Rhys Ifans

Rhys Owain Evans (born 22 July 1967), better known as Rhys Ifans, is a Welsh actor.

Ifans was born Rhys Owain Evans in Haverfordwest on 22 July 1967, the son of nursery school teacher Beti-Wyn (née Davies) and primary school teacher Eurwyn Evans.

His younger brother, Llŷr Ifans, is also an actor.

He grew up in Ruthin, where he received his primary education at Ysgol Pentrecelyn and was raised speaking Welsh as his first language.

He attended Ysgol Maes Garmon, a Welsh medium secondary school in Mold, where he took his O levels and A levels.

He attended acting classes at Theatr Clwyd.

After leaving school, he presented Welsh-language television programmes on S4C.

In 1990, he presented Sdwnsh (Welsh for "Mash"), an anarchic children's quiz programme; 31 fifteen-minute programmes were broadcast on Welsh-language TV channel S4C.

He studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he graduated in 1997.

Ifans' early stage work included Hamlet at Theatr Clwyd, A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Regent's Park Theatre, and Under Milk Wood and Volpone at the National Theatre.

Following his role as Jeremy Lewis in the Swansea-based movie Twin Town (1997) alongside his brother Llŷr, Ifans gained international exposure in his role as slovenly housemate Spike in the British film Notting Hill (1999).

Reportedly, in preparation for the role, Ifans did not wash himself or brush his teeth.

He is best known for his roles in Notting Hill (1999), Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000), and Enduring Love (2004) as well as his portrayals of Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010), the supervillain Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), and Grigori Rasputin in The King's Man (2021).

Other roles include Hector DeJean in the Epix thriller series Berlin Station, Mycroft Holmes in the CBS series Elementary, and Ser Otto Hightower in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon.

Ifans was also formerly the frontman of the rock bands The Peth and Super Furry Animals.

In 2000, he narrated the children's animated series Sali Mali for S4C.

He played Adrian, the pompous eldest brother in Little Nicky (2000).

Other film roles include: Eyeball Paul in Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000), Nigel in The Replacements (2000), Iki in The 51st State (2001), William Dobbin in Vanity Fair (2004), and Vladis Grutas in Hannibal Rising (2007).

He appeared at the Donmar Warehouse in 2003's Accidental Death of an Anarchist.

In 2004, his performance as Peter Cook in the TV film Not Only But Always won him the BAFTA Best Actor at the 2005 British Academy Television Awards.

He played Jed Parry in the 2004 film version of Ian McEwan's Enduring Love, and the lead role in Danny Deckchair (2003) as Danny Morgan.

In 2005, Ifans made a guest appearance for the rock band Oasis in the video for their single "The Importance of Being Idle" (where he mimed to Noel Gallagher's vocals), for which he accepted their award for Video of the Year at the 2006 NME Awards.

He has also appeared in the music videos for "God! Show Me Magic" and "Hometown Unicorn" by Super Furry Animals, "Mulder and Scully" by Catatonia, and "Mama Told Me Not to Come" by Tom Jones with Stereophonics.

In 2006, he returned to the London stage in Michael Grandage's production of Don Juan in Soho at the Donmar Warehouse.

In 2008, he appeared in "Six Days One June", one of three episodes of the TV series The Last Word Monologues, written by Hugo Blick and broadcast on BBC Two.

He played a lonely Welsh farmer trying to free himself from a domineering mother.

Ifans revealed in March 2009 that he was to appear in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010).

He played Xenophillius Lovegood, editor of the wizarding magazine The Quibbler and father of the eccentric Luna Lovegood.

In the same interview, he announced that he would play the title role in the film Mr. Nice, based on the life of the drug smuggler Howard Marks.

He played Nemo Nobody's father in Mr. Nobody, and a villain in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang.

On 11 October 2010 Associated Press confirmed that Ifans would portray the villain in the Spider-Man reboot film The Amazing Spider-Man.

The villain was revealed as the Curt Connors / Lizard a few days later, and the film was released in July 2012.

In 2016, Ifans played Fool alongside Glenda Jackson in Deborah Warner's production of King Lear, at The Old Vic.

From 2016 to 2019, Ifans portrayed hard-nosed American CIA case officer Hector DeJean in the U.S. pay-cable Epix network espionage thriller drama series Berlin Station, filmed on location in Berlin.

Ifans plays Otto Hightower in the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, which premiered 21 August 2022.

He returned to The Old Vic to play Ebenezer Scrooge in Matthew Warchus' production of A Christmas Carol (adapted by Jack Thorne) in 2017 and in 2018 returned to the National Theatre to play King Berenger in Patrick Marber's new adaptation of Eugene Ionesco's Exit the King.

Ifans was given the role of Atticus Finch in Aaron Sorkin's To Kill A Mockingbird to begin at London's Gielgud Theatre on 21 May 2020.

The play was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but was rescheduled for May 2021.

The role of Atticus Finch was later given to Rafe Spall due to scheduling conflicts.

Ifans appeared in many Welsh-language television programmes before embarking on his film career, including the comedy show Pobol y Chyff, as well as performing at the National Theatre, London and the Royal Exchange, Manchester.