Early work (1994–2004) O'Keeffe adopted the stage name Jonathan Rhys Meyers because he thought his real name was boring. His first acting role came in the film
A Man of No Importance (1994). In 1996, he appeared in
Michael Collins, as the
Anti-Treaty IRA sniper who kills
the title character. He played a
David Bowie-inspired
glam rock star in
Velvet Goldmine (1998). He appeared in
B. Monkey as Bruno, a small-time petty thief/criminal. In 1999, he appeared in
Ride with the Devil as
psychopathic
Bushwhacker Pitt Mackeson, and in
Titus as the sadistic Goth prince Chiron. He starred as Steerpike in the BBC's
Gormenghast (2000); played a dedicated girls'
football coach in
Bend It Like Beckham (2002); played in
Vanity Fair (2004) opposite
Reese Witherspoon; and co-starred in 2004 in
Oliver Stone's epic
Alexander in which he played
Cassander.
Breakthrough with Match Point and The Tudors (2005–2017) at the premiere of
Belle du Seigneur in 2013 The following year Meyers starred in
Woody Allen's drama
Match Point (2005), for which he received a
Chopard Trophy at the
Cannes Film Festival, and in the
CBS four-hour mini-series
Elvis (2005) as
Elvis Presley alongside
Randy Quaid as
Colonel Tom Parker, but did not sing for his role in the miniseries. The latter earned him an
Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe win. In 2006, he appeared in
Mission: Impossible III. He starred in the
CBC/
Showtime co-production The Tudors (2007) as
Henry VIII. He was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Drama in
2007 for the role. Subsequent projects include
August Rush (2007). In 2008, he appeared in
The Children of Huang Shi, and in 2010,
Shelter and
From Paris with Love. In 2011, he starred as Solal in
Belle du Seigneur, an English language film adaptation of
Albert Cohen's novel
Belle du Seigneur. The film was released in Russia on 29 November 2012 and in France on 19 June 2013 after premiering at the
Champs Elysees Film Festival. In 2013, Meyers was cast as
Dracula in NBC's television series
Dracula alongside
Oliver Jackson-Cohen and
Jessica De Gouw. It was also announced in May 2013 that Meyers was to participate in the recording of his brothers' album entitled
Blossom, which was released on 21 April 2014. On 23 October 2014, he received
The Irish Post Legend Award at the London Hilton on Park Lane in recognition of his remarkable achievements in Film & Television over the previous 20 years. In 2017, He starred in the movie Black Butterfly and was nominated for Best supporting Actor at the Madrid International Festival. Meyers later reunited with
Michael Hirst and starred as
Bishop Heahmund in the television series
Vikings.
Independent films and varied roles (2018–present) Meyers played the lead in the spy thriller
Damascus Cover, based on the novel by Howard Kaplan. It premiered on 23 September 2017, at the Boston Film Festival and was released on July 20, 2018 by
Vertical Entertainment. he won the best actor award at
Boston and
Manchester International Festival Meyers portrays
Patrick Pearse, a political activist and one of the leaders of the bloody 1916 Irish Easter Rising, in the centennial commemoration
biopic film
The Rising, written and produced by Kevin McCann. In 2020, Meyers played in
Edge of the World, a biographical picture of the British explorer Sir James Brooke, as well as the lead role in the movie
American Night, a neo-noir thriller co-starring
Emile Hirsch,
Paz Vega, and
Jeremy Piven. In 2021, he starred as Shiro in
Yakuza Princess, a Brazilian
action thriller film directed by Vicente Amorim based on the graphic novel
Samurai Shiro by
Danilo Beyruth. He also starred in the horror-thriller
Hide and Seek. In 2022, he starred in
The Good Neighbour and
Wifelike. In 2023, he starred in the thriller "Disquiet" with Rachelle Goulding. Meyers also starred in the hijacking thriller film
97 Minutes, directed by Timo Vuorensola.
Music A self-taught singer and guitarist, Meyers has appeared in a number of musical roles. His first such role was as "Brian Slade" in
Velvet Goldmine; two of the songs he sang ("Baby's on Fire" and "Tumbling Down") are on the film's soundtrack. He sang briefly in the television mini-series version of
The Magnificent Ambersons, performed in studio scenes of the miniseries
Elvis and played the flute in
Gormenghast. In the 2007 music drama
August Rush, he performed on-screen as singer-songwriter Louis Connelly and is credited for four songs on the soundtrack – "Break", "Moondance", "Something Inside" and "This Time". Of the four, "This Time" and "Break" were considered in the Best Original Song category of the
80th Academy Awards. "This Time" was not released as a single but peaked at number 84 in the
Canadian Hot 100.
Upcoming projects In 2022, it was revealed that he would be joining the cast of the thriller
Altitude. ==Personal life==