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Ioan Gruffudd
Gruffudd at 2011 Comic-Con International
Born	(1973-10-06) 6 October 1973 (age 51) Aberdare, Wales
Citizenship	United Kingdom United States
Education	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1986–present
Spouse	Alice Evans ​ ​(m. 2007; div. 2023)​
Partner(s)	Bianca Wallace (2021–present; engaged)
Children	2

Ioan Gruffudd (Welsh: [ˈjɔan ˈɡrɪfɪð] ; /ˈjoʊɑːn ˈɡrɪfɪθ/; born 6 October 1973) is a Welsh actor. He is known for his roles in film and television series in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia.

He first was noted for his portrayal of Harold Lowe in Titanic (1997), and for his portrayal of Horatio Hornblower in the Hornblower series of television films (1998–2003). Subsequent roles have included Lancelot in King Arthur (2004), Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic in Fantastic Four (2005) and its 2007 sequel, William Wilberforce in Amazing Grace (2006), Tony Blair in W. (2008), and Adam Lockwood in Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024).

Early life and education

Gruffudd was born on 6 October 1973 in Aberdare, the eldest of three siblings. His parents, Gillian (née James) and Peter Griffiths (Ioan uses Gruffudd, the more traditional Welsh version of the surname), were both teachers.

His father was headmaster at two Welsh-language comprehensive schools in South Wales, first at Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari (in Llanharry, Rhondda Cynon Taf) then later at Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen (in Rhydfelin). Gruffudd was raised in a Nonconformist household.

During his childhood, his family moved to Cardiff. Gruffudd attended three Welsh-medium schools: Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Aberdar (Ynyslwyd; now located in Cwmdare), Ysgol Gymraeg Melin Gruffydd (in Whitchurch, Cardiff), and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf (in Llandaff North).

He was an accomplished oboist in his teens, achieving a Grade 8 level in the ABRSM music examinations and playing in the South Glamorgan Youth Orchestra for several years, but gave it up once acting took up most of his time. He won prizes for his high baritone singing while at school, including one at the National Eisteddfod. He has said, "As a Welshman, I grew up in a culture of singing and performing with music, and I think it was through this performing that I got my confidence as an actor."

Gruffudd's parents are committed Christians, and in his early 20s he was a member of the London Church of Christ, but his mother later came to London to "sort head out".

Career

Gruffudd started his acting career at the age of 13 in a Welsh television film, Austin (1986), and later moved on to 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."

His television work includes playing the character Pip in the BBC TV production of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations (1999), Lt. John Feeley in BBC One's Warriors (1999) and architect Philip Bosinney in ITV's adaptation of The Forsyte Saga (2002). He has starred in the films 102 Dalmatians (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001) and King Arthur (2004).

Gruffudd, a native Welsh speaker, was inducted into the Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain (the Bardic Order of Great Britain) at the highest rank of Druid in the National Eisteddfod at Meifod, mid-Wales, on 4 August 2003, with the bardic name "Ioan".

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 Dr 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. Dr 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 Dr. Harrow - a forensic pathologist with a total disregard for authority, and an unfailing empathy for the dead which helps him to solve the most bizarre cases. The series was a ratings hit in Australia and overseas, and was renewed for a second series in 2019 and a third series in 2020.

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), and the Australian series Harrow (2018–2021).

Personal life

Gruffudd met Alice Evans in 1999 during the production of 102 Dalmatians. They moved to Los Angeles together in 2003. On 14 September 2007, they married in Mexico. His best man was fellow Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, a long-time friend. Both are patrons of Trust PA, a UK spinal injuries charity. Evans and Gruffudd have two daughters, born in 2009 and 2013.

In an interview in 2020, Gruffudd said that working away from home meant that he and his wife had struggled to spend time with each other in the previous four years. Evans announced the couple's separation in January 2021. On 1 March 2021, Gruffudd filed for divorce. On 14 February 2022, Gruffudd filed for a domestic violence restraining order against Evans. This included protection of his girlfriend Bianca Wallace. On 2 August 2022, Gruffudd was granted a three-year permanent domestic violence restraining order against Evans. On 3 July 2023, an LA judge declared Gruffudd and Evans legally divorced.

In 2024, Gruffudd confirmed that he was engaged to Bianca Wallace. The couple had confirmed their relationship in 2021.

Filmography

Film

Video games

Television

Theatre

Music video

References

1. "Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans declared legally divorced two years on from split". Daily Mirror. 4 July 2023.
2. "Ioan Gruffudd England and Wales Birth Registration Index". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
3. ^ "Ioan received into the Gorsedd". BBC Wales (in Welsh). 4 August 2003. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
4. Moring, Mark (20 February 2007). "A Fantastic Role". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
5. "Ioan Gruffudd biography". BBC Wales. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
6. ^ Liz Hoggard (2 July 2005). "Ioan Gruffudd: Enter the dragon". The Independent. London, UK. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008.
7. ^ "Ioan Gruffudd CV". Hamilton Hodell Talent Management. Archived from the original on 16 December 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
8. "The Gruffudd saga". GMTV. 16 January 2004.
9. ^ "Ioan Gruffudd trivia". Filmspot.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
10. In a July 2005 newspaper interview, Gruffudd said: "I hadn't been going to chapel. A guy stopped me in the street and asked if I would like to go to church. I thought it was a sign... I knew it wasn't right but I didn't feel that it was so wrong, so other-worldly – that's how convincing the whole thing was. In the end, my mum had to come up to London to sort my head out." Liz Hoggard (2 July 2005). "Ioan Gruffudd: Enter the dragon". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008.
11. Malone, Sam (2 February 2010). "S4C drama tribute".
12. Gina Petonito (1999–2007). "Biography". Ioancentral . Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
13. "Gruffudd made honorary druid". BBC News. 20 June 2003.
14. "Ioan Gruffudd is Tony Blair". Total Film. GamesRadar. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
15. "Eisteddfod hapus!". The Guardian. London. 30 July 2008.
16. Higgs, David (28 February 2014). "Watch this amazing video of Welsh stars reading Dylan Thomas' most famous poem". Wales Online. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
17. ^ White, Peter (10 October 2019). "Ioan Gruffudd To Move Into Directing As ABC Studios' 'Harrow' Is Renewed For Third Season". Deadline. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
18. "SMASH-HIT CRIME DRAMA HARROW CONFIRMED FOR SEASON TWO". tv.press.abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
19. Skopp, Sam (13 April 2021). "Harrow Season 4 Release Date, Cast, And Plot - What We Know So Far". Looper.com. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
20. "London Live Earth line-up revealed". NME. 5 July 2007.
21. Chrissy Iley (2 November 2008). "Ioan Gruffudd: set to charm Hollywood". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
22. Mary Margaret (15 September 2007). "Fantastic Four Star Ioan Gruffudd Gets Married". People. Archived from the original on 18 September 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
23. "Welsh actors help spinal charity". BBC. 26 October 2002. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
24. Andrew Asare (2 October 2013). "Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans welcome second child". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
25. Saner, Emine (24 February 2020). "Ioan Gruffudd on sexism, Weinstein and playing a rapist: 'I found myself crying'". The Guardian.
26. "Alice Evans Tweets Husband Ioan Gruffudd 'Has Announced He Is to Leave His Family': We Are 'Confused and Sad'". People.
27. Macke, Johnni (2 March 2021). "Ioan Gruffudd Files for Divorce From Alice Evans After Messy Twitter Drama". Us Weekly. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
28. Fernández, Alexia (16 February 2022). "Ioan Gruffudd Files for Domestic Violence Restraining Order Against Estranged Wife Alice Evans". People.
29. Denman, Amy (3 August 2022). "Ioan Gruffudd granted three-year restraining order against Alice Evans". walesonline.co.uk.
30. "Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans declared legally divorced two years on from split". Daily Mirror. 4 July 2023.
31. Rice, Nicholas (21 January 2024). "Ioan Gruffudd Is Engaged to Girlfriend Bianca Wallace: 'The Most Precious Thing Happened'". People.
32. Roberts, Hannah (20 January 2024). "Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd announces engagement to Bianca Wallace". Evening Standard.
33. ^ "Ioan Gruffudd (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 29 May 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
34. According to the Hamilton Hodell Talent Management website, Gruffudd was involved in an "untitled Nick Ward play" written and directed by Nick Ward and performed at the Royal National Studios (see "Ioan Gruffudd CV". Hamilton Hodell Talent Management. Archived from the original on 16 December 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2008.) The website Doollee.com indicates that Nick Ward developed his play Trouble Sleeping at the National Theatre Studio in London, and that it was staged in 1995 in Croydons' Warehouse Theatre
35. ^ "Nick Ward". Doollee.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
36. Ian Shuttleworth (July 1996). "The Decameron. Gate Theatre, London. Opened 23 July 1996". Financial Times (reproduced on Ian Shuttleworth's homepage).
37. "Ioan Gruffudd – Biography". IMDb. 21 February 2018.

Bibliography

• Hoggard, Liz (2 July 2005). "Ioan Gruffudd: Enter the dragon". The Independent. London, UK. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008.
• "Ioan Gruffudd biography". BBC Wales. Retrieved 14 May 2008.

External links

• Ioan Gruffudd at the TCM Movie Database
• Ioan Gruffudd at AllMovie
• Ioan Gruffudd at IMDb 

• 1973 births
• Living people
• 20th-century British male actors
• 20th-century Welsh male actors
• 21st-century Welsh male actors
• Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
• Bards of the Gorsedd
• British male child actors
• British male film actors
• British male soap opera actors
• British male stage actors
• British male television actors
• British male video game actors
• British male voice actors
• Cool Cymru
• Male actors from Cardiff
• Naturalized citizens of the United States
• People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf
• People from Aberdare
• Welsh expatriate male actors in the United States
• Welsh male child actors
• Welsh male film actors
• Welsh male stage actors
• Welsh male television actors
• Welsh male video game actors
• Welsh male voice actors
• Welsh-speaking actors
• Male actors from Rhondda Cynon Taf