Rea, Stephen

Stephen Rea ( ray; born 31 October 1946) is an Irish actor. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he began his career as a member of Dublin's Focus Theatre, and played many roles on the stage and on Irish television. He came to the attention of international film audiences in Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan's 1992 film The Crying Game, and subsequently starred in many more of Jordan's films, including Interview with the Vampire (1994), Michael Collins (1996), Breakfast on Pluto (2005), and Greta (2018). He also played a starring role in the Hugo Blick 2011 TV series The Shadow Line. As a stage actor, he is known for his performances at The Gate and Abbey theatres in Dublin, and the Royal Court Theatre in London. He is a co-founder of the Field Day Theatre Company with Brian Friel. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Crying Game (1992), and won a BAFTA Award for his role in The Honourable Woman in 2015. In 2020, The Irish Times ranked Rea the 13th greatest Irish film actor of all time.