--- name: "Stephen Rea" canonical: "https://film.one/person/stephen-rea" fi1m_id: "stephen-rea" imdb_id: "nm0001653" tmdb_id: 9029 wikidata_id: "Q313042" roles: ["Actor"] born: "31 October 1946" reviewed_on_fi1m: 11 average_fi1m_score: 77 average_as: "actor" average_over: 11 updated: "2026-10-07T17:33:37.405391+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Stephen Rea ## Identity Stephen Rea - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/stephen-rea - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** stephen-rea - **IMDb ID:** nm0001653 - **TMDB ID:** 9029 - **Wikidata ID:** Q313042 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Rea, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q313042, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001653/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9029 Actor. Born 31 October 1946 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 31 October 1946, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK - **Active:** 1979–present - **Frequently works with:** [Neil Jordan](https://film.one/person/neil-jordan.md), [Stephen Woolley](https://film.one/person/stephen-woolley.md) - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination - **Average Fi1m score:** 77, as actor, over 11 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 78 (1), 1990s 79 (5), 2000s 73 (1), 2010s 76 (3), 2020s 70 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 78 to 73 across 8 titles - **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 7 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 2 of 7 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 10, Comedy 4, Crime 3, Thriller 3, Action & Adventure 2, Action 1 - **Screen time:** 12 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $444m across 6 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Rea, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q313042, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001653/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9029 ## Streaming the US now - **The Criterion Channel:** [*Life Is Sweet*](https://film.one/film/life-is-sweet.md) (84) - **HBO Max:** [*Interview with the Vampire*](https://film.one/film/interview-with-the-vampire.md) (79) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Stephen Rea > Stephen Rea makes difficult people worth attending to, using restraint and the rhythm of a line rather than spelling them out. We rate him highly, though the films around him do not always know when to stop explaining. Stephen Rea lets a line's rhythm suggest what a character cannot quite explain. His performances favour uncertainty over a tidy account of motives. Fergus in *The Crying Game* (1992), his international breakthrough, is a useful starting point: a conflicted man played with sympathy. Rea makes room for that sympathy without requiring us to find the man agreeable. Neil Jordan is the recurring director in this screen career, and their films offer different settings for Rea's preference for ambiguity. In *Interview with the Vampire* (1994), Rea plays Santiago amid gothic excess and difficult attachments. We grew impatient with the repeated remorse, because the characters' behaviour had already told us what their speeches about immortality kept explaining. Jordan is better when he lets their relationships become disturbing, with Tom Cruise's malicious wit and Kirsten Dunst's force giving us the strongest reasons to watch. Rea's instinct for leaving things unsaid belongs comfortably in that kind of company. *Michael Collins* (1996), in which he plays Ned Broy, gives the partnership a more urgent setting. Jordan directs it as a thriller, and Chris Menges's cinematography keeps danger close even on a large scale. Liam Neeson makes Collins's confidence reassuring enough to stir us, when the prospect of violence ought to make it frightening. It is forceful filmmaking, but Jordan's fondness for his central figure leaves too little room to question him. The Jordan partnership continued with Bertie in *Breakfast on Pluto* (2005), but it is not the whole account. Rea's stage work with Samuel Beckett helps explain his attention to rhythm and uncertainty. The part of Eric in *Cyprus Avenue* (2016), finding a human being in an extreme character, gives another reason to distrust the familiar description of him as merely morose. That label tells us little about what he does with difficult material. Begin with *The Crying Game*, and give his less agreeable characters time. ## Biography Stephen Rea is an Irish actor born on 31 October 1946 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He studied English at Queen's University Belfast and trained at the Abbey Theatre School in Dublin. He began his career with Dublin's Focus Theatre and appeared in many stage and Irish television roles. Rea came to international attention with his performance as Fergus in Neil Jordan's *The Crying Game* (1992), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He has collaborated frequently with Jordan, appearing in *Interview with the Vampire* (1994), *Michael Collins* (1996), *Breakfast on Pluto* (2005) and *Greta* (2018). Other notable film roles include Patsy in *Life Is Sweet* (1990) and Finch in *V for Vendetta* (2006). He won a BAFTA Award for his role in the television series *The Honourable Woman* (2014). *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (11) - *The English* (2022), Fi1m 70, as Sheriff Robert Marshall — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-english.md) - *War and Peace* (2016), Fi1m 65, as Vassily Kuragin — [page](https://film.one/tv/war-and-peace.md) - *The Honourable Woman* (2014), Fi1m 80, as Hugh Hayden-Hoyle — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-honourable-woman.md) - *Utopia* (2013), Fi1m 83, as Conran Letts — [page](https://film.one/tv/utopia.md) - *V for Vendetta* (2006), Fi1m 73, as Finch — [page](https://film.one/film/v-for-vendetta.md) - *The Butcher Boy* (1998), Fi1m 74, as Da Brady — [page](https://film.one/film/the-butcher-boy.md) - *Michael Collins* (1996), Fi1m 75, as Ned Broy — [page](https://film.one/film/michael-collins.md) - *Interview with the Vampire* (1994), Fi1m 79, as Santiago — [page](https://film.one/film/interview-with-the-vampire.md) - *The Crying Game* (1992), Fi1m 82, as Fergus — [page](https://film.one/film/the-crying-game.md) - *Life Is Sweet* (1991), Fi1m 84, as Patsy — [page](https://film.one/film/life-is-sweet.md) - *Minder* (1979), Fi1m 78, as Roddy Allan — [page](https://film.one/tv/minder.md) ## Complete filmography (139) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *You'll Never Believe Who's Dead* (2026), as Charlie Bann - *The Journey of Weather-Exposed Bones* (2026), as Matsuo Bashō (English) - *Prime Target* (2025), series, as Professor James Alderman - *The Miracle Club* (2023), as Frank Dunne - *The English* (2022), series, as Sheriff Robert Marshall — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-english.md) - *Nightride* (2022), as Joe (voice) - *Secrets from Putumayo* (2020), as Narrator (voice) - *Disclosure* (2020), as Fergus (archive footage) - *Flesh and Blood* (2020), series, as Mark - *The Stranger* (2020), series, as Martin Killane - *Cyprus Avenue* (2019), as Eric Miller - *Greta* (2019), as Brian Cody - *Thanksgiving* (2019), series, as Melchior - *Black '47* (2018), as Conneely - *Unquiet Graves* (2018), as Narrator - *Counterpart* (2017), series, as Alexander Pope - *War and Peace* (2016), series, as Vassily Kuragin — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/tv/war-and-peace.md) - *Dickensian* (2015), series, as Inspector Bucket - *Ruby Strangelove Young Witch* (2015), as Danforth - *Out of the Dark* (2014), as Jordan - *The Curse of Styria* (2014), as Dr. Hill - *The Honourable Woman* (2014), series, as Hugh Hayden-Hoyle — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-honourable-woman.md) - *Asylum* (2013), as McGahey - *Tasting Menu* (2013), as Walter - *Utopia* (2013), series, as Conran Letts — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/utopia.md) - *Werewolf: The Beast Among Us* (2012), as Doc - *Stella Days* (2012), as Brendan - *Underworld: Awakening* (2012), as Dr. Jacob Lane - *Blackthorn* (2011), as Mackinley - *The Shadow Line* (2011), series, as Gatehouse - *Roadkill* (2011), as Seamus - *The Heavy* (2010), as Anawalt - *Ondine* (2010), as Priest - *Nothing Personal* (2009), as Martin - *Father & Son* (2009), series, as Augustine Flynn - *Spy(ies)* (2009), as M. Palmer - *Heidi 4 Paws* (2008), as Doctor (voice) - *Kisses* (2008), as Down Under Dylan (uncredited) - *10 Days to War* (2008), series, as General Tim Cross - *The Devil's Mercy* (2008), as Tyler - *Stuck* (2007), as Tom Bardo - *The Reaping* (2007), as Father Costigan - *Celebration* (2007), as Waiter - *Until Death* (2007), as Gabriel Callaghan - *Sisters* (2006), as Dr. Philip Lacan - *Sixty Six* (2006), as Dr. Barrie - *V for Vendetta: Unmasked* (2006), as Finch - *V for Vendetta* (2006), as Finch — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/v-for-vendetta.md) - *Breakfast on Pluto* (2005), as Bertie - *River Queen* (2005), as Francis - *Tara Road* (2005), as Colm - *Control* (2004), as Dr. Arlo Penner - *The Halo Effect* (2004), as Fatso - *Fluent Dysphasia* (2004), as Murph - *Proud* (2004), as Barney Garvey - *Bloom* (2004), as Leopold Bloom - *The I Inside* (2004), as Doctor Newman - *The Good Shepherd* (2004), as McCaran - *Evelyn* (2002), as Michael Beattie - *Copenhagen* (2002), as Niels Bohr - *FearDotCom* (2002), as Alistair - *On the Edge* (2001), as Dr. Figure - *The Musketeer* (2001), as Cardinal Richelieu - *Snow in August* (2001), as Rabbi Judah Hirsch - *The King's Wake* (2000), as King Conor - *The End of the Affair* (1999), as Henry Miles - *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), series, as Callum Donovan - *The Life Before This* (1999), as Brian - *Guinevere* (1999), as Connie Fitzpatrick - *I Could Read the Sky* (1999), as P.J. - *This Is My Father* (1999), as Mission Priest - *In Dreams* (1999), as Doctor Silverman - *Still Crazy* (1998), as Tony Costello - *The Butcher Boy* (1998), as Da Brady — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/the-butcher-boy.md) - *A Scare at Bedtime* (1997), series, Actor - *Sink Or Swim* (1997), as Brian - *Double Tap* (1997), as Cypher - *Fever Pitch* (1997), as Ray, the Governor - *A Further Gesture* (1997), as Sean Dowd · Idea - *The Last of the High Kings* (1996), as Cab Driver - *Michael Collins* (1996), as Ned Broy — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/michael-collins.md) - *Crime of the Century* (1996), as Bruno Richard Hauptmann - *Trojan Eddie* (1996), as Trojan Eddie - *Samuel Beckett: As the Story Was Told* (1996), as Voice - *Lumière & Company* (1995), as (segment "John Boorman") - *All Men Are Mortal* (1995), as Fosca - *Shadow of a Gunman* (1995), as Seamus Shields - *Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea* (1995), as Nikos - *Citizen X* (1995), as Lt. Viktor Burakov - *Prêt-à-Porter* (1994), as Milo O'Brannigan - *Interview with the Vampire* (1994), as Santiago — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/interview-with-the-vampire.md) - *Princess Caraboo* (1994), as Gutch - *Angie* (1994), as Noel Riordan - *Bad Behavior* (1993), as Gerry McAllister - *Hedda Gabler* (1993), as Eilert Lovborg - *The Crying Game* (1992), as Fergus — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-crying-game.md) - *Performance* (1991), series, as Ejlert Lovborg, Seumus Shields - *Life Is Sweet* (1991), as Patsy — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/life-is-sweet.md) - *Not with a Bang* (1990), series, as Colin Garrity - *Nobody Here But Us Chickens* (1989), Actor - *4 Play* (1989), series, as Paul - *Endgame* (1989), as Clov - *Scout* (1987), as Marshall - *Shergar* (1986), as Frankie - *Boon* (1986), series, as Frank Warren - *The Doctor and the Devils* (1985), as Timothy Broom - *Screen Two* (1985), series, as Frankie - *Four Days in July* (1984), as Dixie McConville - *The House* (1984), as The Soldier - *The Company of Wolves* (1984), as Young Groom - *Loose Connections* (1984), as Harry - *Joyce in June* (1982), as Stanislaus Joyce / McIntosh - *Angel* (1982), as Danny - *Caleb Williams* (1980), as Tyrell - *Caleb Williams* (1980), series, as Tyrell - *Minder* (1979), series, as Roddy Allan — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/minder.md) - *The Out of Town Boys* (1979), as Shay - *Thank You, Comrades* (1978), as Mayakovsky - *On a Paving Stone Mounted* (1978), Actor - *The Seagull* (1978), as Constantin - *The Professionals* (1977), series, as Pellin - *Professional Foul* (1977), as Hollar - *BBC2 Play of the Week* (1977), series, as Pavel Hollar - *The Hollywood Greats* (1977), series, Actor - *Early Struggles* (1976), as Chas - *Days of Hope* (1975), series, as Reporter - *I Didn't Know You Cared* (1975), series, as Carter Brandon - *Fugitive* (1974), as Peter - *K Is for Killing* (1974), as Arden Buckley - *Thriller* (1973), series, as Arden Buckley - *A Place Called Ardoyne* (1973), as Narrator (voice) - *The Moonstone* (1972), series, as Major Frayne - *Stage 2* (1971), series, as Donal Davoren - *Play for Today* (1970), series, as Shay, Peter - *Cry of the Banshee* (1970), as Villager - *BBC Play of the Month* (1965), series, as Konstantin Treplev - *The Body Is Water*, as Mr M - *Visitation*, Actor - *Listen*, as Dinny ## Gallery - ![Stephen Rea](https://film.one/media/person/77654/gallery-d507e7b98f16.jpg) Stephen Rea — BackPacKer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Stephen_Rea.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Core cast of the film V for Vendetta: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Stephen Rea, John Hurt, Stephen Fry and Roger Allam. (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/77654/gallery-c52773509165.jpg) Core cast of the film V for Vendetta: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Stephen Rea, John Hurt, Stephen Fry and Roger Allam. (2014) — Kigsz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Principal_cast_of_V_for_Vendetta.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Stephen Rea at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2025 (2023)](https://film.one/media/person/77654/gallery-42e41338b181.jpg) Stephen Rea at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2025 (2023) — Lloyd Tudor, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Stephen_Rea_EIBF_2025_01.jpg/1280px-Stephen_Rea_EIBF_2025_01.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Stephen Rea at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2025 (2023)](https://film.one/media/person/77654/gallery-c1b74b10944d.jpg) Stephen Rea at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2025 (2023) — Lloyd Tudor, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Stephen_Rea_EIBF_2025_02.jpg/1280px-Stephen_Rea_EIBF_2025_02.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Stephen Rea](https://film.one/media/person/77654/gallery-1d3654a30e2a.jpg) Stephen Rea — Image via TMDB - ![Stephen Rea](https://film.one/media/person/77654/gallery-5b71ecb3998e.jpg) Stephen Rea — Image via TMDB - ![Stephen Rea at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2025](https://film.one/media/person/77654/gallery-1cac479fb29b.jpg) Stephen Rea at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2025 — Lloyd Tudor, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Stephen_Rea_EIBF_2025_03.jpg/1280px-Stephen_Rea_EIBF_2025_03.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Stephen Rea from Day 9 JDIFF 2012, uploaded by DIFF under CC-BY-3.0 Unported Licence on December 12, 2012.](https://film.one/media/person/77654/gallery-a99fff4ec880.jpg) Stephen Rea from Day 9 JDIFF 2012, uploaded by DIFF under CC-BY-3.0 Unported Licence on December 12, 2012. — Dublin International Film Festival, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Stephen_Rea_at_JDIFF_2012.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - 1993: Best Actor (nominated), for *The Crying Game* ### Other awards — 3 won, 1 nominated - honorary doctorate 2019: honorary doctorate (won) - Sitges Film Festival Best Actor award 1995: Sitges Film Festival Best Actor award (won), for *Citizen X* - Theatre World Award 1993: Theatre World Award (won) - Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play 1993: Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (nominated) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/stephen-rea