Rufus Sewell
{{Short description|British actor (born 1967)}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Rufus Sewell
| image = Rufus Sewell.jpg
| caption = Sewell in 2010
| birth_name = Rufus Frederik Sewell
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1967|10|29}}
| birth_place = Hammersmith, London, England
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1991–present
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Yasmin Abdallah|1999|2000|end=divorced}}
- {{marriage|Amy Gardner|2004|2006|end=divorced}}
- {{marriage|Vivian Benitez|2024}}}}
| children = 2
}}
Rufus Frederik Sewell ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|sj|uː|əl}}; born 29 October 1967{{Cite web |last=Mike Rose |first=cleveland com |date=2023-10-29 |title=Famous birthdays list for October 29, 2023 includes celebrities Winona Ryder, Rufus Sewell |url=https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2023/10/famous-birthdays-list-for-october-29-2023-includes-celebrities-winona-ryder-rufus-sewell.html |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=cleveland |language=en}}) is a British actor. In film, he has appeared in Carrington (1995), Hamlet (1996), Dangerous Beauty (1998), Dark City (1998), A Knight's Tale (2001), The Legend of Zorro (2005), The Illusionist (2006), Amazing Grace (2006), The Holiday (2006), The Tourist (2010), Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), Judy (2019), The Father (2020), and Old (2021).
On television, he has appeared in Middlemarch (1994), Arabian Nights (2000), Charles II: The Power and the Passion (2003), John Adams (2008), Eleventh Hour (2008–2009), Zen (2011), The Pillars of the Earth (2010), Parade's End (2012), Victoria (2016–2017), The Man in the High Castle (2014–2019), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2019) and The Pale Horse (2020). He currently stars in the Netflix series The Diplomat (2023–present).[http://www.cbs.com/primetime/eleventh_hour/bio/rufus_sewell/bio.php "Rufus Sewell biography."] CBS.com.
On stage, he originated the role of Septimus Hodge in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia (1993) and the role of Jan in Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll (2006), with the latter earning him an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Play as well as a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.
Early life
Sewell was born the son of Jo, a Welsh artist and classically trained pianist.{{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=xkhbjLGYelObRK%2FYNsTE4A&scan=1|title=Index entry|access-date=27 July 2020|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}{{cite web|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/famous-home-sale-owner-quieter-2188044|title=Famous home on sale for owner to get a quieter life|first=Robin|last=Turner|date=7 March 2008|website=walesonline}} His Anglo-Australian father, William John Frederick Sewell (1924–1978), was born in Australia to British parents and worked as an animator on the “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" segment of animation for the Beatles' Yellow Submarine film.{{cite web|url=https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk|title=Wills and Probate 1858-1996, Surname 'Sewell', Year of death '1979'|access-date=14 October 2018|website=Gov.uk}}Films and Filming, vol. 10, issues 7-12, Hansom Books, 1964, p. 29{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/11/Rufus-Sewell.html|title=Rufus Sewell Biography (1967-)|website=filmreference.com|access-date=19 August 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800021137/bio|title=Rufus Sewell Biography – Yahoo! Movies|website=yahoo.com|access-date=19 August 2018}} His parents divorced when Sewell was five and his father died when he was 10.{{cite news |last=Saner |first=Emine |date=8 December 2006 |title=Dark Star |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/dec/08/4 |access-date=9 September 2023 |via=theguardian.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-features/9775404/Rufus-Sewell-interview-back-in-the-spotlight.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-features/9775404/Rufus-Sewell-interview-back-in-the-spotlight.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Rufus Sewell, interview: back in the spotlight|first=Naomi|last=West|date=12 January 2013|via=telegraph.co.uk}}{{cbignore}} Sewell's mother subsequently lived at The Pelican, Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, formerly home to the parents of Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas.{{cite web|url=http://rufussewell.net/article_mailonsunday2010.html|title=rufussewell.net: Article|website=rufussewell.net}} Sewell has said that he was a difficult teenager.
Sewell went on to Orleans Park School,{{cite web |last=Cavendish |first=Lucy |date=10 April 2012 |title=The king of Rock'n'Roll |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/the-king-of-rock-n-roll-7182144.html |access-date=9 September 2023 |website=Evening Standard}} 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 Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cssd.ac.uk/alumni/our-alumni/high-profile-alumni|title=Central School of Speech and Drama High Profile Alumni|work=cssd.ac.uk|access-date=3 March 2025|archive-date=6 May 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220506015319/https://www.cssd.ac.uk/alumni/our-alumni/high-profile-alumni|url-status=live}}
Career
After graduating, Sewell was set up with an agent by Judi Dench, who had directed him in a play while at the Central School of Speech and Drama.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} His breakthrough year was in 1993, in which he starred as the unpleasant Tim in Michael Winner's film Dirty Weekend. Winner chose him after seeing him in a play at the Criterion Theatre.Winner Takes All: A Life of Sorts by Michael Winner, p. 269. Also in 1993 Sewell 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."Leonard, Tom.[https://web.archive.org/web/20081201045139/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/12/08/bfrufus08.xml "I really don't want to play a baddie again."] The Telegraph. 8 December 2006. Retrieved 26 May 2008. "Everyone has their thing they have to get around,"{{cite web |date=4 June 2009 |title=Rufus Sewell: Downloading Nancy |url=https://www.suicidegirls.com/girls/nicole_powers/blog/2680135/rufus-sewell-downloading-nancy |access-date=9 September 2023 |publisher=SuicideGirls.com}}. 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 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 was released on 5 June 2009.{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1800308225/weekend/|website=Box Office Mojo|title=Downloading Nancy|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=January 9, 2023}} At the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, audiences walked out of the screening. 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."
Between 2006 and 2009, on BBC Radio, Sewell read Russell Thorndike's stories of Doctor Syn—the adventures of an 18th-century clergyman, adventurer, smuggler and pirate.
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 series, 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 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, playing the lead role of Dr. Jacob Hood in the CBS TV series Eleventh Hour. He finished filming in November 2009 for the miniseries The Pillars of the Earth, which was shown on TV in 2010.[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/world/news/e3idbeede94114aaf4247c5aebcf4ec8fb6 "Three sign on for 'Pillars of the Earth'"], The Hollywood Reporter, 8 June 2009.
In 2010, he played the Italian detective Aurelio Zen, based on the best-selling 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.{{cite journal|last=Conlan|first=Tara|title=BBC1 axes Rufus Sewell detective drama Zen|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/feb/22/zen-rufus-sewell-bbc1|journal=The Guardian |location=London|date =22 February 2011|access-date=4 March 2012}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.accidentalsexiness.com/naiyou.html|title=産婦人科検診の内容 - 知っておきたい婦人科検診のこと|website=accidentalsexiness.com}} He played the lead vampire, Adam, in the film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,{{cite web |last=Dickey |first=Josh |date=12 April 2011 |title=Rufus Sewell is top baddie in 'Vampire Hunter' |url=http://www.showblitz.com/2011/04/rufus-sewell-is-top-baddie-in-vampire-hunter.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226014109/http://www.showblitz.com/2011/04/rufus-sewell-is-top-baddie-in-vampire-hunter.html |archive-date=26 February 2012 |access-date=4 March 2012 |work=Variety |location=Los Angeles}} which was filmed in New Orleans and released in June 2012.{{cite web|last=Filipponi|first=Pietro|title=Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Set Pics ...|url=http://www.dailyblam.com/news/2011/03/30/abraham-lincoln-vampire-hunter-set-pics-offer-a-glimpse-of-benjamin-walker-dominic-c|publisher =The Daily Blam!|date=30 March 2011|access-date=4 March 2012}}
Sewell played the role of Ethics Man in Darkside, Tom Stoppard's 2013 radio drama based on Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21969223|title=Pink Floyd album inspires Sir Tom Stoppard radio play|publisher=BBC|date=28 March 2013|access-date=24 August 2013}} Sewell co-starred with Dwayne Johnson, as Autolycus, in the film Hercules, which was released in July 2014.{{cite news |last=McNary |first=Dave |date=21 March 2013 |title=Joseph Fiennes, Ian McShane Join 'Hercules' Cast |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2013/film/news/joseph-fiennes-ian-mcshane-join-hercules-cast-1200327033 |access-date=9 September 2023}} In 2015, Sewell voiced the role of Sir Claude, a feral cat, in Blinky Bill the Movie. Sewell has most recently appeared as high-ranking American-turned-Nazi official John Smith in The Man in the High Castle,{{cite web |last=Pringle |first=Gill |date=2 February 2017 |title=Rufus Sewell interview: 'My character is not a monster - he's a human' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/rufus-sewell-interview-man-in-a-high-castle-nazi-art-old-vic-a7420821.html |access-date=19 August 2018 |website=independent.co.uk}} and as Lord Melbourne in Victoria.
In February 2023, it was announced that Sewell had been cast as Prince Andrew in Scoop, a Netflix drama about Andrew's 2019 Newsnight interview, co-starring Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis, Billie Piper and Keeley Hawes.
Personal life
Sewell has been married three times. His first wife was his long-term girlfriend, Australian fashion journalist Yasmin Abdallah; they were married in 1999 and divorced in 2000.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3605910/Cut-and-thrust.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3605910/Cut-and-thrust.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Cut and Thrust |work=The Telegraph |first=Chloe |last=Fox |date=5 November 2003 |access-date=5 February 2013 |location=London}}{{cbignore}} He married his second wife, scriptwriter and producer Amy Gardner, in 2004 and divorced in 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news-article/sewell-dumped-by-wife|title=Rufus Sewell Dumped By Wife|date=2 January 2006|access-date=5 February 2012}} They have a son, William Douglas Sewell (born 2002). Sewell also has a daughter, Lola (born 2013), with Ami Komai.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-38393354|title=Art role 'inconvenient' jokes Sewell|first=Neil|last=Smith|work=BBC News |date=22 December 2016|access-date=19 August 2018|via=bbc.co.uk}}Macdonald, M. "The Evening Standard", page 14. Associated Press, 2005
In December 2023, he became engaged to American actress Vivian Benitez.{{Cite news |title=Rufus Sewell, 56, engaged to actress Vivian Benitez, 26 |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67635469.amp}} They married in July 2024.{{Cite news |title=Rufus Sewell and his bride marry at Manorbier Castle|work=Western Telegraph|url=https://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/24466237.rufus-sewell-bride-marry-manorbier-castle/}}
Acting credits
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |
|---|
| 1991
| Bobby | |
| 1993
| Tim | |
| 1994
| Robbie Fay | |
| rowspan="2"|1995
| |
| Cold Comfort Farm
| Seth Starkadder | |
| rowspan="2"|1996
| Hamlet | |
| Victory
| Martin Ricardo | |
| 1997
| Giles Winterbourne | |
| rowspan="5"| 1998
| Marco Venier | |
| Dark City
| John Murdoch | |
| The Very Thought of You
| Frank | |
| Illuminata
| Dominique | |
| At Sachem Farm
| Ross | |
| rowspan="2"| 1999
| Mick Carpenter | |
| Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence
| Frank | |
| 2000
| Eric Stark | |
| 2001
| Count Adhemar | |
| 2002
| Ian | |
| 2003
| The cabbie | short film |
| 2005
| Count Armand | |
| rowspan="5"| 2006
| Marke | |
| The Illusionist
| Crown Prince Leopold | |
| Paris, je t'aime
| William | Segment: "Père-Lachaise" |
| Amazing Grace
| |
| The Holiday
| Jasper Bloom | |
| rowspan="2"| 2008
| Albert | |
| Vinyan
| Paul Bellmer | |
| 2010
| English man | |
| rowspan="2"| 2012
| Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter | Adam | |
| Hotel Noir
| Felix | |
| rowspan="3"| 2013
| Parker | |
| I'll Follow You Down
| Gabe | |
| The Sea
| Carlo Grace | |
| rowspan="2" | 2014
| Hercules | |
| The Devil's Hand
| Jacob Brown | |
| 2015
| Sir Claude (voice) | |
| 2016
| Urshu | |
| 2019
| Judy | |
| 2020
| Paul | |
| 2021
| Old | Charles | |
| 2023
| Richard |
| rowspan="2" | 2024
| Gerald | |
| Scoop
| |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |
|---|
| 1992
| Billy | 6 episodes |
| 1992–94
| Mike Costain | 2 episodes |
| rowspan=2|1994
| Will Ladislaw | 7 episodes |
| Citizen Locke
| Midshipman Clarke | Television movie |
| rowspan=2|1995
| Seth Starkadder | Television film |
| Performance
| Episode: "Henry IV, Part 1" |
| 2000
| Ali Baba | Miniseries |
| 2001
| Angus | Television movie |
| rowspan="2"| 2003
| Miniseries |
| Charles II: The Power and the Passion
| 4 episodes |
| 2004
| Taste | Michael Kuhleman | Television movie |
| 2005
| Episode: "The Taming of the Shrew" |
| 2006
| 9/11: Out of the Blue | The Man | Television movie |
| 2008
| 2 episodes |
| 2008–09
| 18 episodes |
| 2010
| Tom Builder | Miniseries |
| 2011
| Zen | 3 episodes |
| rowspan=2|2012
| Reverend Duchemin | 3 episodes |
| Restless
| Lucas Romer | 2 episodes |
| 2015
| Caiaphas | Television Movie |
| 2016
| Narrator | Episode: China's Forgotten Emperor |
| 2016–17
| Victoria | 7 episodes |
| 2018
| Declan Howell | Episode: Look, She Made a Hat |
| 2014–19
| John Smith | 40 episodes |
| 2020
| Mark Easterbrook | BBC1 Miniseries |
| 2023
|Roger Salas |Miniseries |
| 2023–present
| Hal Wyler |Main role |
=Theatre=
| class="wikitable" | ||||
| Year
!Production !Role !Venue !Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Arcadia | Septimus Hodge | Lyttelton Theatre, Royal National Theatre | {{Cite web|url=https://www.abouttheartists.com/artists/287662-rufus-sewell|title=Rufus Sewell theatre profile|website=abouttheartists.com}} |
| 1995
|Owen |Plymouth Theatre, Broadway | ||||
| 2006–07 | rowspan="2" |Rock 'n' Roll | rowspan="2" |Jan | The Royal Court Theatre, London | |
| 2007–08 | Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway | |||
| 2013 | Old Times | Deeley | Harold Pinter Theatre, London | |
| 2015 | Closer | Larry | Donmar Warehouse, London |
Awards and nominations
References
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
External links
{{Commons category|Rufus Sewell}}
- {{Twitter|FredrikSewell}}
- {{IMDb name|1722}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20170808100853/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba9fc1e3d Rufus Sewell] on the British Film Institute
- [https://www.theguardian.com/culture/rufus-sewell Rufus Sewell news and commentary] on The Guardian
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Rufus Sewell
|list =
{{Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actor}}
{{Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor}}
{{Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer}}
{{OlivierAward PlayActor 2001–2025}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sewell, Rufus}}
Category:20th-century English male actors
Category:21st-century English male actors
Category:Male actors from London
Category:People from Hammersmith
Category:Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Category:English male film actors
Category:English people of Australian descent
Category:English people of Welsh descent
Category:English male stage actors
Category:English male television actors
Category:Laurence Olivier Award winners
Category:People educated at Orleans Park School
Category:Actors from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Category:English male Shakespearean actors
Category:Welsh–English translators
Category:20th-century British translators
Category:21st-century translators
Category:Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham