Stephen Rea (/ˈreɪ/ ray; born 31 October 1946) is a Northern Irish
film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as V for
Vendetta, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire and Breakfast on
Pluto. Rea was nominated for an Academy Award for his lead performance
as Fergus in the 1992 film The Crying Game. He has during later years
had important roles in the Hugo Blick TV series The Shadow Line and
The Honourable Woman, for which he won a BAFTA Award. In 2020, he was
listed at number 14 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film
actors.Rea was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Protestant
parents; his father was a bus driver and his mother a housewife. He
studied English at the Queen's University Belfast, and drama at the
Abbey Theatre School in Dublin.In the late 1970s, he acted in the
Focus Company in Dublin with Gabriel Byrne and Colm Meaney.After
appearing on the stage and in television and film for many years in
Ireland and the United Kingdom, Rea came to international attention
when he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the
film The Crying Game. He is a frequent collaborator with Irish
film-maker Neil Jordan. Rea has long been associated with some of the
most important writers in Ireland. His association with playwright
Stewart Parker, for example, began when they were students together at
the Queen's University Belfast.
film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as V for
Vendetta, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire and Breakfast on
Pluto. Rea was nominated for an Academy Award for his lead performance
as Fergus in the 1992 film The Crying Game. He has during later years
had important roles in the Hugo Blick TV series The Shadow Line and
The Honourable Woman, for which he won a BAFTA Award. In 2020, he was
listed at number 14 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film
actors.Rea was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Protestant
parents; his father was a bus driver and his mother a housewife. He
studied English at the Queen's University Belfast, and drama at the
Abbey Theatre School in Dublin.In the late 1970s, he acted in the
Focus Company in Dublin with Gabriel Byrne and Colm Meaney.After
appearing on the stage and in television and film for many years in
Ireland and the United Kingdom, Rea came to international attention
when he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the
film The Crying Game. He is a frequent collaborator with Irish
film-maker Neil Jordan. Rea has long been associated with some of the
most important writers in Ireland. His association with playwright
Stewart Parker, for example, began when they were students together at
the Queen's University Belfast.
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