36 Facts About Paul Bettany

Paul Bettany was born on 27 May 1971 and is an English actor.

Paul Bettany 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.

Paul Bettany made his directorial debut with the film Shelter, which he wrote and co-produced.

Paul Bettany was born on 27 May 1971 in London, to Anne, a stage singer, theatre teacher, and stage manager, and Thane Paul Bettany, a dancer, actor, drama teacher and godfather to Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.

Paul Bettany was raised Roman Catholic, although his church attendance drifted after his confirmation.

Paul Bettany then experimented with other Christian denominations among which were Methodist and Church of England congregations with his father.

When Paul Bettany was 16, his brother Matthew died at age 8 after falling onto concrete from a tennis pavilion roof at Queenswood.

Paul Bettany lived in a small flat and earned money by playing his guitar in the streets as a busker.

Paul Bettany had dyslexia prior to it being recognised as a learning difficulty.

In 1990, at the age of 19, Paul Bettany began a three-year course at the Drama Centre London in Chalk Farm.

Paul Bettany 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.

Paul Bettany appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar.

When Paul Bettany was 21, he appeared in a BBC production of Oliver Twist, playing Bill Sikes.

Paul Bettany 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.

Paul Bettany had roles in the television productions Killer Net and Coming Home, during which he met and dated Emily Mortimer.

Paul Bettany filmed several more movies, including his first leading role in Gangster No 1.

Paul Bettany was impressed by Bettany's audition tape, though Helgeland eventually decided to film A Knight's Tale instead.

Paul Bettany received critical acclaim for A Knight's Tale, including winning the London Film Critics Circle Award for Best British Supporting Actor.

Paul Bettany turned down the role due to his commitment to a role in Lars von Trier's Dogville.

In mid-2005, Paul Bettany filmed Firewall in Vancouver, Canada, a thriller starring Harrison Ford and Virginia Madsen, which reunited him with Wimbledon director Richard Loncraine.

Paul Bettany 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 2007, Paul Bettany went to London to star in There For Me, written by his friends Dan Fredenburgh and Doraly Rosen.

In 2010, Paul 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.

Paul Bettany starred in the films Priest and Margin Call, both released in 2011.

In 2014, Paul Bettany starred alongside Johnny Depp and fellow British actor Rebecca Hall in the feature film Transcendence.

Paul Bettany was paired with Depp in Mortdecai, a 2015 motion picture starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor.

Paul Bettany reprised the role in the sequels Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.

Paul Bettany portrayed Ted Kaczynski in the Discovery Channel television show, Manhunt: Unabomber.

Paul 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 Paul Bettany was nearing a deal to play Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on the Netflix series The Crown, succeeding Matt Smith.

Paul Bettany starred alongside Elizabeth Olsen in the Marvel television miniseries WandaVision, portraying a new version of his Marvel Cinematic Universe character, Vision, with Olsen portraying the titular Wanda.

Paul Bettany starred in the 2021 miniseries A Very British Scandal.

Paul Bettany played artist Andy Warhol in a production of the play The Collaboration by Anthony McCarten at the Young Vic in London from February to April 2022.

Paul Bettany is slated to reprise the role in a film adaptation of the play.

On 1 January 2003, Paul Bettany married American actress Jennifer Connelly in Scotland; they met when they starred together in the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind.

Paul Bettany is stepfather to Connelly's son from a previous relationship.