Paul Bettany - Biography

Last Editor: tristful				Paul Bettany Biography -   Name : Paul Bettany Birth Date : 27 May 1971 Birth Place : London, England, UK Height : 6' 3 Nationality : British Spouse : Jennifer Connelly (1 January 2003 - present) 1 child Occupation : Actor

Paul Bettany Trivia -

Son of Thane Bettany. Has one older sister named Sarah, who lives in Cornwall (England) with her daughter Emaly. Developed laryngitis after filming A Knight's Tale (2001) because of all the yelling he had to do as Geoffrey Chaucer. Also plays the guitar, and used to busk on Westminster Bridge in London. Acted for a year with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Has a stepson named Kai Dugan (mother is Jennifer Connelly). August 5, 2003 - his wife, Jennifer Connelly, gave birth to their first child, a boy. Son's name is Stellan, named after the actor Stellan Skarsgård who acted with him in Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) (2000) and Dogville (2003). Apparently turned down the role of the Tooth Fairy in Red Dragon (2002) (most probably offered to him after his frightening appearance as psycho gangster in Gangster No. 1 (2000)) in favour of a much more poorly paid role in Lars von Trier's Dogville (2003). Has appeared in many theatre productions, debuting in Stephen Daldry's production of "An Inspectors Calls," grabbing the American film industry's attention in Joe Penhall's "Love and Understanding." He also appeared in "One More Waster Year" and "Stranger's House." Nominated for Best Actor for his role in Gangster No1 by London Film Critics Circle Awards. Paul's "acting heroes" are Humphrey Bogart, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Peter O'Toole and Vincent Cassel. When he was 16, his younger brother Matthew, who was 8, died in a fall. Consequently, he claimed to be obsessed with having lots of children. Won Evening Standard Film Award 2001 for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Geoffrey Chaucer in A Knight's Tale (2001). Writer/director Brian Helgeland wrote the role of Chaucer in A Knight's Tale (2001) specifically for Paul. He "refused" to do the movie without him. The production companies did not think Bettany was known well enough, Helgeland thought that if he backed down on his choice of Bettany, he would have to back down on everything else. Dated Laura Fraser. Was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in June 2004. Lists his favourite foods as cheese and broccoli; and his favourite drink is whisky. Quit smoking in 2005. He had to wear a wig for The Da Vinci Code because when they bleached his hair the bleach burned bleeding holes in his head. Gave up smoking in 2005 after seeing his 2 year-old son, Stellan, imitating him with a pen. His son's godfather is the actor Charlie Condou who starred with him in Dead Babies (2000) and Euston Road (2004).

Paul Bettany Detailed Biography -

Paul Bettany was born into a theatre family. His father, Thane, is still an actor. His mother has retired from acting. Bettany dropped out of school at age 16 and spent the next two years as a street performer in and around London. After a year working at a home for the elderly, he decided to enroll in drama school and following graduation quickly gained employment. Paul started his professional acting career onstage in plays like An Inspector Calls, One More Wasted Year and Love and Understanding. In addition to appearing in over a dozen theatrical productions in four years, Bettany was also seen on the small screen in the British series "Sharpe's Waterloo" (1997) and as Steerforth in "David Copperfield" (TNT, 2000). He landed his first role in British television in 1997 with the telefilm, Sharpe's Waterloo. That same year he made his feature film debut in the film Bent playing Captain. American moviegoers got their first eyeful of Paul Bettany as the frequently naked Geoffrey Chaucer in the cheeky "A Knight's Tale" (2001). Alternating between film and television work with such efforts as "The Land Girls" (1997) and "Coming Home" (1998) in the following years, Bettany continued to climb the credits until his breakthrough performance in 2000's "Gangster No. 1". Though Bettany would return to the role of supporting player for "Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang)" (2000), that same year's depraved black comedy "Dead Babies" adapted from Martin Amis' novel once again found him taking the lead. His subsequent role as mathematician John Nash's (Russell Crowe) best friend in "A Beautiful Mind" proved a good reminder of Bettany's convincing dramatic range. That same year Bettany appearred opposite Willem Dafoe in "The Reckoning", and a supporting performance in director Lars von Trier's 2003 thriller "Dogville" kept audiences hungering for more. Later re-teaming with "A Beautiful Mind" co-star Crowe for director Peter Weir's "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World", Bettany would next make his first foray into romantic comedy territory opposite Kirsten Dunst in "Wimbledon". While filming A Beautiful Mind, Bettany met and fell in love with co-star Jennifer Connelly, and the two were married in January 2003.