Stephen Rea

Early life and education

Stephen Rea was born in 1946 in Belfast. 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

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.

Personal life

From 1983 until their divorce in 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 had two sons.

Rea had already met Price in the 1960's but ten years before their marriage, Price attended a performance by Rea in The Freedom of the City at the Court Theatre in London in 1973, the night before she took part in a car bombing that injured 200 people.

, Rea was an Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland.

, Rea lives in County Donegal.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

References

References

1. Auld, Tim. (25 March 2016). "Stephen Rea: 'I never wanted to be a polite actor'". The Telegraph.
2. "Stephen Rea: 'I can't imagine teams of loyalists rolling up to watch it'". The Irish Times.
3. Lojek, Helen Heusner. (2019). ""Too Clever for Belfast"? Stewart Parker's Joyce in June". New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua.
4. "From Angel to Devil: The Real Byrne".
5. (June 2004). "Queen's prepares for graduation week". [[Queen's University Belfast]].
6. (2009). "Ages of the Moon by Sam Shepard, 24 February – 4 April 2009". [[Abbey Theatre]].
7. (2009). "Tales of Ballycumber". [[Abbey Theatre]].
8. (24 February 2012). "Scare comes from ''Out of the Dark'' in this exclusive clip". [[Bloody Disgusting]].
9. Barton, Steve. (26 February 2015). "First clips emerge ''Out of the Dark''". [[Dread Central]].
10. Boiselle, Matt. (27 February 2015). "''Out of the Dark'' (2015)". [[Dread Central]].
11. Szalai, Georg. (6 March 2024). "Stephen Rea to Receive Irish Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement".
12. (21 February 2017). "How we made The Crying Game". The Guardian.
13. Wolf, Matt. (17 September 1994). "Actors lose jobs as ban on IRA voices is lifted". Austin American-Statesman.
14. (2 April 2012). "Rea reads ''The Dead'' on RTÉ Radio". [[Raidió Teilifís Éireann]].
15. "BBC Radio 4 - James Joyce's Ulysses - About the production". BBC.
16. "Awards".
17. (15 December 2004). "Honour for Stephen Rea". [[Ulster University]].
18. (11 May 2015). "Stephen Rea wins Best Supporting Actor Bafta TV award". [[BBC News]].
19. (13 June 2020). "The 50 greatest Irish film actors of all time – in order". [[The Irish Times]].
20. Radden Keefe 252
21. McDonald, Henry. (28 January 2013). "Stephen Rea carries Dolours Price's coffin at funeral in Belfast: Former IRA hunger striker is buried after mass attended by Hollywood actor ex-husband". [[The Guardian]].
22. Radden Keefe, Patrick (2018). Say Nothing. Penguin Random House. Pages 188, 252
23. (24 January 2013). "Dolours Price, former IRA terrorist and ex-wife of actor Stephen Rea, dies of suspected overdose". [[Irish Independent]].
24. (24 January 2013). "Ex-IRA woman Dolours Price is found dead in Dublin". [[BBC News Online]].
25. Radden Keefe, Patrick. (2018). "Say Nothing". Penguin Random House.
26. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/were-real-dolours-marian-price-200700273.html
27. "UNICEF Ireland Ambassadors & High Profile Supporters". UNICEF.
28. (13 February 2020). "Actor Stephen Rea reveals he has found peace living in Donegal".