Luke Evans (actor)
Encyclopedia
Luke Evans is a Welsh theatre and film actor. He is known to theatregoers for his stage roles in Rent
, Miss Saigon
Small Change and Piaf
, and to filmgoers for his roles in The Three Musketeers
, Clash of the Titans
, and Tamara Drewe
.
, a small town in the Rhymney Valley, South Wales, the only child of Yvonne and David Evans. At the age of seventeen, he moved to Cardiff, where he studied under the supervision of Louise Ryan, an established singing coach. In 1997 he won a scholarship to The London Studio Centre in Kings Cross, London. He graduated in 2000.
productions including La Cava
, Taboo
, Rent
, Miss Saigon
and Avenue Q
as well as several fringe shows in London and at the Edinburgh Festival
.
In 2008, he landed his most significant theatre role playing Vincent in the play Small Change written and directed by Peter Gill
at the Donmar Warehouse
, it was significant in that he gained recognition from film casting directors and US agencies from this play and he was also nominated for the Evening Standard award for best newcomer because of his performance in Small Change. Later that same year he did his second show at the Donmar Warehouse, Piaf, in which he played Yves Montand.
Evans got his first film audition aged thirty. In 2009, he landed his first film, playing the Greek god Apollo in the 2010 remake Clash of the Titans
. Also in 2010, he appeared as Clive in the film Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
, directed by Matt Whitecross, as the Sheriff of Nottingham's thug in Robin Hood
, alongside Matthew Macfadyen
(whom he would later play alongside again in The Three Musketeers
), and played handyman and good guy Andy, in director Stephen Frears
’ film Tamara Drewe
, based on Posy Simmond's comic strip. Evans went on to portray DI Craig Stokes in Blitz
(2011), the film adaptation of Ken Bruen
's novel of the same name, in which he starred with Jason Statham
and Paddy Considine
. In early 2010, he shot the independent movie, Flutter
, directed by Giles Borg.
Evans played the Musketeer Aramis
in Paul W. S. Anderson
's version of The Three Musketeers
(filmed in 2010 and released in 2011). He was cast in a lead role in Tarsem Singh
's Greek epic, Immortals (2011), in which he played the King of the Gods, Zeus. And at the end of 2010, he took a role opposite John Cusack
in James McTeigue
's film The Raven
, replacing Jeremy Renner
. In the film, Evans will play Detective Emmett Fields, who investigates a series of murders alongside Cusack's Edgar Allan Poe, set in mid-19th century Baltimore. Shooting took place in Budapest and Serbia in November 2010.
In 2011, he will be shooting No One Lives, a psychological horror film directed by Ryuhei Kitamara, in New Orleans, and began filming a role in Peter Jackson
's upcoming two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit
playing the role of Bard the Bowman.
In September 2010, Evans was romantically linked with a female PR executive who stated, "Luke's lovely - we're really old friends and it just sort of happened. ... We are nowhere near engaged but things are really good."
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
, Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
Small Change and Piaf
Piaf (play)
Piaf is a play by Pam Gems that focuses on the life and career of French chanteuse Edith Piaf. The biographical drama with music portrays the singer in a most unflattering light...
, and to filmgoers for his roles in The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers (2011 film)
The Three Musketeers is a 2011 3D action-adventure film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson which is a reinterpretation of the novel of the same title by Alexandre Dumas, the film was released in Germany, Austria, France & Switzerland on September 1, 2011, and in the U.S...
, Clash of the Titans
Clash of the Titans (2010 film)
Clash of the Titans is a 2010 fantasy and action remake of the 1981 film of the same name . The story is very loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus. Directed by Louis Leterrier and starring Sam Worthington, the film was originally set for standard release on March 26, 2010...
, and Tamara Drewe
Tamara Drewe (film)
Tamara Drewe is a 2010 comedy film directed by Stephen Frears.The screenplay was written by Moira Buffini, based on the newspaper comic strip of the same name written by Posy Simmonds...
.
Early life
Luke Evans was born and raised in AberbargoedAberbargoed
Aberbargoed is a small town in the Welsh county borough of Caerphilly, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, south Wales. Aberbargoed once contained the largest ever colliery waste tip in Europe, although this has now been reclaimed and turned into a country park.- Mining :Coal mining...
, a small town in the Rhymney Valley, South Wales, the only child of Yvonne and David Evans. At the age of seventeen, he moved to Cardiff, where he studied under the supervision of Louise Ryan, an established singing coach. In 1997 he won a scholarship to The London Studio Centre in Kings Cross, London. He graduated in 2000.
Career
From 2000 to 2008 Evans starred in many of London's West EndWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
productions including La Cava
La Cava
La Cava is a musical with a book by Dana Broccoli, lyrics by John Claflin and Laurence O'Keefe, additional lyrics by Shaun McKenna and music by O'Keefe and Stephen Keeling....
, Taboo
Taboo (musical)
Taboo is a stage musical with a book by Mark Davies , lyrics by Boy George, and music by George and Kevan Frost....
, Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
, Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
and Avenue Q
Avenue Q
Avenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller...
as well as several fringe shows in London and at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
.
In 2008, he landed his most significant theatre role playing Vincent in the play Small Change written and directed by Peter Gill
Peter Gill (playwright)
Peter Gill, theatre director, playwright and former actor, was born in Cardiff, Wales, on 7 September 1939, son of George John Gill and his wife Margaret Mary .He was educated at St Illtyd's College, Cardiff.-Career:...
at the Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
, it was significant in that he gained recognition from film casting directors and US agencies from this play and he was also nominated for the Evening Standard award for best newcomer because of his performance in Small Change. Later that same year he did his second show at the Donmar Warehouse, Piaf, in which he played Yves Montand.
Evans got his first film audition aged thirty. In 2009, he landed his first film, playing the Greek god Apollo in the 2010 remake Clash of the Titans
Clash of the Titans (2010 film)
Clash of the Titans is a 2010 fantasy and action remake of the 1981 film of the same name . The story is very loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus. Directed by Louis Leterrier and starring Sam Worthington, the film was originally set for standard release on March 26, 2010...
. Also in 2010, he appeared as Clive in the film Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (film)
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll is a 2010 biopic of Ian Dury, starring Andy Serkis as Dury. The film follows Dury's rise to fame and documents his personal battle with the disability caused by having contracted polio during childhood. The effect that his disability and his lifestyle have upon his...
, directed by Matt Whitecross, as the Sheriff of Nottingham's thug in Robin Hood
Robin Hood (2010 film)
Robin Hood is a 2010 British/American adventure film based on the Robin Hood legend, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett...
, alongside Matthew Macfadyen
Matthew Macfadyen
David Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor, known for his role as MI5 intelligence officer Tom Quinn in the BBC television drama series Spooks and for starring as Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.In June, 2010 Macfadyen won a British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting...
(whom he would later play alongside again in The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers (2011 film)
The Three Musketeers is a 2011 3D action-adventure film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson which is a reinterpretation of the novel of the same title by Alexandre Dumas, the film was released in Germany, Austria, France & Switzerland on September 1, 2011, and in the U.S...
), and played handyman and good guy Andy, in director Stephen Frears
Stephen Frears
Stephen Arthur Frears is an English film director.-Early life:Frears was born in Leicester, England to Ruth M., a social worker, and Dr Russell E. Frears, a general practitioner and accountant. He did not find out that his mother was Jewish until he was in his late 20s...
’ film Tamara Drewe
Tamara Drewe (film)
Tamara Drewe is a 2010 comedy film directed by Stephen Frears.The screenplay was written by Moira Buffini, based on the newspaper comic strip of the same name written by Posy Simmonds...
, based on Posy Simmond's comic strip. Evans went on to portray DI Craig Stokes in Blitz
Blitz (film)
Blitz is a 2011 crime film directed by Elliott Lester and starring Jason Statham, Paddy Considine, Aidan Gillen and David Morrissey. It is based on the novel of the same name by Ken Bruen, which features his recurring characters Detective Sergeant Tom Brant and Chief Inspector James...
(2011), the film adaptation of Ken Bruen
Ken Bruen
Ken Bruen is an Irish writer of hard-boiled and noir crime fiction.He was born in Galway, and educated at Gormanston College, County Meath and later at Trinity College Dublin, where he earned a Ph.D. in metaphysics. He spent twenty-five years as an English teacher in Africa, Japan, S.E. Asia and...
's novel of the same name, in which he starred with Jason Statham
Jason Statham
Jason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
and Paddy Considine
Paddy Considine
Patrick George "Paddy" Considine is an English actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, musician and frequent collaborator with Shane Meadows. Best known to audiences for his portrayals of dark, troubled, morally or mentally ambiguous characters...
. In early 2010, he shot the independent movie, Flutter
Flutter (film)
Flutter is an upcoming British independent dark comedy film about gambling, written by Stephen Leslie and directed by Giles Borg currently filming in England...
, directed by Giles Borg.
Evans played the Musketeer Aramis
Aramis
C. René d'Aramis de Vannes is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père...
in Paul W. S. Anderson
Paul W. S. Anderson
Paul William Scott Anderson , also known as Paul W. S. Anderson or Paul Anderson, is an English film director who regularly works in science fiction movies and video game adaptations.-Life and career:...
's version of The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers (2011 film)
The Three Musketeers is a 2011 3D action-adventure film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson which is a reinterpretation of the novel of the same title by Alexandre Dumas, the film was released in Germany, Austria, France & Switzerland on September 1, 2011, and in the U.S...
(filmed in 2010 and released in 2011). He was cast in a lead role in Tarsem Singh
Tarsem Singh
Tarsem Dhandwar Singh , known professionally as Tarsem, is an Indian director who has worked on films, music videos, and commercials.- Life and career :...
's Greek epic, Immortals (2011), in which he played the King of the Gods, Zeus. And at the end of 2010, he took a role opposite John Cusack
John Cusack
John Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...
in James McTeigue
James McTeigue
James McTeigue is an Australian film director. He has been an assistant director on many films, including No Escape , the Matrix trilogy and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones , and made his directorial debut in the 2006 film V for Vendetta.Born on Sydney's North Shore, he grew up in...
's film The Raven
The Raven (2011 film)
The Raven is an upcoming thriller film directed by James McTeigue, based on a screenplay by Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare. It is due for release on March 9, 2012.-Plot:...
, replacing Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Lee Renner is a two-time Academy-Award-nominated American actor and musician. Renner appeared in films throughout the 2000s, mostly in supporting roles. He came to prominence in films such as Dahmer , S.W.A.T. , Neo Ned , 28 Weeks Later and The Hurt Locker...
. In the film, Evans will play Detective Emmett Fields, who investigates a series of murders alongside Cusack's Edgar Allan Poe, set in mid-19th century Baltimore. Shooting took place in Budapest and Serbia in November 2010.
In 2011, he will be shooting No One Lives, a psychological horror film directed by Ryuhei Kitamara, in New Orleans, and began filming a role in Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's upcoming two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
playing the role of Bard the Bowman.
Personal life
During his early career, Evans openly identified as gay. In a 2002 interview, he said "[E]verybody knew me as a gay man, and in my life in London I never tried to hide it" and that by being open he would not have "that skeleton in the closet they can rattle out". In 2004, he said that his acting career had not suffered by being out.In September 2010, Evans was romantically linked with a female PR executive who stated, "Luke's lovely - we're really old friends and it just sort of happened. ... We are nowhere near engaged but things are really good."
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Taboo | Billy | Short |
| 2010 | Cowards and Monsters | Paul | Short |
| 2010 | Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll | Clive Richards | |
| 2010 | Clash of the Titans Clash of the Titans (2010 film) Clash of the Titans is a 2010 fantasy and action remake of the 1981 film of the same name . The story is very loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus. Directed by Louis Leterrier and starring Sam Worthington, the film was originally set for standard release on March 26, 2010... |
Apollo Apollo Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology... |
|
| 2010 | Robin Hood Robin Hood (2010 film) Robin Hood is a 2010 British/American adventure film based on the Robin Hood legend, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett... |
Sheriff's Thug | |
| 2010 | Tamara Drewe Tamara Drewe (film) Tamara Drewe is a 2010 comedy film directed by Stephen Frears.The screenplay was written by Moira Buffini, based on the newspaper comic strip of the same name written by Posy Simmonds... |
Andy Cobb | |
| 2011 | Blitz Blitz (film) Blitz is a 2011 crime film directed by Elliott Lester and starring Jason Statham, Paddy Considine, Aidan Gillen and David Morrissey. It is based on the novel of the same name by Ken Bruen, which features his recurring characters Detective Sergeant Tom Brant and Chief Inspector James... |
DI Craig Stokes | |
| 2011 | The Three Musketeers The Three Musketeers (2011 film) The Three Musketeers is a 2011 3D action-adventure film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson which is a reinterpretation of the novel of the same title by Alexandre Dumas, the film was released in Germany, Austria, France & Switzerland on September 1, 2011, and in the U.S... |
Aramis Aramis C. René d'Aramis de Vannes is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père... |
|
| 2011 | Immortals | Zeus Zeus In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus... |
|
| 2011 | Flutter Flutter (film) Flutter is an upcoming British independent dark comedy film about gambling, written by Stephen Leslie and directed by Giles Borg currently filming in England... |
Adrian | Completed |
| 2012 | Ashes | Crewcut | Post-production |
| 2012 | The Raven | Inspector Emmett Fields | Post-production |
| 2012 | No One Lives | Driver | Filming |
| 2012 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Bard | Filming |
| 2013 | The Hobbit: There and Back Again | Bard | Filming |