Paul Bettany (Paul Bettany): filmography and personal life of the actor

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

British actors often become popular in Hollywood as well. This happened to Paul Bettany as well. The attractive Englishman has played many different roles - from a religious fanatic to a romantic tennis player. Every look he does amazingly well and wins more and more fans.

But what is he really like?

Childhood

It seems that Paul Bettany had every chance of becoming a celebrity from birth. He was born into a creative family: his mother is the famous pop singer Ann Kettle, and his father is an actor of the prestigious Shakespeare Theater, a talented dancer and teacher of theatrical arts. Not only Paul's parents are famous. His grandmother, Olga Gwynn, was a real celebrity at the beginning of the twentieth century and played on the stages of several famous London theaters. Thus, we can say that he comes from a real acting dynasty. However, the actor also has an older sister, Sarah, who went a completely different path. So his talent is not only good genes, but also his own skill.

Family tragedy

Not everything in lifethe actor was unclouded. The boy hated school, where he was constantly teased and humiliated. Paul Bettany, who is now almost two meters tall, was already the tallest in the class, which seemed to those around him to be quite a good reason for ridicule. But the main trouble was not at all.

When Paul was still a teenager, his younger brother Matthew fell off a roof and fell into a coma. Doctors said that he would be forever bedridden and unlikely to regain consciousness, after which the parents decided to disconnect him from the life support apparatus. The tragedy could not pass without a trace - Paul's father and mother divorced, and he himself left home and began to rent an apartment.

To earn a living and rent, he played the guitar. Depression constantly tormented the guy who wandered aimlessly through the streets of London, he drank every now and then and did not see any chance in life for a change for the better. During frequent binges, he even tried drugs a couple of times. The situation was aggravated by the news that the father had discovered a homosexual orientation in himself and was preparing for a sex change. This Paul could not accept. It is not known how his story would have ended if not for his friend Dan Fredenberg, who advised him to go to acting school.

The beginning of an acting career

In an attempt to cope with depression, Paul applied to the Drama Center in London and successfully passed the entrance exams. He studied with the best British teachers and immediately proved himself. He was noticed very quickly and began to appear in theatrical productions.

At first, Paul worked on the stage of the West End, and then he was invited to the Shakespeare Theater, where his father had previously worked. In 1996, the audience first saw him as a movie actor. He played in the film "Sharp's Waterloo", which was not very popular. After that, he received cameo roles in the films After the Rain and Addiction. In parallel, he took part in the series. The real success came in 2000, when actor Paul Bettany took part in the film "Gangster No. 1". This role not only made him famous, but also provided him with an award from the British Film Association.

Invitation from overseas

Films with Paul Bettany attracted the attention of American directors. The first Hollywood image was the narrator Geoffrey Chaucer - a tape called "The Story of a Knight" was released in 2001. Immediately after participating in this film, Paul Bettany received an offer to play in the film "A Beautiful Mind". The tape turned out to be an Oscar-winner, and not only - it was on the set of this film that Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly met.

Despite the fact that they did not have a single common scene in the movies, they became close friends in real life.

During this period, the British actor had a successful career in Hollywood. One after another, such films as "My Heart", "Day of Reckoning", "Master and Master" were released. Soon Paul Bettany, whose filmography has increased markedly after moving to America, will become a real star, starring in the Wimbledon film. But before her there will also be shooting with Larsvon Trier. They were a real test for Paul.

On the set of Dogville

The difficulty of working with a brilliant Scandinavian director in Hollywood is legendary. Nevertheless, Paul Bettany, whose filmography did not yet include such unusual films, boldly went to the shooting of Dogville. Lars von Trier settled all the actors in the same hotel, where he eavesdropped on their conversations, and one day he knocked on Paul's room drunk and naked. The work process was also difficult - the director allowed himself to shout at the actors. He constantly arranged some kind of antics, tested everyone for strength every minute.

But the actors managed, and the world saw a bizarre art-house tape, the role in which many consider one of the best in the career of Paul Bettany. The film itself is considered a must-see. In addition to the fact that on the set Bettany was able to make sure of his acting talent completely, participation in the tape helped him sort out his relationship with Jennifer.

At that time he was dating another girl, and Connelly was only a friend to him, but frequent conversations on the phone and her sincere support made him realize that this is a true feeling.

Happy personal life

After returning from Sweden, Paul Bettany decided to break up with his girlfriend, Laura Fraser, with whom they had a very uneven and tense relationship. With Jennifer Connelly, he managed to find what he had been looking for all his life. The actors got married in Scotland, in one of the small cathedrals, inviting only friends and relatives. Soon inthe family had their first child - on August 5, 2003, the couple had a son, Stellan, whom Paul named after his close friend Stellan Skarsgård.

Before his appearance, the couple raised their son Jennifer from a previous marriage. Paul accepted Kai wholeheartedly. The couple decided to live in New York so that the boy could sometimes communicate with his biological father, and although Bettany honestly admitted in an interview that he misses London, he does not regret this choice.

New roles

A rich personal life did not prevent the talented actor from appearing on the screen again and again. He played many worthy roles. Separately, it is worth noting the "Origin", where Paul played Darwin, and his beloved Jennifer got the role of the scientist's wife. The tape was released in 2009. Works in the films "Legion", "Shepherd" and "Young Victoria" also deserve attention.

Many fans are surprised by how much Paul Bettany transforms into his characters. Photos from filming and film stills seem to depict different people.

The frenetic monk from The Da Vinci Code is nothing like Lord Melbourne from The Young Victoria. And this is not surprising - in an interview, the actor admitted that the scenes of self-torture brought him, if not physical, but moral pain. He has not attended church since the death of his brother Matthew, although he was raised by a Catholic mother. All the roles of religious people are especially difficult for him. It is for such amazing dedication in every picture of Paul that thousands of fans around the world fell in love.

Deserved recognition

British Empire Awards named Bettany Best British Actor. His work has been recognized by a variety of film critics societies, viewers of the popular MTV channel at the Movie Awards, he was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA awards, and there is an Oscar nomination on his track record.

In total, during his acting career, Paul received more than twenty different awards, each of which he absolutely deserved.

This figure causes fair respect from fans, but Bettany himself, with typical English self-irony, is especially proud of those nominations in which he received nothing.

Works of recent years

In 2011, the close-knit family of Connelly and Bettany had a replenishment - a daughter, Agnes, was born. Paul has long dreamed of having many children, so the third child was a real happiness for him. But nothing prevents the young father from actively acting in films. Together with his wife, no less in demand in the cinema, Paul often appears on the screens.

So, in 2012 the world saw the tape "The Avengers", in the same year the film "Blood" was released. 2013 pleased fans with Iron Man 3, and most recently, the film Supremacy was released. In the coming months, a film called "The Lost Rooms" is planned to be released. At the moment, the actor is busy filming Maccabray and Iron Man 4, both of which are scheduled for 2015. In addition, work is underway on the film "The Destroyer", the release date of which is currently unknown. In it, Paul Bettany will play one of the main roles. Notthere is no doubt that the acting career of the wonderful Brit will not end there either.