Gruffudd's acting career began at the age of 13 with the Welsh television film,
Austin (1986), followed by appearing in the Welsh language soap opera
Pobol y Cwm (
People of the Valley) from 1987 to 1994. He also played football with the
Pobol y Cwm football team
Cwmderi FC alongside co-stars Hywel Emrys, Gwyn Elfyn, and
Ieuan Rhys. During this time, he was also active on stage, in school performances, and in the 1991
Urdd Eisteddfod production of
Cwlwm. In 1992, aged 18, he began attending the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. However, he was only given small parts in the academy's productions, and feeling isolated and directionless, almost dropped out several times. But in 1995, while in his final year, he was cast in
Ibsen's
Hedda Gabler as George (Jørgen) Tesman, the husband of Hedda, the lead character. This performance led to his being offered the role of
Jeremy Poldark in the 1996 TV remake of
Poldark. After playing
Oscar Wilde's lover
John Gray in 1997's
Wilde he took a role as Fifth Officer
Harold Lowe in
James Cameron's film
Titanic. He later landed the role of
Horatio Hornblower in
Hornblower, the
Meridian production of the
C. S. Forester novels (1998–2003), shown on
ITV and
A&E. He has said: "It was quite something for an unknown actor to get the lead. So I will always be grateful to Hornblower. ... I would love to play this character through every stage of his life. I think it would be unique to have an actor playing him from the very early days as a midshipman, through till he's an Admiral. So, I would love to play this character till he perishes." In 2007, he starred in the historical drama
Amazing Grace as
William Wilberforce, the British abolitionist, receiving critical acclaim for the role. Gruffudd has also portrayed characters of both
Marvel Comics and
DC Comics, having appeared as
Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic in Marvel's
Fantastic Four (2005) and
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), and guest starred as the voice of
Mister Miracle in DC's
Justice League Unlimited (2005). In 2008, he appeared in the
Julia Roberts-
Ryan Reynolds film,
Fireflies in the Garden. In 2008, he also appeared in
The Secret of Moonacre. In 2009, he starred alongside
Josh Brolin in
W., a biopic about the life of
US President George W Bush, in which Gruffudd played
Tony Blair. In 2011, he played the financier of a cave dive in
Sanctum. In July 2008, he featured in a promotional trailer in Welsh for
BBC Wales, alongside fellow Welshmen
Matthew Rhys and
Gethin Jones, publicising BBC coverage of the 2008
National Eisteddfod of Wales in Cardiff. In early 2014, Gruffudd was among the stars of Wales in a short film from the BBC to mark the centenary of the birth of Welsh poet
Dylan Thomas. Gruffudd débuted his new male lead of Andrew Earlham, a respected surgeon and widowed father of a teenage son, on 11 September 2017, in
ITV's new 6-part thriller miniseries,
Liar. Earlham's world—personally and professionally—is torn asunder when his son's schoolteacher, Laura Neilson (
Joanne Froggatt) accuses him of raping her after their first date, the details of which she cannot remember.
Liar also began airing in the US on
SundanceTV on 25 September 2017. In 2018, Gruffudd was cast as forensic pathologist Dr. Daniel Harrow in the Australian TV show
Harrow airing on the
ABC. The show is set and filmed in Brisbane and focuses on Gruffudd's character Harrow - a forensic pathologist with a total disregard for authority, and an unfailing empathy for the dead which helps him to solve bizarre cases. Apart from television and film work, he starred in the music video of
Westlife's version of "
Uptown Girl" (2001) alongside
Claudia Schiffer. On 7 July 2007 he was a presenter at the
UK leg of
Live Earth at
Wembley Stadium, London. His other film credits include
102 Dalmatians (2000),
Black Hawk Down (2001),
The Gathering (2003),
Fireflies in the Garden (2008),
The Secret of Moonacre (2008),
Sanctum,
Horrible Bosses,
Foster (all 2011),
The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box (2014), and
San Andreas (2015). On television, Gruffudd has starred in the
CW series
Ringer (2011–2012), the
ABC drama
Forever (2014–2015), the
Lifetime series
UnREAL (2016),
Sundance/
ITV's
Liar (2017–2020). On radio, he recently voiced the role of John Adams in
BBC Radio 4's two-part adaptation of the musical
1776. ==Personal life==