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Rufus is best known for the many period roles to his name, which include Will Ladislaw in the BBC's adaptation of Middlemarch* (1994), sexy Seth Starkadder in Emmy Award winning Cold Comfort Farm* (1995), and nasty nob Adhemar of Anjou in hit movie A Knight's Tale, in which he appeared alongside Heath Ledger.
He also donned robe and wig for the lead role in Charles II: The Power and the Passion, alongside Diana Rigg, who played his mother, and Shirley Henderson, who played his wife, Catherine of Braganza.
In an interview for the Charles II: The Power and the Passion website, Rufus said he was desperate to do a modern comedy next. He got his wish with the role of Petruchio in David Nicholls updating of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, on BBC ONE this autumn. In it he plays a titled but penniless eccentric, who determines to wed rude and spiky MP Kate, played by his Charles II co-star Shirley Henderson, whether she likes it or not. Other stars of this adaptation include Jaime Murray, Twiggy Lawson*, Stephen Tompkinson and David Mitchell.
Rufus can soon be seen as Armand in The Legend of Zorro*, starring Antonio Banderas* and Catherine Zeta Jones. Other film roles coming up for Rufus are Lord Marke in celtic love story Tristan and Isolde*, and Crown Prince Leopold in fantasy drama The Illusionist*.
Rufus has appeared in numerous films, including relationship comedy Martha, Meet Daniel, Frank and Laurence* (1988) in which he played Frank, sci-fi thriller Dark City (1988) with William Hurt* and Kiefer Sutherland, and Bloomsbury Group story Carrington* (1995), where he played Emma Thompson's husband.
He's no stranger to Shakespeare, having played Fortinbras in Kenneth Branagh's* film of Hamlet, Harry Percy "Hotspur" in Performance: Henry IV (1995) for the BBC, and Macbeth on the stage.
Rufus started his career on the stage, and was awarded the 1992 London Critics Circle* Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Most Promising Newcomer. His extensive stage experience includes the role of Septimus Hodge in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, for which he was nominated for an Oliver award.
He recently appeared in Tell me the Truth About Love by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, one of a series of "24 Hour Plays*" staged at the Old Vic*, each written, rehearsed and performed all in one day.
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Rufus didn't enjoy school and dropped out aged 14. He trained in drama at the Central School of Speech and Drama*.
Rufus suffers from sleepwalking.
Talking to the Radio Times* about Charles II: The Power and the Passion, Rufus confessed that he'd hated the wigs. He described them as being like "a horse's arse".
According to Rufus in an interview he gave to the Telegraph* magazine on 12 February 2005, his favourite films are A Matter of Life and Death, Being There and Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
Rufus' father was an Australian animator called Bill, who died when Rufus was only ten.
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| Personal Details |
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He was born on 29 October 1967, in Twickenham, London.
He has been married twice, first to model Yasmin Abdallah and then to Amy Gardner.
He has one son, William, or Billy, Douglas Sewell.
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Rufus Sewell
