Lee Pace

Lee Grinner Pace (born March 25, 1979) is an American actor.

He is known for starring as Thranduil the Elvenking in The Hobbit trilogy and as Joe MacMillan in the period drama television series Halt and Catch Fire.

He has also appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ronan the Accuser, a role he first played in Guardians of the Galaxy and reprised in Captain Marvel.

In 1997, he was accepted by the Juilliard School's Drama Division as a member of Group 30 (1997–2001), which also included actors Anthony Mackie and Tracie Thoms.

While there, he was in several plays, including Romeo and Juliet as Romeo, Richard II in the title role, and Julius Caesar as Cassius.

He graduated from Juilliard with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

After graduation, Pace starred in several off-Broadway plays, including The Credeaux Canvas and The Fourth Sister.

He also starred in a production of Craig Lucas's Small Tragedy, for which he was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award as Outstanding Actor.

Pace first gained recognition for his role in the 2003 film Soldier's Girl, based on real events, in which he played the central role of Calpernia Addams.

Of the role, Pace has said: "Not even my excellent training at Juilliard prepared me for my first movie role, where I played a transsexual who falls in love with a military guy in Soldier's Girl. Here I was, this 6 ft, 190 lb, lanky kid from Chickasha, Oklahoma, not knowing how to begin being a woman. So I saw documentaries about transsexuals, I lost twenty-five pounds, and I put on prosthetic boobs and hips to become that character. There were times I'd look in the mirror and wonder, 'What am I doing to my life here? My dad is going to kill me!' But the reason I went into acting was to be able to play parts as complicated and important as this one. In playing a transsexual, I got the chance to help change people's perspective about other people, and that is a powerful thing. I'm playing a swashbuckling bandit in my next film, but I'll always be proud of Soldier's Girl '."

Pace won a Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor and was nominated for several other awards, including a Golden Globe Award, for his work in this film.

In 2006, Pace starred in the two-character play Guardians by Peter Morris, which earned Pace his second nomination for a Lortel Award as Outstanding Actor.

Pace made his Broadway debut in Larry Kramer's play The Normal Heart, portraying Bruce Niles.

In 2006, Pace starred in Tarsem Singh's The Fall.

Upon release, The Fall was received with mixed reviews among critics and was a box office failure.

However, it was one of his most artistic roles.

His next film was Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. Pace was also featured in Possession with Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Pace also played supporting roles in The White Countess, Infamous, When in Rome and The Good Shepherd.

Pace earned a 2008 Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Ned in the comedy-drama Pushing Daisies.

Since 2021, he stars as the galactic emperor Brother Day in the television series Foundation, based on the stories of Isaac Asimov.

Pace was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, to Charlotte, a schoolteacher, and James, an engineer.

He has a brother and a sister.

As a child, Pace spent several years in Saudi Arabia, where his father worked in the oil business; the family later moved to Houston, Texas.

He was raised Catholic.

Pace attended Klein High School in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston, with actor Matt Bomer.

Pace briefly stopped attending high school to act at Houston's Alley Theatre before returning to graduate.

At the Alley, he appeared in productions of The Spider's Web and The Greeks.

In 2010, Pace appeared as Phil Winslow in the film Marmaduke.

It opened at the Golden Theatre on April 27, 2011.

The show ran for a total of 96 performances, with July 10 marking its final performance.

Pace was cast as composer Vincenzo Bellini in Golden Age, which began previews November 15, 2012.

The play, written by Terrence McNally, began its official run at the Manhattan Theatre Club December 4, 2012.

The previews were originally scheduled for November 13, 2012, but two shows were cancelled as a result of Hurricane Sandy.

Pace played the role of Joe Pitt in the Broadway revival of the National Theatre's production of Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.

In 2012, Pace starred as Garrett, the nomadic vampire, in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.

Pace was admittedly aware of the reputation linked to the Twilight franchise, and revealed that he "went in to this a little like 'You know what you're getting into, just do what you can.' " However, he enjoyed the experience and only had praise for the director Bill Condon.

Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight saga, was very satisfied with Pace's performance as Garrett, since he "stood out as someone who really was just so much fun and really looked the part."

The movie was met with a mixed reception by critics.

However, some critics, such as Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times, whose only issue was that he was introduced too late in the series: "Why, oh, why didn't they introduce him sooner?"

Previews began at the Neil Simon Theatre on February 23, 2018, and the show opened on March 25, 2018.