# Stephen Rea

Stephen Rea (/ˈreɪ/ ray; born 1946) is an Irish actor of stage and screen. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he began his career as a member of Dublin's Focus Theatre, and played many roles on the stage and on Irish television. He came to the attention of international film audiences in Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan's 1992 film The Crying Game, and subsequently starred in many more of Jordan's films, including Interview with the Vampire (1994), Michael Collins (1996), Breakfast on Pluto (2005), and Greta (2018). He also played a starring role in the Hugo Blick 2011 TV series The Shadow Line.
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.
He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Crying Game (1992), and won a BAFTA Award for his role in The Honourable Woman in 2015. In 2020, The Irish Times ranked Rea the 13th greatest Irish film actor of all time.

## Early life and education

Rea was born in Belfast in 1946. His father was a bus driver and his mother a housewife. His family was Protestant but sympathetic to Irish nationalism.
He studied English at the Queen's University Belfast and drama at the Abbey Theatre School in Dublin.

## Career
### Stage

Rea's association with playwright Stewart Parker began when they were students together at the Queen's University Belfast. In the late 1970s, he acted in the Focus Company in Dublin with Gabriel Byrne and Colm Meaney.
Rea helped establish the Field Day Theatre Company in 1980 with Tom Paulin, Brian Friel, Seamus Heaney, and Seamus Deane.
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. Rea returned to the Abbey in 2009 to appear in the world première of Sebastian Barry's Tales of Ballycumber.
Rea starred in Enda Walsh's 2014 play Ballyturk and portrayed Jordan in Out of the Dark, in which he co-stars alongside Julia Stiles, Scott Speedman and Alejandro Furth.

### Screen

Rea came to international attention when he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Irish film-maker Neil Jordan's film The Crying Game in 1992. He is a frequent collaborator with Jordan, starring in his other films Interview with the Vampire (1994), Michael Collins (1996), The End of the Affair (1999), Breakfast on Pluto (2005), and Greta (2018).
In 2011, Rea featured in the BBC crime drama The Shadow Line, playing antagonist Gatehouse.
In 2023, Rea appeared as Frank, husband to Eileen (played by Kathy Bates) in the film The Miracle Club.

### Voice

Rea was hired to speak the words of Gerry Adams when Sinn Féin was under a broadcasting ban from 1988 to 1994.
In April 2012, Rea read James Joyce's short story The Dead on RTÉ Radio 1.
He also narrated for the BBC Radio 4 production of Ulysses for Bloomsday, 16 June 2012.

## Recognition and awards

Rea 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.
He was nominated for a BAFTA Award and for the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Crying Game (1992).
In 2004, in recognition for his contribution to theatre and performing arts, Rea was given honorary degrees from both the Queen's University Belfast and the Ulster University.
He won a BAFTA Award for his role in The Honourable Woman in 2015.
In 2020, The Irish Times ranked Rea the 13th greatest Irish film actor of all time.

## Other activities

As of 2012, Rea was an Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland.

## Personal life

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. They have two sons. They divorced in 2003.
Ten years before the marriage, Price attended a performance of Rea's at the Court Theatre in London in 1973, the night before she participated in a car bombing which injured 200 people.
As of 2020, Rea lives in County Donegal.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1970 | Cry of the Banshee | Villager | |
| 1982 | Angel | Danny | |
| 1984 | The Company of Wolves | Young Groom | |
| 1985 | The Doctor and the Devils | Timothy Broom | |
| 1985 | Loose Connections | Harry | |
| 1990 | Life Is Sweet | Patsy | |
| 1992 | The Crying Game | Fergus | |
| 1993 | Bad Behaviour | Gerry McAllister | |
| 1994 | Angie | Noel | |
| 1994 | Princess Caraboo | Gutch | |
| 1994 | Interview with the Vampire | Santiago | |
| 1994 | Prêt-à-Porter | Milo O'Brannigan | |
| 1995 | Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea | Nikos | |
| 1995 | All Men Are Mortal | Fosca | |
| 1995 | Citizen X | Lt. Viktor Burakov | |
| 1996 | Michael Collins | Ned Broy | |
| 1996 | Trojan Eddie | Eddie "Trojan Eddie" | |
| 1996 | The Last of the High Kings | Cab Driver | |
| 1997 | Fever Pitch | Ray | |
| 1997 | The Butcher Boy | Benny Brady | |
| 1997 | The Break | Sean Dowd | |
| 1997 | Double Tap | Cypher | |
| 1997 | Hacks | Brian | |
| 1998 | This Is My Father | Mission Priest | Cameo |
| 1998 | Still Crazy | Tony Costello | |
| 1999 | In Dreams | Dr. Silverman | |
| 1999 | Guinevere | Connie Fitzpatrick | |
| 1999 | I Could Read the Sky | P.J. Doran | |
| 1999 | The Life Before This | Brian | |
| 1999 | The End of the Affair | Henry Miles | |
| 2000 | The King's Wake | King Connor Mac Neasa | (Voice) Short subject |
| 2001 | The Musketeer | Cardinal Richelieu | |
| 2001 | On the Edge | Dr. Figure | |
| 2002 | FeardotCom | Alistair Pratt | |
| 2002 | Evelyn | Michael Beattie | |
| 2003 | Bloom | Leopold Bloom | |
| 2004 | The I Inside | Dr. Newman | |
| 2004 | The Halo Effect | "Fatso" | |
| 2004 | The Confessor | McCaran | |
| 2004 | Fluent Dysphasia | "Murph" | Short subject |
| 2004 | Proud | Barney Garvey | |
| 2004 | Control | Dr. Arlo Penner | |
| 2005 | Breakfast on Pluto | Bertie Vaughan | |
| 2005 | River Queen | Francis | |
| 2005 | Tara Road | Colm Maguire | |
| 2006 | V for Vendetta | Chief Inspector Eric Finch | |
| 2006 | Sisters | Dr. Philip Lacan | |
| 2006 | Sixty Six | Dr. Barrie | |
| 2007 | Until Death | Gabriel Callaghan | |
| 2007 | The Reaping | Father Michael Costigan | |
| 2007 | Stuck | Thomas Bardo | |
| 2008 | The Devil's Mercy | Tyler | |
| 2008 | Kisses | "Down Under" Dylan | Uncredited cameo |
| 2009 | Spy(ies) | M. Palmer | |
| 2009 | Child of the Dead End | Patrick MacGill | |
| 2009 | Nothing Personal | Martin | |
| 2009 | The Heavy | Jameson Anawalt | |
| 2009 | Ondine | Priest | |
| 2011 | Blackthorn | MacKinley | |
| 2011 | Stella Days | Brendan McSweeney | |
| 2012 | Underworld: Awakening | Dr. Jacob Lane | |
| 2012 | Werewolf: The Beast Among Us | Doc | Direct-to-DVD |
| 2013 | Tasting Menu | Walter | |
| 2014 | Asylum | McGahey | |
| 2014 | Styria | Dr. Hill | |
| 2014 | Out of the Dark | Jordan | |
| 2015 | Ruby Strangelove Young Witch | Danforth | |
| 2015 | An Enchanted Ruby | Danforth | |
| 2018 | Black '47 | Conneely | |
| 2018 | Greta | Brian Cody | |
| 2018 | Unquiet Graves | Narrator | Documentary about the Troubles |
| 2021 | Nightride | Joe | Voice |
| 2023 | The Miracle Club | Frank Dunne | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1964 | Crossroads | Pepe Costa | |
| 1967 | Angel Pavement | Second Mate | Episode: "They Arrive" |
| 1967 | Sanctuary | Stephen Moriarty | Episode: "The Voice of His Calling" |
| 1969 | Z-Cars | Kenny | Episode: "Snout: Part 2" |
| 1970 | Softly, Softly: Task Force | Philip Conner | Episode: "Trust a Woman" |
| 1971 | Omnibus | Hubert Page | Episode: "Hail and Farewell-George Moore" |
| 1972 | The Moonstone | Major Frayne | Episode: "1.1" |
| 1974 | Thriller | Arden Buckley | Episode: "K is for Killing" (US Title: "Color Him Dead") |
| 1974–1979 | Play for Today | Peter / Chas / Shay | 3 episodes |
| 1975–1976 | I Didn't Know You Cared | Carter Brandon | 13 episodes - (series 1 & 2 only; not in series 3 & 4) |
| 1977 | BBC2 Play of the Week | Hollar | Episode: "Professional Foul" |
| 1978 | Play of the Month | Constantin | Episode: "The Seagull" |
| 1978 | The Professionals | Pellin | Episode: "In the Public Interest" |
| 1978 | Thank You, Comrades | Mayakovsky | TV film |
| 1980 | Caleb Williams | Tyrell | Episode: "1.1" |
| 1982 | Joyce in June | Stanislaus Joyce / McIntosh | TV film |
| 1984 | Minder | Roddy Allan | Episode: "Windows" |
| 1984 | Four Days in July | Dixie | TV film |
| 1986 | Boon | Frank Warren | Episode: "Fools Rush In" |
| 1986 | Screen Two | Frankie | Episode: "Shergar" |
| 1987 | Lost Belongings | Lenny | 2 episodes |
| 1987 | Scout | Marshall | TV film |
| 1989 | 4 Play | Paul | Segment: "Not As Bad as They Seem" |
| 1989 | Endgame | Clov | TV film |
| 1990 | Not with a Bang | Colin Garrity | 7 episodes |
| 1993 | Saturday Night Live | Fergus | (Uncredited) Episode: "Miranda Richardson/Soul Asylum" |
| 1993–1995 | Performance | Ejlert Lovborg / Seamus Shields | 2 episodes |
| 1995 | Citizen X | Lieutenant Viktor Burakov | TV film |
| 1996 | Crime of the Century | Bruno Hauptmann | TV film |
| 2001 | A Scare at Bedtime | Dr. Roger St. Roctor | Episode: "Not What the Doctor Ordered" |
| 2001 | Snow in August | Rabbi Judah Hirsch | TV film |
| 2001 | Armadillo | Hogg | 3 episodes |
| 2001–2002 | Horrible Histories | Narrator (voice, UK dub) | 26 episodes |
| 2002 | Copenhagen | Niels Bohr | TV film |
| 2007 | Imeacht Na N'Iarlaí | Aodh Ó Néill, Tiarna Thir Eoghain | Episode: "1" |
| 2008 | 10 Days to War | Tim Cross | Episode: "These Things Are Always Chaos" |
| 2009 | Father & Son | Augustine Flynn | 4 episodes |
| 2009 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Callum "Cal" Donovan | Episode: "Solitary" |
| 2009 | Heidi 4 Paws | The Doctor (voice) | TV film |
| 2010 | Single-Handed | Sean Doyle | Episodes: "The Lost Boys: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 2011 | Roadkill | Seamus | TV film |
| 2011 | The Shadow Line | Gatehouse | 6 episodes |
| 2013 | Utopia | Conran Letts | 5 episodes |
| 2014 | The Honourable Woman | Sir Hugh Hayden-Hoyle | 8 episodes |
| 2015–2016 | Dickensian | Inspector Bucket | 16 episodes |
| 2016 | War & Peace | Prince Vassily Kuragin | 5 episodes |
| 2016 | Fir Bolg | Spencer | Episode: "Nochtadh" |
| 2018 | Counterpart | Alexander Pope | 7 episodes |
| 2018 | Thanksgiving | Melchior | 3 episodes |
| 2020 | The Stranger | Martin Killane | 8 episodes |
| 2020 | Flesh and Blood | Mark | 4 episodes |
| 2022 | The English | Sheriff Robert Marshall | 6 episodes |
| 2025 | Prime Target | Professor James Alderman | 5 episodes |

### Stage

| Year | Title | Playwright | Venue |
| 1967 | Shadow of a Gunman | Sean O'Casey | The Mermaid Theatre, London |
| 1969 | Captain Oates' Left Sock | John Antrobus | Royal Court Theatre, London |
| 1971 | Crete and Sargent Pepper | John Antrobus | Royal Court Theatre, London |
| 1973 | The Freedom of the City | Brian Friel | Royal Court Theatre, London |
| 1973 | The Duchess of Malfi | John Webster | 7:84 Theatre Company, London |
| 1973 | Sargent Musgraves | John Arden | The Gate, Dublin |
| 1973 | The White Devil | John Webster | Nottingham Playhouse |
| 1973 | Drums in the Night | Bertold Brecht | Hampstead Theatre, London |
| 1974 | Geography of a Horse Dreamer | Sam Shepard | Royal Court Theatre, London |
| 1974 | Comedians | Trevor Griffiths | Nottingham Playhouse |
| 1980 | Translations | Brian Friel | Field Day Theatre Company |
| 1981 | Three Sisters | Anton Chekhov adapt. Brian Friel | Field Day Theatre Company |
| 1982 | The Communication Cord | Brian Friel | Field Day Theatre Company |
| 1984 | High Time | Derek Mahon | Field Day Theatre Company |
| 1984 | The Riot Act | Tom Paulin | Field Day Theatre Company |
| 1986 | Double Cross | Thomas Kilroy | Field Day Theatre Company |
| 1987 | Pentecost | Stewart Parker | Field Day Theatre Company |
| 1989 | Saint Oscar | Terry Eagleton | Field Day Theatre Company |
| 2014 | Ballyturk | Enda Walsh | Galway International Arts Festival |
| 2014 | A Particle of Dread | Sam Shepard | Field Day Theatre Company |
| 2016 | Cyprus Avenue | David Ireland | Royal Court Theatre, London |
| 2020 | The Visiting Hour | Frank McGuinness | The Gate Theatre, Dublin |