Paul Bettany (born 27 May 1971) is an English–American actor. He is best known for voicing J.A.R.V.I.S. and playing Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films ''Iron Man'' (2008), ''Iron Man 2'' (2010), ''The Avengers'' (2012), ''Iron Man 3'' (2013), ''Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015), ''Captain America: Civil War'' (2016), and ''Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), as well as the miniseries ''WandaVision'' (2021). Bettany first came to the attention of mainstream audiences when he starred in the films ''Gangster No. 1'' (2000), ''A Knight's Tale'' (2001), and ''A Beautiful Mind'' (2001). He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for playing Stephen Maturin in the film ''Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'' (2003). He went on to appear in several films, including ''Dogville'' (2003), ''Wimbledon'' (2004), ''The Da Vinci Code'' (2006), ''Creation'' (2009), ''The Tourist'' (2010), ''Margin Call'' (2011), ''Legend'' (2015), and ''Solo: A Star Wars Story'' (2018). He made his directorial debut with the film ''Shelter'' (2014), which he also wrote and co-produced.

Early life

Bettany was born in London, the son of Anne (), a stage singer, theatre teacher, and stage manager, and Thane Bettany, a dancer, actor, drama teacher and godfather to Sophie, Countess of Wessex. Bettany was raised Roman Catholic, although his church attendance drifted after his confirmation. He later attended Methodist and Church of England congregations with his father, who experimented with different Christian branches. Bettany later became an atheist. While his father taught at the all-girls boarding school Queenswood School, near Hatfield, Hertfordshire, the family lived on the school grounds. When Bettany was 16, his brother Matthew died at age 8 after falling onto concrete from a tennis pavilion roof at Queenswood. Soon after, Bettany dropped out of school, left home, and became a street performer in London. He lived in a small flat and earned money by playing his guitar in the streets as a busker. His parents later divorced. After two years, he found a new job in a home for the elderly. After working there for a year, Bettany enrolled at the Drama Centre in London. He had dyslexia prior to it being recognised as a learning disability.

Career

In 1990, at the age of 19, Bettany began a three-year course at the Drama Centre London in Chalk Farm. He made his stage debut in Stephen Daldry's acclaimed West End revival of ''An Inspector Calls'' at the Aldwych Theatre, playing the part of Eric Birling. He also appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of ''Richard III'', ''Romeo and Juliet'', and ''Julius Caesar'' (for which he received a Charleson Award nomination). When Bettany was 21 he appeared in a BBC production of ''Oliver Twist'', playing Bill Sikes. After appearing in the finale of Sean Bean's series ''Sharpe'' as William II of the Netherlands at the Battle of Waterloo, he made his film debut with a small part in ''Bent'', a Holocaust drama which also featured Clive Owen, Jude Law, and Ian McKellen. He continued doing work in stage and television: these included Joe Penhall's ''Love and Understanding'', which played at London's Bush Theatre and then ran in Connecticut. He had roles in the television productions ''Killer Net'' and ''Coming Home'', during which he met and dated Emily Mortimer. His last stage work was in ''One More Wasted Year'' and ''Stranger's House'' at the Royal Court Theatre. He filmed several more movies, including his first leading role in ''Gangster No. 1''. The British Independent Film Awards nominated him for Best Actor, and the London Film Critics' Circle nominated him for British Newcomer of the Year. Back in Hollywood, writer/director Brian Helgeland (''L.A. Confidential'') was planning a new film called ''The Sin Eater'' (also known as ''The Order''). He was impressed by Bettany's audition tape, though Helgeland eventually decided to film ''A Knight's Tale'' instead. The studio executives were not impressed, but Helgeland was determined to cast him, even writing the part of Chaucer for him. ''A Knight's Tale'' would be Bettany's first big Hollywood production. He received critical acclaim for ''A Knight's Tale'', including winning the London Film Critics Circle Award for Best British Supporting Actor. After the movie wrapped, Helgeland, determined that Hollywood should recognize Bettany's talent, showed the audition tape to many of his peers, including Ron Howard, who promptly cast Bettany in ''A Beautiful Mind''. After ''A Beautiful Mind'', Bettany was offered the role of serial killer Francis Dolarhyde in ''Red Dragon'', opposite Edward Norton and Anthony Hopkins. He turned down the role in favour of accepting a part with Stellan Skarsgård and Nicole Kidman in Lars von Trier's ''Dogville''. Bettany's next major project saw him starring again alongside Russell Crowe in Peter Weir's ''Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World''. His portrayal of surgeon and naturalist Stephen Maturin brought him a BAFTA nomination, and he was named British Actor of the Year (London Film Critics' Circle), and Best Actor (''Evening Standard''). On 28 June 2004, Bettany and 13 other actors were included in the 2004 invitation to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ''Dogville'' and ''The Reckoning'' were released in limited cinemas in 2004. In September of that year, Bettany made his leading-man debut in ''Wimbledon'', a romantic comedy with Kirsten Dunst. The film's cast would also introduce him to Jon Favreau, playing his manager, a relationship that would return when Favreau cast him as the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S. in ''Iron Man''. In mid-2005, Bettany filmed ''Firewall'' in Vancouver, Canada, a thriller also starring Harrison Ford and Virginia Madsen, which reunited him with ''Wimbledon'' director Richard Loncraine. He spent the autumn of 2005 filming ''The Da Vinci Code'', based on Dan Brown's best-selling novel and starring Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou and Ian McKellen. In the film, he played an Opus Dei monk named Silas. In 2007, Bettany went to London to star in ''There For Me'', written by his friends Dan Fredenburgh and Doraly Rosen. In 2008, he appeared in the New Line Cinema family fantasy ''Inkheart'', playing the part of a fire-eater named Dustfinger. In 2009, he appeared as Charles Darwin in ''''Creation'''', starring opposite wife Jennifer Connelly. In 2010, Bettany appeared alongside Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie in ''The Tourist'' and portrayed the archangel Michael in ''Legion'', a film depicting divine vengeance upon humanity. He starred in the films ''Priest and Margin Call'', both released in 2011. Bettany reprised his voice role as J.A.R.V.I.S. in 2010's ''Iron Man 2'', 2012's ''The Avengers'', 2013's ''Iron Man 3'', and Disneyland's Innoventions attraction. In 2014, Bettany starred alongside Johnny Depp and fellow British actor Rebecca Hall in the feature film ''Transcendence''. He was once again paired with Depp in ''Mortdecai'', a 2015 motion picture also starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor. He played Vision in the 2015 film ''Avengers: Age of Ultron'', and reprised his voice role as J.A.R.V.I.S. again in the same film. Bettany portrayed Vision again in the sequels ''Captain America: Civil War'' and ''Avengers: Infinity War''. Bettany also stars as Ted Kaczynski in the Discovery Channel television show, ''Manhunt: Unabomber''. Bettany replaced Michael K. Williams in ''Solo: A Star Wars Story'', after Williams was removed from the final film, as he was unable to return to set during the film's reshoots. Bettany was cast in his place, with the character being reworked from a motion-capture alien to a human. On 20 January 2018, it was reported that Bettany was nearing a deal to play Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on the Netflix series ''The Crown'' succeeding Matt Smith. Days later on 25 January, it was reported by TVLine that Bettany was ultimately unable to sign on due to scheduling conflicts. In 2021, Bettany starred alongside Elizabeth Olsen in the Marvel television miniseries WandaVision, which aired on Disney+. In the miniseries, Bettany portrays a new version of his Marvel Cinematic Universe Character, Vision. In 2020, it became known that Bettany will star as Alexander Nix in an upcoming film on the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal.

Personal life

On 1 January 2003, Bettany married American actress Jennifer Connelly in Scotland; they met when they starred together in ''A Beautiful Mind''. They did not become a couple until some time after the film, as both were in other relationships during filming. She was his childhood crush since he first saw her as a teenager in the film ''Labyrinth''. The September 11 attacks motivated him to act on his feelings for her, and after two days of attempting to contact her, he proposed. Soon after, they moved to Brooklyn Heights after having lived together in Tribeca.David, Amrk
"Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly On the Move Again"
''Variety (magazine)'', 14 January 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2019. "It was only about 3.5 years ago that English-born movie actor Paul Bettany (''A Beautiful Mind'', ''The Da Vinci Code'', ''A Knight's Tale'') and Brooklyn-bred Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind, Requiem For A Dream, Blood Diamond) paid $6,920,000 for a full floor loft-type penthouse apartment on the edge of New York City's star-stocked TriBeCa neighborhood." The couple have also had two children together, a son Stellan (named after his friend, Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård), born 2003, and a daughter, Agnes Lark, born 2011. In 2020, text messages between Bettany and his close friend, actor Johnny Depp, were used as evidence against Depp in his defamation trial, ''Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd'', against ''The Sun'' tabloid for calling him a "wifebeater" in a 2018 article. In the messages, Depp and Bettany exchanged unflattering remarks regarding actress Amber Heard. In 2016, Bettany had defended Depp from accusations that he abused Heard, stating "He's the sweetest, kindest, gentlest man that I've ever known."

Filmography



Film



Television



Awards and nominations



Notes



References




External links

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