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Stephen Rea (born October 31, 1946) is a Northern Irish actor. He is best known for his Oscar-nominated role in the 1992 film The Crying Game.

Biography

Rea was born in Belfast. One of four children in a working-class Presbyterian but nationalist family, he attended Belfast High School and the Queen's University of Belfast, taking a degree in English.

During the broadcasting ban on Sinn Fein imposed by Margaret Thatcher's government, in order to cut the 'oxygen of publicity', it was interpreted that Sinn Fein members could not be heard making statements expressing the views of Sinn Fein, so Rea was one of many actors contacted to provide an actor's voice to get around that problem.

He was married to former Provisional Irish Republican Army member and hunger striker, Dolours Price from 1983 to 2003. They have three children. He currently resides in Donabate in north Co. Dublin.

Acting career

Rea trained at the Abbey Theatre School in Dublin. After appearing on the stage and in television and film for many years in Ireland and Britain, Rea came to international attention when he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film The Crying Game. He is a frequent collaborator with Irish film maker Neil Jordan.

Contributions to theater

Stephen Rea has long been associated with some of the most important writers in Ireland. His association with playwright Stewart Parker (1941-1988, the uncle of Irish theatre director Lynne Parker) for example, began when they were students together at QUB.

He helped establish the Field Day Theatre Company in 1980 with Tom Paulin, Brian Friel, Seamus Heaney, and Seamus Deane.

In the late 1970s, he acted in the Focus Company in Dublin with Gabriel Byrne and Colm Meaney.

In recognition for his contribution to theatre and performing arts, Stephen Rea was given honorary degrees from both the Queen's University of Belfast ([1]) and the University of Ulster ([2]) in 2004.

Awards and nominations

• Tony Awards - nominee, best actor, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (1993)
• Academy Awards - nominee, best actor, The Crying Game (1993)
• BAFTA Awards - nominee, best actor, The Crying Game (1993)
• National Society of Film Critics - winner, The Crying Game (1993)
• National Board of Review - winner, best acting by an ensemble (shared), Prêt-à-Porter (1994)
• Catalonian International Film Festival - winner, best actor, Citizen X (1995)
• Golden Globes - nominee, best actor in a made-for-TV movie for mini-series, Crime of the Century (1997)
• Daytime Emmy Awards - nominee, outstanding performer in a children's special, Snow in August (2002)
• IFTA Awards - nominee, best actor, The Halo Effect (2004)

Selected filmography

• V for Vendetta (2006)
• River Queen (2005)
• Tara Road (2005)
• Breakfast on Pluto (2005)
• Bloom (2003)
• The i Inside (2003)
• Copenhagen (2002) (TV)
• FeardotCom (2002)
• The Musketeer (2001)
• The End of the Affair (1999)
• Guinevere (1999)
• The Butcher Boy (1997)
• Fever Pitch (1997)
• Michael Collins (1996)
• Citizen X (1995) (TV)
• Prêt-à-Porter (1994)
• Interview with the Vampire (1994)
• Princess Caraboo (1994)
• Hedda Gabler (1993) (TV)
• The Crying Game (1992)
• Life Is Sweet (1990)
• The Company of Wolves (1984)
• Crossroads (1964) (TV series)

External link

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