Luke Evans

Luke George Evans (born 15 April 1979)[1] is a Welsh actor and singer. Evans began his career on the stage, performing in many of London's West End productions such as Rent, Miss Saigon, and Piaf before making his film breakthrough in the Clash of the Titans 2010 remake. Following his debut, Evans was cast in such action and thriller films as Immortals (2011), The Raven (2012), and the re-imagined The Three Musketeers (2011).

Luke Evans
Evans at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
Luke George Evans

(1979-04-15) 15 April 1979
Alma materLondon Studio Centre
Occupation
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active2000–present
Musical career
Genres
LabelsBMG
Websitelukeevansofficial.com

In 2013, Evans starred as the main antagonist Owen Shaw in the blockbuster Fast & Furious 6, and also played Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson's three-part adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.[2] Evans also portrayed the vampire Dracula in the character's 2014 film origin story, Dracula Untold.[3] In 2017, Evans starred as Gaston in Disney's live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, and portrayed American psychologist William Moulton Marston, creator of fictional character Wonder Woman, in the biographical drama Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. He had a lead role in the period drama series The Alienist in 2018. He released his debut album At Last on 22 November 2019. In 2020, he starred in a three-part miniseries The Pembrokeshire Murders.

Early life

Luke George Evans was born on Easter Sunday, 15 April 1979, in Pontypool,[4] and brought up in Aberbargoed,[1] a small village in the Rhymney Valley, Wales, the only child of Yvonne and David Evans.[5][6] He was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, though he left the religion when he was 16 and left school at the same time.[7]

At age 17, he moved to Cardiff,[8] where he studied under the supervision of Louise Ryan, an established singing coach.[9] In 1997, he won a scholarship to London Studio Centre, then in Kings Cross, London.[10] He graduated in 2000.

Career

From 2000 to 2008, Evans starred in many West End productions including La Cava, Taboo, Rent, Miss Saigon and Avenue Q, as well as several fringe shows in London and at the Edinburgh Festival.

In 2008, he landed his most significant theatre role playing Vincent in the play Small Change written and directed by Peter Gill at the Donmar Warehouse. For his performance, he gained recognition from film casting directors and US agencies and was nominated for the Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Newcomer. Later that same year he did his second show at the Donmar Warehouse, Piaf, in which he played Yves Montand.

Evans got his first film audition at age 30. In 2009, he landed his first film, playing the Greek god Apollo in the 2010 remake Clash of the Titans. Also in 2010, he appeared as Clive in the film Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, directed by Matt Whitecross, as the Sheriff of Nottingham's thug in Robin Hood, alongside Matthew Macfadyen (whom he would later play alongside again in The Three Musketeers), and played handyman and good guy Andy, in director Stephen Frears' film Tamara Drewe, based on Posy Simmond's comic strip. Evans went on to portray DI Craig Stokes in Blitz (2011), the film adaptation of Ken Bruen's novel of the same name, in which he starred with Jason Statham and Paddy Considine. In early 2010, he shot the independent movie, Flutter, directed by Giles Borg.

Evans played the Musketeer Aramis in Paul W. S. Anderson's version of The Three Musketeers (filmed in 2010 and released in 2011). He was cast in a lead role in Tarsem Singh's Greek epic, Immortals (2011), in which he played the King of the Gods, Zeus. And at the end of 2010, he took a role opposite John Cusack in James McTeigue's film The Raven, replacing Jeremy Renner. In the film, released in 2012 and set in mid-19th century Baltimore, Evans played Detective Emmett Fields, who investigates a series of murders alongside Cusack's Edgar Allan Poe.[11] Shooting took place in Budapest and Serbia in November 2010. In 2011, he shot No One Lives, a psychological horror film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, in New Orleans, and began filming a role in Peter Jackson's three-part adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, playing the role of Bard the Bowman.[2]

Evans at the Queen's Birthday Party held at the Royal Albert Hall in 2018

In 2013, Evans played the antagonist Owen Shaw in Furious 6, and in 2014, he played Dracula in the film Dracula Untold.[12][13][14] Evans was cast as Eric Draven in the reboot of The Crow. In June 2014, he joined the cast of the film High-Rise with Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Irons.[15] In January 2015, Evans officially exited The Crow to pursue other projects.[16] The same year, he was named one of GQ's 50 best dressed British men.[17]

In 2016, Evans appeared in the thriller film The Girl on the Train, co-starring Emily Blunt.[18] In 2017, he had the villainous role of Gaston in Disney's live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, co-starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens;[19] and also played the lead role, William Moulton Marston, the creator of Wonder Woman, in the film Professor Marston and the Wonder Women.

In 2018, Evans starred in TNT drama The Alienist, as newspaper illustrator John Moore.[20] The following year, he announced the release of his debut studio album, At Last, which was released on 22 November 2019.[21]

On 8 November 2019, Evans starred in Roland Emmerich’s epic war movie Midway, along with Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Mandy Moore, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Dennis Quaid and Woody Harrelson.[22][23][24][25][26][27] Evans is also set to reprise his role as Gaston in an upcoming Beauty and the Beast prequel limited series for Disney+, in which he will co-star alongside Josh Gad (with the latter serving as co-creator, co-writer and executive producer).[28] He is also set to play The Coachman in Robert Zemeckis' live-action film adaptation of Disney's Pinocchio.[29]

Evans was awarded Man of the Year at the ninth annual Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards.[30]

Personal life

In his early twenties in an article in the UK's Gay Times, Evans stated that people would approach him in gay pubs to tell him that they could not believe that he was gay.[31] In a subsequent 2002 interview with The Advocate in the U.S. he said that although his (then) part (in Taboo) was that of a straight man "everybody knew me as a gay man, and in my life in London I never tried to hide it".[31]

By his late thirties, he was less willing to discuss his sexuality with the press, asserting his private life to be private.[32] Little is reported about his private life, and he deliberately shields his family from the press.[32] He stated in response to a question about the opinion that "Hollywood" might have of his sexuality that his private life was not connected to "Hollywood", and that "Talent, success, what you do in your personal life — I don't see how one should have an effect on the other."[32] As such, although openly gay since the Gay Times interview, he is rarely labelled so.[32]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Release date Peak chart positions
UK
[33]
AUS
Dig.

[34]
IRE
[35]
At Last 22 November 2019[36] 113084

Soundtrack albums

Title Release date
Beauty and the Beast 10 March 2017

Singles

Title Release date Album
"Love Is a Battlefield" 8 October 2019 At Last
"Changing" 23 October 2019

Tours

  • At Last! The Live Tour (2021)[37]

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Director Notes
2002 Taboo Billy N/A Musical
2009 Don't Press Benjamin's Buttons Benjamin's Father Short film
2010 Cowards and Monsters Paul
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll Clive Richards Mat Whitecross
Clash of the Titans Apollo Louis Leterrier
Robin Hood Sheriff's Thug Ridley Scott
Tamara Drewe Andy Cobb Stephen Frears
2011 Blitz DI Craig Stokes Elliott Lester
The Three Musketeers Aramis Paul W. S. Anderson
Immortals Zeus Tarsem Singh
Flutter Adrian Giles Borg
2012 Ashes Crewcut Mat Whitecross
The Raven Inspector Emmett Fields James McTeigue
No One Lives Driver Ryuhei Kitamura
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Girion, Lord of Dale Peter Jackson Extended edition only
2013 Fast & Furious 6 Owen Shaw[38] Justin Lin
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Bard
and Girion, Lord of Dale
Peter Jackson
2014 Dracula Untold Vlad III Țepeș / Dracula Gary Shore
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Bard Peter Jackson
2015 Furious 7 Owen Shaw James Wan
High-Rise Richard Wilder Ben Wheatley
2016 Message from the King Dr. Paul Wentworth Fabrice Du Welz
The Girl on the Train Scott Hipwell Tate Taylor
2017 Beauty and the Beast Gaston Bill Condon
The Fate of the Furious Owen Shaw F. Gary Gray
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women William Moulton Marston Angela Robinson
2018 State Like Sleep Emile Meredith Danluck
10x10 Lewis Suzi Ewing
2019 Ma Ben Hawkins Tate Taylor
Murder Mystery Charles Cavendish Kyle Newacheck
Anna Alex Tchenkov Luc Besson
StarDog and TurboCat Felix (voice) Ben Smith
Angel of Mine Mike Kim Farrant
Midway Commander Wade McClusky Roland Emmerich
2021 Crisis Bill Simmons Nicholas Jarecki Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2013 The Great Train Robbery Bruce Reynolds Miniseries
2016, 2018 Robot Chicken Various characters (voices) 2 episodes
2017 The Grand Tour Himself Episode: "Jaaaaaaaags"
2018–present The Alienist John Moore Main role
2020 Crossing Swords King Merriman (voice) Main role; 10 episodes
2021 The Pembrokeshire Murders Steve Wilkins Miniseries; 3 episodes
TBA Nine Perfect Strangers Lars Upcoming miniseries

Video games

Year Title Voice role Notes
2013 Fast & Furious: Showdown Owen Shaw

Theme park rides

Year Title Voice role Notes
2015 Fast & Furious: Supercharged Owen Shaw

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResult
2014 Monte-Carlo Television Festival Outstanding Actor in a Mini-Series The Great Train Robbery Nominated
Acapulco Black Film Festival Best Ensemble Cast Fast & Furious 6 Nominated
2015 British Independent Film Awards Best Supporting Actor High Rise Nominated
2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards Best Duo (with Josh Gad) Beauty and the Beast Nominated
Teen Choice Awards[39] Choice Movie: Villain Won
Choice Hissy Fit Nominated
2020 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards The Man of the Year N/A Won[30]

References

  1. "Evans finds himself among the stars". walesonline. 8 September 2010. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  2. Fleming, Mike (16 June 2011). "Luke Evans To Play Bard in 'The Hobbit'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  3. Justin Vactor. "Luke". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  4. "Pontypool-born Luke Evans hopes to be new Bourne star". walesonline. 9 April 2011. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  5. "Aberbargoed actor Luke Evans' success in Hollywood". Wales Online. 3 June 2010. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  6. Rachel Mainwaring (30 May 2010). "Welsh actor Luke Evans is hot Hollywood property". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  7. "Hobbit star Luke Evans swaps the valleys for the Shire". The Guardian. 7 December 2013. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  8. "Luke Evans Interview TAMARA DREWE". Collider. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  9. "Welsh actor Luke Evans is hot Hollywood property". walesonline. 29 May 2010. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  10. Mo-Net s.r.l. Milano-Firenze. "Luke Evans". mymovies.it. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  11. Leins, Jeff. "Luke Evans, Alice Eve Join 'The Raven'". News in Film. Archived from the original on 9 January 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  12. Mike Fleming Jr. "'The Crow' Reboot Flies With Luke Evans – Deadline". Deadline. Archived from the original on 31 July 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  13. The Deadline Team. "Universal Dates 'Dracula' Origin Pic For August 8, 2014 – Deadline". Deadline. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  14. Pamela McClintock. "Title Change: 'Dracula' Renamed 'Dracula Untold'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  15. Oliver Lyttelton (13 June 2014). "'The Hobbit' Star Luke Evans Joins Tom Hiddleston in Ben Wheatley's 'High Rise'". Indie Wire. Archived from the original on 16 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  16. "Luke Evans Officially Exits 'The Crow' Reboot; Relativity Seeking New Star". TheWrap. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  17. "50 Best Dressed Men in Britain 2015". GQ. 5 January 2015. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015.
  18. "Luke Evans in The Girl on the Train". Rotten Tomatoes. 12 October 2016. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  19. "Luke Evans To Star Opposite Emma Watson In Disney's Beauty And The Beast". Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  20. "It's time to light a fire under sleepy 'Alienist'". 20 February 2018. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  21. Dommu, Rose (9 October 2019). "Luke Evans to Cover Cher's 'If I Could Turn Back Time' on Debut Album". Out. Archived from the original on 13 October 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  22. Donnelly, Matt (31 October 2019). "Roland Emmerich Just Made a $100 Million Indie Film. Will It Work?". Variety. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  23. Fleming Jr, Mike (23 May 2017). "Bona Film Group Stakes $80M On Roland Emmerich/Mark Gordon WWII Battle Pic 'Midway:' Cannes". Deadline. Archived from the original on 15 March 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  24. Wiseman, Andreas (2 May 2018). "Roland Emmerich's WWII Epic 'Midway' Sets Sail With Woody Harrelson, Mandy Moore & AGC Studios — Cannes Hot Pic". Deadline. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  25. Kit, Borys (3 July 2018). "Luke Evans Joins Roland Emmerich's Naval Action Movie 'Midway' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  26. Marc, Christopher (24 July 2018). "Roland Emmerich's WWII Epic 'Midway' Adds 'The Guest' Cinematographer - GWW". thegww.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  27. D'Alessandro, Anthony (5 September 2018). "Roland Emmerich's WWII Epic 'Midway' To Open Veterans Day Weekend 2019". Deadline. Archived from the original on 31 March 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  28. Goldberg, Lesley (6 March 2020). "'Beauty and the Beast' Prequel Series in the Works at Disney+ (Exclusive)". Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  29. D'Alessandro, Anthony (26 January 2021). "'Beauty And The Beast' Star Luke Evans Joins Disney's Tom Hanks 'Pinocchio' Movie". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  30. "2020 VIRGIN ALTANTIC ATTITUDE AWARDS, POWERED BY JAGUAR WINNERS: FROM TAYLOR SWIFT TO LUKE EVANS". Attitude. Stream Publishing Limited. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  31. Barclay 2002, p. 55.
  32. Swithinbank 2017.
  33. "Luke Evans | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  34. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Digital Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 2 December 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  35. "Irish Albums Chart: 29 November 2019". Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  36. "Luke Evans". Genius. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  37. "Hey guys, I'm really happy to announce that my postponed tour dates have now been rescheduled!!..." twitter. 7 April 2020. Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  38. "Luke Evans Joins Sixth 'Fast & Furious' Film". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  39. Ramos, Dino-Ray (13 August 2017). "Teen Choice Awards 2017 Winners: 'Wonder Woman', 'Beauty And The Beast', 'Riverdale' Among Honorees". Deadline. enske Business Media, LLC. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.

Sources

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