Born:
June 30, 1963
in
Weston-super-Mare
Best Known For:
Appearing in period dramas.
Early-life:
Rupert Graves was born June 30, 1963, in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. The acting bug bit while performing in Victorian musical nights at the town's Birbeck Pier. Unhappy at school, he left at 15 to become a circus clown. He made his TV debut in 1978 in The Return Of The Saint and had small roles in various other productions. He later entertained children at holiday camps as part of Silly Billy Pickles And The Peanut Street Gang before his big break in Merchant Ivory's 1985 movie A Room With A View.
Career:
Rejoined Merchant Ivory in 1987 to play a homosexual in Maurice, alongside James Wilby and Hugh Grant. The controversial role gained him fans of both sexes. He has tackled numerous challenging parts since, including a transvestite villain in Open Fire and the lover of a sex-change male in Different For Girls. He won the Best Actor award at the Montreal Film Festival for his part as a naive young man seduced by an older woman in Intimate Relations. Other notable productions include The Madness of King George, Mrs Dalloway, The Blonde Bombshell, Take A Girl Like You and Fortunes Of War. Graves has appeared on Broadway in Closer, and The Elephant Man. Has become a regular in a raft of top-notch detective shows, including Wallander, Lewis, and Sherlock and is very much in-demand.
Quote:
'I'm really pleased with myself. I've not had any training. I knew nothing about acting except that early on I knew I wanted to do it, and I've managed for years to do things without doing them just for the money.'
Trivia:
He enjoys playing football.