Take on a legend

In the beginning…
Jonathan Michael Francis O’Keeffe was born July 27, 1977 in Dublin, Ireland to young parents Geraldine and John. He was born with a heart condition and was baptized quickly for fear he would not live long. He spent several months in the hospital but he made it past that first hurdle, becoming known around the world as Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and has become one of the most promising and fascinating actors of his generation.
Jonathan’s family moved to Cork, where both his parents were from, about a year after he was born. When Jonny, as he is called by friends and family, was about 3 years old, his father and mother separated. Jonny and his younger brother Alan stayed with their mother, while his two younger brothers Jamie and Paul went to live with their father and grandmother. Jonny had a tumultuous childhood, never doing well in school and struggling with the poverty of his upbringing. He was kicked out of school at age 16.
He soon found himself spending time in pool halls. Two chance meetings helped change the direction of his life. He met local farmer Christopher Crofts who offered him a place to work on his dairy farm and he was discovered by Hubbard Casting, who were scouting for the David Puttnam production of “The War of the Buttons. Jonny was asked to audition outside the hall. After going through three days of auditions, it came down to Gregg Fitzgerald and Jonny for the lead. Gregg got the part. Jonny was crushed and gave up on his brief acting ‘career’. But he soon got a call for an audition for a Knorr soup commercial and he nabbed it. He was embarrassed by the ad but soon enough he landed his film debut, a very small role in “A Man of No Importance”. His career was just beginning. And Christopher Crofts and his family provided much needed support and help as Jonathan started to make his mark in this new world.

A career is launched…
Soon after “A Man of No Importance”, Jonathan landed one of the leads in “The Disappearance of Finbar Flynn”, which filmed in Lappland. A thaw occurred in the middle of filming and the shoot had to be postponed for six months. Jonny went home to Cork and soon got a call about “Michael Collins”. He was picked by director Neil Jordan to play the young assassin. Jonathan then filmed the Spanish film “The Killer Tongue”, where he played an 18 year old American boy toy of the lead female character. Jonny hated the experience and was miserable. He was only 18 and very lonely for the 8 week shoot in Madrid. Halfway through filming, he was called back to Lappland to finish the filming of “Finbar”. After completing both films, he went to Morocco to film just 2 scenes as the young Samson in “Samson and Deliah”. It was like a 2 week holiday for him and it gave Jonny his first taste of Morocco.
Next came “The Tribe”, filmed in London, and then straight to California for “The Maker”, where he only had a week and a half to get ready for an American accent for the part. He succeeded quite well. Jonathan next filmed a role as the wealthy nemesis of the lead, played by Brad Renfro, in “Telling Lies in America”. No rest after that! Jonny went back to London to film “B. Monkey”. He spent almost two years away from home, filming back to back movies as his star continued to rise.
Jonathan next filmed “The Governess” starring Minnie Driver. Then came his breakthrough role as Brian Slade in the ground breaking and risky “Velvet Goldmine”, directed by Todd Haynes and co-starring Ewan McGregor, Christian Bale, and Toni Collette. It won a special artistic achievement award at the Cannes Film Festival where it premiered. At only 19 years of age, Jonathan immersed himself in the role of Brian Slade without holding back. No one else could have come close to capturing the spirit of the larger than life part.
Jonathan has gone on to film “Ride with the Devil”, “The Loss of Sexual Innocence”, “Titus”, “Tangled”, “The Magnificent Ambersons”, and “Gormenghast”, a BBC fantasy miniseries that brought a lot of acclaim. He starred as a women’s soccer coach in the international box office hit “Bend It Like Beckham”, once again proving he can take on any kind of role. Jonathan also starred in “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” with Clive Owen and directed by the legendary Mike Hodges and had a small role “Alexander” directed by Oliver Stone.

Taking on a legend…
In 2005, Jonathan really made a name for himself by taking on the role of Elvis Presley in a 4 hour miniseries that aired on CBS. He was nominated for an Emmy Award, won a Golden Satellite award, and won the Golden Globe award for his outstanding portrayal of an American icon.
More accolades came Jonny’s way for his scorching performance in Woody Allen’s “Match Point”. He received the Chopard Trophy for outstanding newcomer at the Cannes film festival. The film was hailed as a return to form for Woody Allen, garnering plenty of excellent reviews and notice for Jonathan. He also starred in his first summer blockbuster “Mission: Impossible III”, playing a member of the team. With upcoming starring roles in “August Rush” and “The Tudors”, Jonathan’s star is only continuing to rise. Having worked with actors the likes of Ewan McGregor, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Lee, James Cromwell, Tom Cruise, Tobey Maguire, and Jessica Lange, Jonathan has established his own unique mark in the world of movie-making.

Personal tidbits…
Early on in his acting career, Jonathan said many times that he didn’t love acting but was doing it because it kept him off the streets and out of jail. However, he has grown quite passionate about acting and hopes he is accomplishing something with his diverse roles. Jonathan also enjoys listening to all kinds of music from Bob Marley to rap.
Jonathan currently resides in London but still visits Cork, spending time with friends and family whenever he has a break from filming. One of his first big purchases when he started making a living as an actor was to buy his mother a proper house in Cork. He also owns an apartment in Morocco, a place Jonathan loves to get away to when he’s not busy with his latest acting jobs. Jonny is also a talented musician and singer of traditional Irish music and if you’ve seen “Velvet Goldmine”, you can hear a sampling of his skills on tracks 15 and 18 of the official soundtrack. His guitar and vocal skills will also be on display in the upcoming “August Rush”.

source:
http://www.jrmfansite.org/jonathan/biography

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Thank you,Maxwell!!! Wink