Jonathan Rhys-Meyers Biography

Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers played King Henry VIII in four seasons of the history-is-sexy series The Tudors (2007-2010).

On the big screen, his breakout leading role opposite Scarlett Johansson in Woody Allen‘s 2005 movie, Match Point.

Rhys Meyers — whose real name is Johnny O’Keefe — was discovered by a talent agent and made his movie debut in 1994’s A Man of No Importance.

During the ’90s he appeared in more than a dozen films, including Michael Collins (1996, starring Liam Neeson), Velvet Goldmine (1998, with Ewan McGregor) and Titus (1999, starring Anthony Hopkins).

Rail-thin and slightly androgynous, Rhys-Meyers played both sinister and sexy in small parts and leading roles throughout the first decade of the 2000s.

After The Tudors, he played a famous vampire in the series Dracula (2013-14) and joined the cast of Vikings (2017-19).

Rhys Meyers won an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in the TV mini-series Elvis (2005, with Rose McGowan), and was nominated twice for a Golden Globe for The Tudors.

While continuing to work, Rhys Meyers has had many box office disappointments and several highly publicized incidents with alcohol abuse since 2010.

His other films include Bend It Like Beckham (2002, with Keira Knightley), Mission Impossible III (2006, starring Tom Cruise), Albert Nobbs (2011, starring Glenn Close), Black Butterfly (2017, with Antonio Banderas) and The Good Neighbor (2022).