Jonathan Rhys Meyers was born 27 july 1977 in Dublin, Ireland. Jonathan and his family moved to County Cork, Ireland, when the actor was nearly a year old, and then, at the age of 3, his father left the family, leaving his mother to care for Jonny and his 3 younger brothers alone.
Jonathan had a difficult childhood and even spent some time in an orphanage and was permanently expelled from school at age 16. Happy to be out of school, he began spending time in a local pool hall where he was discovered by Hubbard Casting. The casting agents were talent-spotting for the David Puttnam production of War of the Buttons (1994), and asked Jonathan to appear for an audition. After three days of auditions, however, he did not get the role, and Meyers gave up on his acting aspirations.
Soon afterward, he received a call to audition for a national ad campaign for Knorr soup, and though embarrassed by the attention from the ad, he soon found himself considered for a major film.
His movie acting debut was a very small role in the film A Man of No Importance (1994). He became well-known internationally for his role as a sympathetic football coach in Bend It Like Beckham (2002). His upcoming role in the Woody Allen film Match Point has also garnered him praise and attention.
Filmography
Adina (2007) (pre-production) (attached) .... Jason
Brontë (2007) (pre-production) .... Branwell Brontë
Toussaint (2007) (pre-production)
The Children of Huang Shi (2007) (post-production) .... George Hogg
August Rush (2007) (completed) .... Louis Rush
Mission: Impossible III (2006) .... Declan Gormley
Match Point (2005) (as
Jonathan Rhys Meyers Chris Wilton
Alexander (2004) .... Cassander
Vanity Fair (2004) (as
Jonathan Rhys Meyers George Osborne
The Emperor's Wife (2003) .... Chamberlain
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2003) .... Davey
Octane (2003) .... The Father
The Tesseract (2003) .... Sean
Bend It Like Beckham (2002) .... Joe
Tangled (2001) .... Alan Hammond
Prozac Nation (2001) .... Noah
Happy Now (2001) .... Mark Wraith
Titus (1999) .... Chiron
Ride with the Devil (1999/I) (as
Jonathan Rhys Meyers Pitt Mackeson
B. Monkey (1998) .... Bruno
The Tribe (1998) .... Adam
The Governess (1998) (as
Jonathan Rhys Meyers Henry Cavendish
Velvet Goldmine (1998) .... Brian Slade
Telling Lies in America (1997) (as
Jonathan Rhys Meyers Kevin Boyle
The Maker (1997) (as
Jonathan Rhys Meyers Josh Minnell
The Disappearance of Finbar (1996) .... Finbar Flynn
Lengua asesina, La (1996) .... Rudolph