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Stephen Rea

Stephen Rea
Rea at JDIFF 2012
Born	(1946-10-31) October 31, 1946 (age 77) Belfast, Northern Ireland
Education	Queen's University Belfast Abbey Theatre School
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1962–present
Spouse	Dolours Price ​ ​ (m. 1983; div. 2003)​
Children	2

Stephen Rea (/ˈreɪ/ ray; born 31 October 1946)^[1] is an Irish actor of stage and screen.^[2] Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he began his career as a member of Dublin's Focus Theatre, and came to the attention of film audiences as one of the close collaborators of director Neil Jordan. He is an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and Tony Award nominee, a two-time BAFTA Award winner, and a three-time Irish Film and Television (IFTA) Award winner.

Rea was nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA Award for his performance in Jordan's thriller The Crying Game (1992). He also starred in Jordan's films Interview with the Vampire (1994), Michael Collins (1996), The End of the Affair (1999), Breakfast on Pluto (2005), and Greta (2018).

He played starring roles in the Hugo Blick TV series The Shadow Line and The Honourable Woman, for which he won a BAFTA. As a stage actor, he is known for his performances at The Gate and Abbey Theatres in Dublin, and the Royal Court Theatre in London. He is a co-founder of the Field Day Theatre Company with Brian Friel.

In 2020, The Irish Times ranked Rea the 13th greatest Irish film actor of all time.^[3]

Early life[edit]

Rea was born in Belfast. His father was a bus driver and his mother a housewife.^[4] His family was Protestant but sympathetic to Irish nationalism.^[5] He studied English at the Queen's University Belfast and drama at the Abbey Theatre SchoolinDublin.^[4]

In the late 1970s, he acted in the Focus Company in Dublin with Gabriel Byrne and Colm Meaney.

Career[edit]

After appearing on the stage and in television and film for many years in Ireland and England, 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.

Rea helped establish the Field Day Theatre Company in 1980 with Tom Paulin, Brian Friel, Seamus Heaney and Seamus Deane. In recognition for his contribution to theatre and performing arts, Rea was given honorary degrees from both the Queen's University Belfast^[6] and the Ulster University^[7] in 2004.

Rea's friendship with American playwright and actor Sam Shepard dates back to the early 1970s, and he starred in Shepard's directorial début of his play Geography of a Horse Dreamer at the Royal Court Theatre in 1974. In 2007, Rea began a successful and acclaimed relationship with both the Abbey Theatre and Sam Shepard, appearing in Kicking a Dead Horse (2007) and Ages of the Moon (2009), both penned by Shepard and also both transferred to New York.^[8] Rea returned to the Abbey in 2009 to appear in the world première of Sebastian Barry's Tales of Ballycumber.^[9]

Rea was hired to speak the words of Gerry Adams when Sinn Féin was under a 1988–94 broadcasting ban.^[10]

In 2011, Rea featured in the BBC crime drama The Shadow Line, playing antagonist Gatehouse.

In April 2012, Rea read James Joyce's short story The DeadonRTÉ Radio 1.^[11] He also narrated for the BBC Radio 4 production of Ulysses for Bloomsday, 16 June 2012.

Rea starred in Enda Walsh's 2014 play Ballyturk and portrayed Jordan in Out of the Dark,^[12] in which he co-stars alongside Julia Stiles, Scott Speedman and Alejandro Furth.^[13][14]

In 2023, Rea appeared as Frank, husband to Eileen (played by Kathy Bates) in the film The Miracle Club.

Recognition and awards[edit]

Rea was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Crying Game (1992). He won a BAFTA Award for his role in The Honourable Woman.^[15]

In 2020, The Irish Times ranked Rea the 13th greatest Irish film actor of all time.^[16]

Other activities[edit]

As of 2012^[update], Rea was an Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland.^[17]

Personal life[edit]

From 1983 to 2003 Rea was married to Dolours Price, a former Provisional Irish Republican Army bomber and hunger striker who later became a critic of Sinn Féin.^[18][19] They have two sons.^[20] They divorced in 2003.^[21][22]

Before the marriage, Price attended a performance of Rea's at the Court TheatreinLondon in 1973, the night before she participated in a car bombing which injured 200 people.^[23]

As of 2020^[update], Rea lives in County Donegal.^[24]

Filmography[edit]

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Film[edit]

Television[edit]

Stage[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stephen Rea.

• Stephen ReaatIMDb
• Stephen Rea at the Internet Broadway Database
• Stephen Rea at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Stage credits