", notes Sewell. "With me, it's like okay, how can I make this upper class bad guy in the 19th century different and interesting?"
In 2008 Sewell appeared in the HBO miniseries John Adams
John Adams (TV miniseries)
John Adams is a 2008 American television miniseries chronicling most of President John Adams's political life and his role in the founding of the United States. Paul Giamatti portrays John Adams. The miniseries was directed by Tom Hooper. Kirk Ellis wrote the screenplay based on the book John...
as Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
.
He received critical praise for his portrayal of "merry monarch" Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
in the BBC's Charles II: The Power and The Passion
Charles II: The Power and The Passion
Charles II: The Power and the Passion is an award-winning British television mini-series, broadcast on BBC One in 2003, and produced by the BBC in association with the A&E Network in the United States...
. The series' cast included Ian McDiarmid
Ian McDiarmid
Ian McDiarmid is a Scottish theatre actor and director, who has also made sporadic appearances on film and television.McDiarmid has had a successful career in theatre; he has been cast in many plays, while occasionally directing others and although he has appeared mostly in theatrical productions,...
, Helen McCrory
Helen McCrory
Helen Elizabeth McCrory is a British actress. She portrayed Cherie Blair in both the 2006 film The Queen and the 2010 film The Special Relationship. She also portrayed Narcissa Malfoy in the final three Harry Potter films....
, Rupert Graves
Rupert Graves
Rupert Graves is an English film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his role as DI Lestrade in the critically acclaimed television series Sherlock.-Early life:...
and Shirley Henderson
Shirley Henderson
Shirley Henderson is a Scottish actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire .-Early life:...
and spanned the life of the king from his last days in exile to his death. He co-starred in the controversial film Downloading Nancy
Downloading Nancy
Downloading Nancy is a 2008 drama film directed by Johan Renck, starring Maria Bello and Jason Patric. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize.-Plot:From the press release:...
, which hit screens on 5 June 2009. It faced a rocky road to movie theatres. At the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, audiences walked out of the screening, and as of summer 2008, any theatrical release was still uncertain. Despite the controversy, Sewell continues to staunchly support the film. "It's a film I'm very proud of, whether you consider that it fails or succeeds, whether you like it or don't like it. I'm proud to be in it."
Although best known for his work in costume dramas, Sewell prefers "cravat
Cravat
The cravat is a neckband, the forerunner of the modern tailored necktie and bow tie, originating from 17th-century Croatia.From the end of the 16th century, the term band applied to any long-strip neckcloth that was not a ruff...
-less" roles in modern pieces, such as the role of Petruchio
Petruchio
Petruchio is the male romantic lead in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew . Petruchio is a fortune seeker who enters into a marriage with a strong-willed young woman named Kate and then proceeds to "tame" her temperamental spirit...
in the BBC's 2005 version of Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
. This was shown as part of the ShakespeaRe-Told
ShakespeaRe-Told
ShakespeaRe-Told is the umbrella title for a series of four television adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays broadcast on BBC One during November 2005. In a similar manner to the 2003 production of The Canterbury Tales, each play is adapted by a different writer, and relocated to the present day...
season, and the role earned him a Best Actor nomination at the 2006 BAFTA Television Awards
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
. In this modern retelling of the story, the action moves from 17th Century Padua, Italy to 21st Century London. This production marked the fourth time that Sewell had acted in a work based on a Shakespeare play since becoming a professional actor: he previously portrayed Hotspur in Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
in 1995, Fortinbras
Fortinbras
Fortinbras is the name of two minor fictional characters from William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. The more notable is a Norwegian crown prince with a few brief scenes in the play, who delivers the final lines that represent a hopeful future for the monarchy of Denmark and its subjects...
in Hamlet
Hamlet (1996 film)
Hamlet is a 1996 film version of William Shakespeare's classic play of the same name, adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars in the title role as Prince Hamlet...
in 1996 and the title role in Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
in 1999. The role also reunited him with his Charles II co-star Shirley Henderson.
He appeared in the premiere and first run of Tom Stoppard's latest play Rock 'n' Roll
Rock 'n' Roll (play)
Rock 'n' Roll is a play by British playwright Tom Stoppard that premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2006.-Plot summary:The play is concerned with the significance of rock and roll in the emergence of the socialist movement in Eastern Bloc Czechoslovakia between the Prague Spring of...
at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
from June to July 2006 and at the Duke of York's Theatre
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
from July until November 2006. The play was a critical and commercial success, playing to full houses and collecting several awards and nominations, including wins for Sewell in the Best Actor category at The Evening Standard Awards, The Critics' Circle Awards and The Olivier Awards.
He has recorded eleven of Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
books on 36 CDs for Collins. He continues to work in film, television and theatre, he played the lead role Dr Jacob Hood in the CBS TV series Eleventh Hour
Eleventh Hour (U.S. TV series)
Eleventh Hour is an American science-based drama television series, which is based on the 2006 British series of the same name. The series originally ran on CBS from October 9, 2008 to April 2, 2009 and aired on Thursdays at 10 pm . The series was a joint venture between Jerry Bruckheimer...
. He finished filming in November 2009 for a miniseries The Pillars of the Earth
The Pillars of the Earth
The Pillars of the Earth is a historical novel by Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. It is set in the middle of the 12th century, primarily during the Anarchy, between the time of the sinking of the White Ship and the...
, which was shown on TV in 2010. In 2010, he played the Italian detective Aurelio Zen
Aurelio Zen
Aurelio Zen is a fictional Italian detective created by the British crime writer Michael Dibdin.-Series:The first of the stories Ratking, won the 'Gold Dagger' award of 1988. This series of detective novels provide a penetrating insight into the less visible aspects of Italian society over the last...
, based on the bestselling novels by Michael Dibdin
Michael Dibdin
Michael Dibdin , was a British crime writer.-Life:Dibdin was born in Wolverhampton, the son of a physicist, and was brought up from the age of seven in Lisburn, Northern Ireland where he attended Friends' School...
for the BBC One drama series Zen. The three episodes were filmed in Rome and shown on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in early January 2011. The series was cancelled by the BBC after just one season. He also had a small part in the film The Tourist
The Tourist (2010 film)
The Tourist is a 2010 romantic thriller film directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. It is a remake of the 2005 French action film Anthony Zimmer....
, which also starred Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
and Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
and was released in cinemas in 2010. In April 2011, it was announced that he will play the lead vampire, Adam, in the forthcoming film Vampire Hunter
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (film)
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a 2012 American supernatural film based on the 2010 mashup novel Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. The film is directed by Timur Bekmambetov and is produced by Bekmambetov and Tim Burton. The novel's author, Seth Grahame-Smith, wrote the adapted screenplay...
, which is currently being filmed in New Orleans .
Personal life
Sewell has been married twice. His first wife was Australian fashion journalist Yasmin Abdallah; they married in 1999 and divorced a few months later. He and second wife, Amy Gardner, whom he married in 2004, have a son, William Douglas Sewell. They have since divorced.Sewell has said: "My favourite things are just wandering from place to place, going to cafés, taking photographs. My favourite day is a happy accident."
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Twenty-One Twenty-One (film) Twenty-One is a British-American drama film directed by Don Boyd and co-scripted by him with Zoë Heller. Patsy Kensit stars as the 21-year-old protagonist. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in February 1991... |
Bobby | |
| 1992 | Gone to Seed | Billy | TV Series: 6 Episodes |
| 1992–1994 | Screen Two | Mike Costain Clive |
TV Series: 2 Episodes |
| 1993 | Dirty Weekend | Tim | |
| 1994 | A Night with a Woman, a Day with Charlie | Charlie | TV |
| Middlemarch Middlemarch (1994 TV serial) George Eliot's novel Middlemarch has been adapted for television twice. The most recent version in 1994 was directed by Anthony Page from a screenplay by Andrew Davies... |
Will Ladislaw | TV Series: 7 Episodes | |
| Citizen Locke | Midshipman Clarke | TV | |
| A Man of No Importance A Man of No Importance (film) A Man of No Importance is a 1994 comedy drama film directed by Suri Krishnamma and starring Albert Finney.-Synopsis:Alfred Byrne is a closeted homosexual bus conductor in 1963 Dublin. His sister tries to find him a suitable woman, but his real passion is putting on amateur theater productions of... |
Robbie Fay | ||
| 1995 | Victory Victory (1995 film) Victory is a 1996 film directed by Mark Peploe. The screenplay was written by Peploe based on the novel by Joseph Conrad.The novel previously has been adapted films multiple times including a 1919 silent version directed by Maurice Tourneur featuring Jack Holt, Seena Owen, Lon Chaney, Sr., and... |
Martin Ricardo | |
| Cold Comfort Farm Cold Comfort Farm Cold Comfort Farm is a comic novel by Stella Gibbons, published in 1932. It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doom-laden accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as Mary Webb... |
Seth Starkadder | TV | |
| Carrington Carrington (film) Carrington is a biographical film written and directed by Christopher Hampton about the life of the English painter Dora Carrington , who was known simply as "Carrington"... |
Mark Gertler | ||
| Performance Performance A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience... |
Harry Percy | TV Series: Episode - Henry IV, Part 1 Henry IV, Part 1 Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V... |
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| 1996 | Hamlet Hamlet (1996 film) Hamlet is a 1996 film version of William Shakespeare's classic play of the same name, adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars in the title role as Prince Hamlet... |
Fortinbras Fortinbras Fortinbras is the name of two minor fictional characters from William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. The more notable is a Norwegian crown prince with a few brief scenes in the play, who delivers the final lines that represent a hopeful future for the monarchy of Denmark and its subjects... |
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| 1997 | The Woodlanders | Giles Winterbourne | |
| 1998 | Dangerous Beauty Dangerous Beauty Dangerous Beauty is a biographical drama film directed by Marshall Herskovitz. It is adapted from the non-fiction book The Honest Courtesan, by Margaret Rosenthal, , about the life of Veronica Franco , a courtesan in 16th century Venice.A stage musical version of the film premiered on July 25,... |
Marco Venier | |
| Dark City | John Murdoch | ||
| Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence is a 1998 British romantic comedy directed by Nick Hamm... |
Frank | ||
| Illuminata Illuminata (film) Illuminata is a 1998 romantic comedy film directed by John Turturro and written by Brandon Cole and John Turturro, based on Cole's play. The cinematographer was Harris Savides... |
Dominique | ||
| At Sachem Farm At Sachem Farm At Sachem Farm is a 1998 drama film.-Cast:*Minnie Driver*Rufus Sewell*Nigel Hawthorne*Amelia Heinle*Michael E. Rodgers*Keone Young*Gregory Sporleder... |
Ross | ||
| 1999 | In a Savage Land | Mick Carpenter | |
| 2000 | Arabian Nights Arabian Nights (TV miniseries) Arabian Nights is a two-part 2000 American/British miniseries, adapted by Peter Barnes from Sir Richard Francis Burton's translation of the medieval epic One Thousand and One Nights. Mili Avital and Dougray Scott stars as Scheherazade and Shahryar respectively... |
Ali Baba | TV |
| Bless the Child Bless the Child Bless the Child is a 2000 supernatural thriller film directed by Chuck Russell, starring Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits, Angela Bettis, Rufus Sewell, Christina Ricci, and Holliston Coleman... |
Eric Stark | ||
| 2001 | A Knight's Tale A Knight's Tale (film) A Knight's Tale is a 2001 American action-adventure film directed, produced, and written by Brian Helgeland. The film stars Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer, and James Purefoy as Sir Thomas Colville/Edward, the Black Prince.The... |
Count Adhemar | |
| Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature She Creature She Creature is a 2001 television film starring Rufus Sewell, Carla Gugino and Rya Kihlstedt and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez . It is the first in a series of films made for Cinemax paying tribute to the films of American International Pictures... |
Angus | TV | |
| 2002 | Extreme Ops Extreme Ops Extreme Ops is a 2002 action thriller film directed by Christian Duguay, written by Michael Zaidan, Timothy Scott Bogart, and Mark Mullin, and starring Devon Sawa, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, Rupert Graves, and Rufus Sewell.-Premise:... |
Ian | |
| 2003 | Helen of Troy Helen of Troy (TV miniseries) Helen of Troy is a 2003 television miniseries based upon Homer's story of the Trojan War, as recounted in the epic poem, Iliad. This TV miniseries also shares the name with a 1956 movie starring Stanley Baker... |
Agamemnon Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area... |
TV |
| Victoria Station Victoria Station (play) Victoria Station is a short play for two actors by the English playwright Harold Pinter.-Summary:Victoria Station consists of a radio dialogue between a minicab controller and a driver who is stopped by the side of "a dark park" in Crystal Palace, supposedly waiting further instructions. The... |
The cabbie | ||
| Charles II: The Power and the Passion Charles II: The Power and The Passion Charles II: The Power and the Passion is an award-winning British television mini-series, broadcast on BBC One in 2003, and produced by the BBC in association with the A&E Network in the United States... |
Charles II Charles II of England Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War... |
TV Series: 4 Episodes | |
| 2004 | Taste Taste Taste is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons, etc.... |
Michael Kuhleman | |
| 2005 | The Legend of Zorro The Legend of Zorro The Legend of Zorro is a 2005 sequel to The Mask of Zorro , both directed by Martin Campbell. Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reprise their roles as the titular hero and his spouse, and Rufus Sewell stars as the villain... |
Armand | |
| ShakespeaRe-Told ShakespeaRe-Told ShakespeaRe-Told is the umbrella title for a series of four television adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays broadcast on BBC One during November 2005. In a similar manner to the 2003 production of The Canterbury Tales, each play is adapted by a different writer, and relocated to the present day... |
Petruchio Petruchio Petruchio is the male romantic lead in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew . Petruchio is a fortune seeker who enters into a marriage with a strong-willed young woman named Kate and then proceeds to "tame" her temperamental spirit... |
TV Series: Episode - The Taming of the Shrew The Taming of the Shrew The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself... Nominated - British Academy Television Award for Best Actor British Academy Television Award for Best Actor - 1950s :*1955 Paul Rogers — *1956 Peter Cushing — *1957 Michael Gough — *1958 Michael Hordern — *1959 Donald Pleasence — - 1960s :*1960 Patrick McGoohan — *1961 Lee Montague —... |
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| 2006 | Tristan and Isolde Tristan & Isolde (film) Tristan & Isolde is a 2006 romantic drama film based on the medieval romantic legend of Tristan and Isolde. It was produced by Ridley Scott and Tony Scott, directed by Kevin Reynolds and stars James Franco and Sophia Myles, with an original music score composed by Anne Dudley... |
Marke | |
| The Illusionist | Crown Prince Leopold | ||
| Paris, je t'aime Paris, je t'aime Paris, Je t'aime is a 2006 anthology film starring an ensemble cast of actors of various nationalities. The two-hour film consists of eighteen short films set in different arrondissements... |
William | Segment: "Père-Lachaise" | |
| Amazing Grace Amazing Grace (2006 film) Amazing Grace is a 2006 U.S.–UK co-production film, directed by Michael Apted, about the campaign against slave trade in the British Empire, led by William Wilberforce, who was responsible for steering anti-slave trade legislation through the British parliament. The title is a reference to the hymn... |
Thomas Clarkson Thomas Clarkson Thomas Clarkson , was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves... |
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| 9/11: Out of the Blue | The Man | ||
| The Holiday The Holiday The Holiday is a 2006 American romantic comedy film written, produced and directed by Nancy Meyers. Distributed by Columbia Pictures and Universal Studios, it stars Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet as two lovelorn women from opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, who temporarily exchange homes to... |
Jasper | ||
| 2008 | Downloading Nancy Downloading Nancy Downloading Nancy is a 2008 drama film directed by Johan Renck, starring Maria Bello and Jason Patric. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize.-Plot:From the press release:... |
Albert | |
| John Adams John Adams (TV miniseries) John Adams is a 2008 American television miniseries chronicling most of President John Adams's political life and his role in the founding of the United States. Paul Giamatti portrays John Adams. The miniseries was directed by Tom Hooper. Kirk Ellis wrote the screenplay based on the book John... |
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury... |
TV Series: 2 Episodes | |
| Vinyan Vinyan Vinyan is a 2008 drama film with horror themes directed and co-written by Fabrice du Welz. The film was du Welz' second as a director. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 30 August 2008.... |
Paul Bellmer | ||
| 2008–2009 | Eleventh Hour Eleventh Hour (U.S. TV series) Eleventh Hour is an American science-based drama television series, which is based on the 2006 British series of the same name. The series originally ran on CBS from October 9, 2008 to April 2, 2009 and aired on Thursdays at 10 pm . The series was a joint venture between Jerry Bruckheimer... |
Dr. Jacob Hood | TV Series: 18 Episodes |
| 2010 | The Pillars of the Earth The Pillars of the Earth (TV miniseries) The Pillars of the Earth is an eight part 2010 TV miniseries, adapted from Ken Follett's novel of the same name. It debuted in the U.S. on Starz and Canada on The Movie Network/Movie Central on July 23, 2010. Its UK premiere was on Channel 4 in October 2010 at 9pm... |
Tom Builder | TV Series: 8 Episodes |
| The Tourist The Tourist (2010 film) The Tourist is a 2010 romantic thriller film directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. It is a remake of the 2005 French action film Anthony Zimmer.... |
English man | ||
| 2011 | Zen | Aurelio Zen | TV Series: 3 Episodes |
| 2012 | Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (film) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (film) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a 2012 American supernatural film based on the 2010 mashup novel Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. The film is directed by Timur Bekmambetov and is produced by Bekmambetov and Tim Burton. The novel's author, Seth Grahame-Smith, wrote the adapted screenplay... |
Adam |