Jonathan Rhys Meyers and overnight stardom
Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O’Keeffe) is a relatively young yet legendary actor. We’ll explain why but first the details…
Meyers was born on 27 July 1977 in Dublin, Ireland the eldest of four boys for Geraldine (née Myers) and folk musician John O’Keeffe, and brought up in County Cork. His family is Catholic, and his three younger brothers are professional musicians. He attended North Monastery Christian Brothers School. Little Jonathan was born with a heart condition, and was baptized rather quickly for fear he may not live that long.
It was a rocky start for the Meyers family as his parents had divorced when Meyers was just 3-years-old. Things weren’t looking so good for Meyers when later in life when he was expelled from his all-boys high school at 16. But as luck would have it, the teen was spotted a year later by casting agents in a local pool hall and that began his journey. Just like the song “Don’t Stop Believin”
Acting
Meyers success in hollywood is almost legendary! His first gig was a national ad campaign for Knorr Soup, and this catapulted him for consideration in a major film. He had changed his last name when he took up acting, taking his mother’s maiden name of Meyers and like a good Irish lad, handed over his first acting paycheck to his mother.
His film acting debut was a modest role in the film A Man of No Importance (1994), where his simple cast credit was “First Young Man”.
Let’s take a look at Meyers top 10 films, many of which you have likely already seen.
Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Elvis (2005)
Match Point (2005)
Ride with the Devil (I) (1999)
Lionheart (2003 TV Movie)
Titus (1999)
The Emperor’s Wife (2003)
Alexander (2004)
Vanity Fair (2004)
The Children of Huang Shi (2008)
Meyers continued to skyrocket actually even landing a role in Mission: Impossible III, but in 2006, his mother, Mary Geraldine O’Keeffe, passed away at age 51, and at this stage the actor began his struggles with alcohol. He entered himself into a rehab program that same year.
Also in 2006, Meyers won the award for best actor in a mini series or television movie, starring as the young Elvis in this CBS TV mini series.
Married Life
Jonathan met actress Mara Lane in 2013 and kept their courtship as private as possible giving them a chance to spend time with each other outside the limelight. One year later, the Irish actor asked for her hand in marriage and the hollywood duo tied the knot in 2016. They have a son together, named Wolf Rhys Meyers who was born in December of 2016.
Jonathan stands Height 5′ 10″, he enjoys sports, in fact he attends an Irish GAA Hurling match when he gets the chance. In 2022 the actor sold his Hollywood Hills long time bachelor pad and moved his young family to County Cork, Ireland.
Regarding his acting career Jonathan put it this way, “Being an actor is the easiest job. Just say the lines.” Jonathan is great friends with fellow Irish actor Cillian Murphy. And Jonathan continues his involvement with several charities making generous contributions to organizations focused on children and healthcare.