29 Facts About Rhys Ifans

Rhys Ifans was the frontman of Welsh rock music bands The Peth and Super Furry Animals.

Rhys Ifans grew up in Ruthin, where he received his primary education at Ysgol Pentrecelyn and was raised speaking Welsh as his first language.

Rhys Ifans attended Ysgol Maes Garmon, a Welsh medium secondary school in Mold, where he took his O levels and A levels.

Rhys Ifans studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he graduated in 1997.

Rhys Ifans appeared at the Donmar Warehouse in 2003's Accidental Death of an Anarchist.

In 2016, Rhys Ifans played Fool alongside Glenda Jackson in Deborah Warner's production of King Lear, at The Old Vic.

Rhys Ifans returned to The Old Vic to play Ebenezer Scrooge in Matthew Warchus' production of A Christmas Carol in 2017 and in 2018 returned to the National Theatre to play King Berenger in Patrick Marber's new adaptation of Eugene Ionesco's Exit the King.

Rhys Ifans was given the role of Atticus Finch in Aaron Sorkin's To Kill A Mockingbird to begin at London's Gielgud Theatre on 21 May 2020.

Rhys Ifans appeared in many Welsh-language television programmes before embarking on his film career, including the comedy show Pobol y Chyff, as well as performing at the National Theatre, London and the Royal Exchange, Manchester.

In 2005, Rhys Ifans made a guest appearance for the rock band Oasis in the video for their single "The Importance of Being Idle", for which he accepted their award for Video of the Year at the 2006 NME Awards.

Rhys Ifans played a lonely Welsh farmer trying to free himself from a domineering mother.

From 2016 to 2019, Rhys Ifans portrayed hard-nosed American CIA case officer Hector DeJean in the US pay-cable Epix network espionage thriller drama series Berlin Station, filmed on location in Berlin.

Rhys Ifans plays Otto Hightower in the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, which premiered 21 August 2022.

Reportedly, in preparation for the role, Rhys Ifans did not wash himself or brush his teeth.

Rhys Ifans played Adrian, the pompous eldest brother in Little Nicky.

Rhys Ifans played Jed Parry in the 2004 film version of Ian McEwan's Enduring Love, and the lead role in Danny Deckchair as Danny Morgan.

Rhys Ifans played Xenophillius Lovegood, editor of the wizarding magazine The Quibbler and father of the eccentric Luna Lovegood.

Rhys Ifans played Nemo Nobody's father in Mr Nobody, and a villain in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang.

On 11 October 2010 Associated Press confirmed that Rhys Ifans would portray the villain in the Spider-Man reboot film The Amazing Spider-Man.

In 2015, Rhys Ifans starred in She's Funny That Way, directed by Peter Bogdanovich.

Rhys Ifans starred in Steven Bernstein's Last Call, which was released theatrically, followed an extremely long delay, in the US on 25 November 2020.

Later it was revealed that Rhys Ifans was not actually present on set and only lent his voice for the character created through digital means, with his human form at the end of the film being from archival footage from The Amazing Spider-Man.

Rhys Ifans appeared as Grigori Rasputin in the spy film The King's Man, which was released in December 2021.

Rhys Ifans was briefly lead vocalist of the rock band Super Furry Animals before they released any records.

Since 2007, Rhys Ifans has sung with the psychedelic rock band The Peth, featuring Super Furry Animals' Dafydd Ieuan, which played a number of concert dates in south Wales and in London in the autumn of 2008.

In September 2012, Rhys Ifans became a patron of the Welsh-language Wikipedia, together with then Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan.

In 2017, Rhys Ifans partnered with Shelter Cymru in a campaign called "7 Ways You Can End Homelessness".

Rhys Ifans dated actress Sienna Miller in 2008 and English actress Anna Friel from 2011 to 2014.

In 2002, Rhys Ifans caused some controversy in the British media for his alleged support of Meibion Glyndwr, a militant Welsh nationalist group which burnt down more than 100 empty holiday homes in Wales owned by English people during the 1980s.