Iwan Rheon

Iwan Rheon (/ˈrɒn/, Welsh pronunciation: [ˈɪuan ˈr̥ɛɔn]; born 13 May 1985) is a Welsh actor, singer, narrator, and musician. He is known for his portrayals of Simon Bellamy in E4's Misfits and Ramsay Bolton in HBO's Game of Thrones, as well as playing Mick Mars in the 2019 movie The Dirt based on Mötley Crüe. He has also appeared in Vicious, Riviera and Inhumans.

Iwan Rheon
Rheon at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con
Born (1985-05-13) 13 May 1985
Occupation
  • Actor
  • singer
  • narrator
  • musician
Years active2002–2004; 2008–present
Partner(s)Zoë Grisedale
Children1
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar

Early life

Iwan Rheon was born on 13 May 1985[1] in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire. He is the son of Einir and Rheon Tomos.[2] He speaks Welsh as his first language. When he was five years old, his family moved to Cardiff.[3] He attended Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf, where he began acting in school drama productions at age 17. He was later spotted at a National Eisteddfod of Wales, before studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.[3]

Career

Acting

Rheon at the 2017 Con of Thrones in Nashville, Tennessee

At age 17, Rheon joined Welsh language soap Pobol Y Cwm, in which he originated the role of Macsen White, but later left to train at LAMDA.[3] His first notable stage part came in Eight Miles High, which was staged in 2008 at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool.

Also in 2008, he was cast as the haunted Moritz Stiefel in the London production of the Tony Award-winning rock-musical, Spring Awakening.[3] He played this role from January 2009 at the Lyric Hammersmith and continued when the show was transferred to the Novello Theatre, until it closed in May 2009, five months earlier than planned. He earned a What's on Stage Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, which was eventually won by Oliver Thornton (Priscilla Queen of the Desert). For his performance he won the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical at the 2010 Olivier Awards.[3]

Immediately after Spring Awakening, Rheon was cast in the E4 channel's Misfits, a BAFTA winning programme that was described by 247 Magazine as "a mix of Skins and Heroes". He plays nervous, shy Simon Bellamy, who gains the superpower of invisibility and precognition in season 3.[4] On 20 December 2011, Rheon announced via Twitter that he had left the show, along with fellow cast member Antonia Thomas.[5]

In 2011, he also appeared in the final episode of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. In 2011, he was nominated for a Golden Nymph in the "Outstanding Actor – Drama Series" category for his role in Misfits. Rheon also made two guest appearances as the character Ben Theodore in Simon Amstell's comedy Grandma's House.[4]

In early 2012, Rheon filmed the crime heist drama The Rise. In spring 2012, he began shooting Libertador in Venezuela and Spain. He plays Daniel O'Leary. In May 2012, it was announced that he had signed on to the gritty drama Driven.

In 2013, Rheon was cast as the villainous psychopath Ramsay Bolton in the HBO series Game of Thrones. In the DVD commentary for the series' third season, producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss mentioned that Rheon previously auditioned for the role of Jon Snow in the first season, but lost to Kit Harington, with whom Rheon maintains a close friendship. He portrayed Ash Weston in the ITV sitcom Vicious from 2013 until 2016.

In 2013, Rheon played a lead role in the philosophical radio play, Darkside, based on the themes of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon album.[6]

In September 2014, Rheon joined the cast of BBC One's Our Girl as Dylan "Smurf" Smith. In 2017, it was announced that Rheon had been cast in ABC's Inhumans series.[7]

Rheon played Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars in the 2019 film The Dirt.[8]

Music

Songwriting and singing since the age of 16, Rheon was lead singer in The Convictions until leaving the band to pursue his acting career. In 2010, he recorded his first solo work, Tongue Tied EP, at RAK Studios in London,[9] produced by Jonathan Quarmby and Kevin Bacon.[10] The EP, a four track release with acoustic guitar and voice, was released digitally in June 2010.

He returned to RAK Studios, in April 2011, to record his second EP Changing Times, again produced by Quarmby and Bacon, with the addition of three backing musicians. Changing Times was released on 10 October 2011.[11]

On 7 April 2013, Rheon released his third EP Bang! Bang! and on 9 April 2013, released the music video for the title track.

Rheon recorded his first album, Dinard, at RAK Studios in London and Tŷ Cerdd Studios in Wales. The album was released in April 2015 and produced by James Clarke and Jim Unwin. A "self-funded collection of emotive folk-pop songs recorded over several years",[12] the album's title refers to Dinard, a town in Brittany, France, where Rheon met his girlfriend Zoë Grisedale.[12] Music journalist Neil McCormick described the album as "an absorbing collection of moody, introspective songs, all written by Rheon, who plays acoustic guitar with a deft touch and sings in an expressive, gritty voice".[13]

Personal life

Rheon is fluent in Welsh and English, with the former being his first language.[14] His older brother, Aled, is a musician; the two performed together on the 2015 single "Rhodd".[15] Rheon lives in London with Zoë Grisedale, and the couple have one child born in August 2018.[16]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Resistance George
Wild Bill Pill
2012 The Back of Beyond Petesy Short film
The Rise (known as Wasteland in North America) Dempsey
The Gospel of Us Himself Musical performer
2013 Libertador Daniel O'Leary
2015 Mermaid's Song Randall
2016 Alien Invasion: S.U.M.1 S.U.M.1
2017 Daisy Winters Doug
2018 Hurricane (known as Mission of Honor in the U.S.) Jan Zumbach
2019 Berlin, I Love You Greg Segment: "Embassy"
The Dirt Mick Mars
Four Hitman Short film
2020 The Existential Hotline Fred Short film
TBA The Toll
TBA Barbarians Adam
TBA Suppression

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2002–2004 Pobol y Cwm Macsen White
2006 Caerdydd Daniel
2009–2011 Misfits Simon Bellamy 21 episodes
2010 Coming Up Luka 1 episode
2010–2012 Grandma's House Ben Theodore 2 episodes
2011 Secret Diary of a Call Girl Lewis 1 episode
2013–2016 Game of Thrones Ramsay Bolton 20 episodes
Vicious Ash Weston 14 episodes
2014 Our Girl Dylan "Smurf" Smith 5 episodes
Under Milk Wood Evans the Death 1 episode
2015 Residue Jonas Flak 3 episodes
2016 The Green Hollow Sam Knight
2017 Urban Myths Adolf Hitler 1 episode
Riviera Adam Clios 10 episodes
Inhumans Maximus 8 episodes
Family Guy George Harrison, John Lennon, Ring Announcer (voices) Episode: "Petey IV"
2019 PTSD: The War in My Head Narrator
2020 A Special School Narrator
The Snow Spider The Voice of Gwydion
2021 American Gods Liam Doyle
The Prince Prince William

Stage

YearTitleRoleNotes
2008Eight Miles HighAlRoyal Court Theatre, Liverpool
2009Spring AwakeningMoritz StiefelLyric Hammersmith
2010The Devil Inside HimHuw ProsserNational Theatre Wales
2011Remembrance DayLyoshaRoyal Court Theatre
2018FoxfinderWilliam BloorAmbassadors Theatre

Radio

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Darkside The Boy Voice

Audiobook

Year Title Role Notes
2018 Wizards and Robots Narrator Prologue

Video games

Year Title Voice role Notes
2014–2015 Game of Thrones Ramsay Snow Based on the TV series of the same name

Discography

EPs

  • 2010: Tongue Tied EP
  • 2011: Changing Times EP
  • 2013: Bang, Bang! EP

Studio albums

  • 2015: Dinard

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Notes Ref.
2010 Laurence Olivier Award Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical Won Spring Awakening [3]
2011 Golden Nymph Awards Outstanding Actor - Drama Series Nominated Misfits
2012 SFX Awards Best Actor Nominated
2014 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated Game of Thrones [17][18]
2015 IGN Awards Best TV Villain Nominated [19]
IGN People's Choice Award Best TV Villain Nominated [19]
2016 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated [20]
2020 CinEuphoria Award Merit - Honorary Award Won

References

  1. "Iwan Rheon". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  2. "Urdd Gobaith Cymru / Urdd Executive Committee". Urdd.cymru. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  3. Ben Bryant (11 May 2010). "Iwan Rheon Interview". Buzz.co.uk.
  4. Keith Watson (9 November 2010). "Misfits' Iwan Rheon: 'If I were invisible, I'd spy on David Cameron.'". Metro.co.uk.
  5. "Thanks for all the comments and support. I'm so grateful for the opportunity that MisFits gave me and all the fun that i had with the cast..." Twitter.com. 20 December 2012.
  6. "Pink Floyd album inspires Sir Tom Stoppard radio play". BBC. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  7. "'Game of Thrones' Grad Iwan Rheon to Star in Marvel's ABC Drama 'Inhumans'". Hollywoodreporter.com.
  8. Blabbermouth (2 December 2018). "MÖTLEY CRÜE Biopic 'The Dirt' To Arrive In March". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  9. "Live Music". The Bedford. 29 December 2010. Archived from the original on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  10. "BACON & QUARMBY". Alan Cowderoy Management. Archived from the original on 4 December 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  11. "Iwan Rheon". The Monto. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  12. "Game of Thrones actor Iwan Rheon hoping for a hit with his debut album". Walesonline.co.uk. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  13. "Game of Thrones actor Iwan Rheon: 'Bad guys don't think they're bad, do they?'". Telegraph.co.uk/. 4 April 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  14. "Misfits:Iwan Rheon plays Simon". Channel4.com.
  15. "Rhodd – Iwan Rheon and Aled Rheon – Welsh Rock For Refugees". Welsh Rock For Refugees. 10 September 2015. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  16. "New father Iwan Rheon shrugs off sleepless nights for Foxfinder". Evening Standard. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  17. "SAG Awards Nominations: 12 Years A Slave And Breaking Bad Lead Way". Deadline.com. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  18. "SAG Awards: Lone Survivor, Game Of Thrones Win Stunt Honors". Deadline.com. 18 January 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  19. "Best of 2015". IGN. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  20. "SAG Awards Nominations: Complete List". Variety. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
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