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Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany was born in London on May 27, 1971, moving when very young to the country with his family. Bullied at school, and devastated by the death of his young brother, he returned to London at 19. He earned money busking on the streets of London playing his guitar, washing the bodies of corpses at a carehome for the elderly, and eventually he turned to acting, studying at the London Drama Centre.
He has appeared on stage, television and the big screen, beating a cocaine addiction, which was at its height during the filming of the David Copperfield TV miniseries.
His first leading role was in Gangster No. 1 which earned him a nomination for Best Actor in the The British Independent Film Awards, and the London Critics Circle nominated him for British Newcomer of the Year.
His debut on the American silverscreen was in “A Knight’s Tale”, as Chaucer, for which he won the London Critics Circle Award for British Supporting Actor. This was the start of a trend for Paul, that of appearing naked in a number of films!
He has appeared in many films on the bigscreen and TV including the following:
" A Beautiful Mind", " Creation", " Dogville", " Firewall", " Inkheart", " Legion", "Master and Commander", " Priest", " The Da Vinci Code", " The Heart Of Me", " The Secret Life of Bees", " The Tourist", " The Young Victoria", " Wimbledon", “After the Rain”, “ Every Woman Knows a Secret”
Paul has a son, Stellan with his American actress wife Jennifer Connelly, and stepson Kai, Jennifer’s son.
News |
What members say |
Filmography
Paul Bettany - news / articles
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Bettany's children slept through Margin Call filming -
10 January 2012
-Paul Bettany broke a self-imposed rule not to work at the same time as his wife Jennifer Connelly so he could make Margin Call and his children ended up sleeping on the movie's set.-The celebrity couple is parents to eight-year-old Stellan and baby daughter Agnes, wh
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Bettany's never seen Dogville -
30 September 2011
-Paul Bettany has never watched his hit film Dogville - because his time on set was a "peculiarly unsatisfying experience".-The actor played a writer in Lars von Trier's 2003 drama, alongside a star-studded cast including Nicole Kidman and Lauren Bacall.- But Wimbled
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Bettany blasts moaning actors -
22 April 2011
-Brit Paul Bettany has taken aim at "whining actors", insisting they should "get a real job" and let a grateful wannabe take their place.-The straight-talking Legion star admits he cannot tolerate castmates who complain about trailers and services on film sets - becau
Paul Bettany - what members say
review by from Norwich
Riotously funny and shamelessly anachronistic 1 December 2003
review by from Plymouth Devon.
Just Brilliant. 9 April 2005
review by from North East of England
Great stuff! 11 February 2004
Paul Bettany - filmography
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Margin Call - Blu-ray
(2012)
Starring: Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore, Kevin Spacey
Director: J.C. Chandor
Certificate: 
Tense drama which follows the personal struggles of high-ranking employees of an investment bank during a 24-hour period at the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. Featuring an ensemble cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Demi Moore and Jeremy Irons, the film opens with a trader, ..read more »
 
71%
from 2,029 members
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Blood - Blu-ray
(2012)
Starring: Paul Bettany, Stephen Graham, Mark Strong
Director: Nick Murphy
Certificate:
Thriller charting the moral collapse of a police family. Two cop brothers, smothered by the shadow of their former police chief father, must investigate a crime they themselves have committed.
No ratings yet. Be the first.
Due for release on 10th June 2013
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Blood
(2012)
Starring: Paul Bettany, Stephen Graham, Mark Strong
Director: Nick Murphy
Certificate:
Thriller charting the moral collapse of a police family. Two cop brothers, smothered by the shadow of their former police chief father, must investigate a crime they themselves have committed.
No ratings yet. Be the first.
Due for release on 10th June 2013
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Priest - Blu-ray
(2011)
Starring: Stephen Moyer, Maggie Q, Karl Urban
Director: Scott Stewart
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
Post-apocalyptic sci-fi action thriller based on the TokyoPop comic by Min-Woo Hyung. Set in a world torn apart by centuries of war between humans and vampires, the film follows a once-legendary Warrior Priest (Paul Bettany) who now lives in obscurity in a Church-ruled dystopian city in the desert. ..read more »
61%
from 5,580 members
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Priest
on DVD
(2011)
Starring: Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q
Director: Scott Stewart
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
A priest disobeys church law to track down the vampires who kidnapped his niece.
63%
from 12,664 members
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Priest - 3D Blu-ray
(2011)
Starring: Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q
Director: Scott Stewart
Certificate: 
Post-apocalyptic sci-fi action thriller based on the TokyoPop comic by Min-Woo Hyung. Set in a world torn apart by centuries of war between humans and vampires, the film follows a once-legendary Warrior Priest (Paul Bettany) who now lives in obscurity in a Church-ruled dystopian city in the desert. ..read more »
61%
from 1,260 member
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Margin Call
on DVD
(2011)
Starring: Zachary Quinto, Paul Bettany, Kevin Spacey
Director: J.C. Chandor
Certificate:
Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) is handed an unfinished report into his company's current financials and as he completes it discovers that the place he works in is in huge financial meltdown. Delivering the news to his bosses they conduct a 24 hour meeting to discuss what can be done - to save ..read more »
69%
from 5,530 members
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Legion
on DVD
(2010)
Starring: Paul Bettany, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson
Director: Scott Stewart
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
After a terrifying biblical apocalypse descends upon the world, a group of strangers stranded in a remote truck stop diner in the Southwest unwittingly become humanity's last line of defense when they discover the diner's young waitress is pregnant with the messiah.
58%
from 25,622 members
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Iron Man 2
on DVD
(2010)
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Jon Favreau
Certificate:
With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper ..read more »
70%
from 55,463 members
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The Tourist
on DVD
(2010)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Certificate:
"The Tourist" revolves around Frank, an American tourist visiting Italy to mend a broken heart. Elise is an extraordinary woman who deliberately crosses his path. Against the breathtaking backdrop of Venice, Frank pursues a potential romance but soon finds himself the pursued as he and Elise are ..read more »
63%
from 34,115 members
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Legion - Blu-ray
(2010)
Starring: Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Lucas Black
Director: Scott Charles Stewart
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
After a terrifying biblical apocalypse descends upon the world, a group of strangers stranded in a remote truck stop diner in the Southwest unwittingly become humanity's last line of defense when they discover the diner's young waitress is pregnant with the messiah.
57%
from 7,105 members
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Iron Man 2 - Blu-ray
(2010)
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Jon Favreau
Certificate:
With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper ..read more »
70%
from 20,704 members
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A Man's Story
on DVD
(2010)
Starring: Giorgio Armani, Wolfgang Puck, Laurence Fishburne
Director: Varon Bonicos
Certificate:
Varon Bonicos directs this documentary about fashion designer Ozwald Boateng. The first black tailor to open a shop on London's Savile Row, as well as the youngest, Boateng soon became world famous for his trademark colourful suits. The film follows Boateng from the late 1990s, a low point in his ..read more »
62%
from 78 members
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The Young Victoria
on DVD
(2009)
Starring: Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany
Director: Jean-Marc Vallee
Certificate: 
From Academy Award winners Graham King and Martin Scorsese comes the story of Queen Victoria's early rise to power. From an object of a royal power-struggle in to her romantic courtship and legendary marriage to Prince Albert, Emily Blunt gives a stunning performance as the young Victoria.
75%
from 38,367 members
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Creation
on DVD
(2009)
Starring: Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Jeremy Northam
Director: Jon Amiel
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
Director Jon Amiel's biopic explores the crisis of faith suffered by evolutionary scientist Charles Darwin (Paul Bettany). About to publish the book that would question God's role in creation, Darwin is forced to come to terms with how it will affect his deeply religious wife, Emma (Jennifer ..read more »
61%
from 9,056 members
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Creation - Blu-ray
(2009)
Starring: Jim Carter, Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly
Director: Jon Amiel
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
Director Jon Amiel's biopic explores the crisis of faith suffered by evolutionary scientist Charles Darwin (Paul Bettany). About to publish the book that would question God's role in creation, Darwin is forced to come to terms with how it will affect his deeply religious wife, Emma (Jennifer ..read more »
60%
from 1,822 member
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Broken Lines
on DVD
(2008)
Starring: Steve Toussaint, Nathan Constance, Olivia Williams
Director: Sallie Aprahamian
Certificate:
Drama following the burgeoning relationship of two people who have suffered family tragedies. When Jake (Dan Fredenburgh) returns home after the death of his father, he strikes up an immediate friendship with B (Doraly Rosa). B also has a family catastrophe to deal with - her husband, Chester (Paul ..read more »
50%
from 106 members
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Inkheart - Blu-ray
(2008)
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Andy Serkis, Eliza Bennett
Director: Iain Softley
Certificate:
A girl's father has the ability to summon book characters to life by reading aloud. When a nasty, rotten pack of rogues from a fable kidnap Pops, our heroine must join forces with her fictional friends and rescue him.
62%
from 3,023 members
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Inkheart
on DVD
(2008)
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Andy Serkis, Eliza Bennett
Director: Iain Softley
Certificate:
A girl's father has the ability to summon book characters to life by reading aloud. When a nasty, rotten pack of rogues from a fable kidnap Pops, our heroine must join forces with her fictional friends and rescue him.
66%
from 31,563 members
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Firewall - Blu-ray
(2006)
Starring: Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, Virginia Madsen
Director: Richard Loncraine
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Thriller starring Harrison Ford as Jack Stanfield, an average family man in Seattle who heads up the hi-tech security team at his local bank. But following a seemingly trivial case of identity theft, Jack's life is turned upside down when his wife (Virginia Madsen) and two children are kidnapped. ..read more »
62%
from 3,151 members
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Firewall
on DVD
(2006)
Starring: Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, Virginia Madsen
Director: Richard Loncraine
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Thriller starring Harrison Ford as Jack Stanfield, an average family man in Seattle who heads up the hi-tech security team at his local bank. But following a seemingly trivial case of identity theft, Jack's life is turned upside down when his wife (Virginia Madsen) and two children are kidnapped. ..read more »
61%
from 44,001 members
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The Da Vinci Code - Blu-ray
(2006)
Starring: Etienne Chicot, Jean Reno, Seth Gabel
Director: Ron Howard
Certificate:
Thriller based on the best-selling novel by Dan Brown. When respected American religious symbology expert Dr. Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is summoned to the Louvre by the French version of the FBI, led by Captain Bezu Fache (Jean Reno), he soon discovers that he is the prime suspect for the murder ..read more »
66%
from 3,154 members
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The Da Vinci Code
on DVD
(2006)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen
Director: Ron Howard
Certificate:
The 2005 best selling novel's big screen adaptation. A murder in the Louvre and clues in Da Vinci paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years -- which could shake the foundations of Christianity.
63%
from 77,379 members
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The Reckoning
(2004)
Starring: Marian Aguilera, Brian Cox, Trevor Steedman
Director: Paul McGuigan
Certificate:
Murder mystery set in medieval England, based on the novel 'Morality Play' by Barry Unsworth. Paul Bettany stars as Nicholas, a young priest who is forced to flee the wrath of his bishop and fellow monks after breaking his vow of chastity. On the road he witnesses the murder of one of the ..read more »
52%
from 2,464 members
Currently unavailable
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Wimbledon - Blu-ray
(2004)
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany, Sam Neill
Director: Richard Loncraine
Certificate:
British romantic comedy about a washed-up tennis player who scores a wildcard entry to the Wimbledon championship and finds his game reinvigorated after he meets one of the top American female stars. Richard Loncraine directs Paul Bettany as Peter Colt, a once-great British player who is sliding ..read more »
60%
from 50 members
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Wimbledon
on DVD
(2004)
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany, Sam Neill
Director: Richard Loncraine
Certificate:
British romantic comedy about a washed-up tennis player who scores a wildcard entry to the Wimbledon championship and finds his game reinvigorated after he meets one of the top American female stars. Richard Loncraine directs Paul Bettany as Peter Colt, a once-great British player who is sliding ..read more »
59%
from 60,393 members
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Dogville
(2003)
Starring: Harriet Andersson, Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall
Director: Lars Von Trier
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
Unusual, theatrical drama by pioneering director Lars Von Trier, co-founder of the Dogme film movement - which uses pared-down filming techniques inspired by Bertolt Brecht. The entire film is shot on a bare wooden sound stage without special effects or artificial lighting, the streets and homes ..read more »
57%
from 24,209 members
Currently unavailable
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The Heart Of Me
on DVD
(2002)
Starring: Olivia Williams, Luke Newberry, Rosie Ede
Director: Thaddeus O'Sullivan
Certificate:
Opening in late 1930s London prim and proper Madeleine (Olivia Williams) and free-spirited artist Dinah (Helena Bonham Carter) are attending the funeral of their father. A love triangle begins when Madeline's (Williams) husband, Rickie (Paul Bettany) falls for Dinah (Carter). Ten years later the ..read more »
59%
from 1,401 member
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A Beautiful Mind
on DVD
(2001)
Starring: Josh Lucas, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer
Director: Ron Howard
Certificate:
Russell Crowe takes the lead role in this award-winning biopic based on the life of the groundbreaking mathematician and paranoid schizophrenic John Nash. Arriving at Princeton in 1947, Nash resolves to make an important new contribution to his field and begins developing his insights into game ..read more »
71%
from 37,378 members
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A Beautiful Mind - Blu-ray
(2001)
Starring: Josh Lucas, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer
Director: Ron Howard
Certificate:
Russell Crowe takes the lead role in this award-winning biopic based on the life of the groundbreaking mathematician and paranoid schizophrenic John Nash. Arriving at Princeton in 1947, Nash resolves to make an important new contribution to his field and begins developing his insights into game ..read more »
77%
from 535 members
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A Knight's Tale
on DVD
(2001)
Starring: Shannyn Sossam, Heath Ledger, Mark Addy
Director: Brian Helgeland
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
Inspired by "The Canterbury Tales," this is the story of William , a young squire with a gift for jousting. After his master dies suddenly, the squire hits the road with his cohorts Roland and Wat. On the journey, they stumble across an unknown writer, Chaucer. William, lacking a proper pedigree, ..read more »
70%
from 17,618 members
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Gangster No. 1
on DVD
(2000)
Starring: Eddie Mar, Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis
Director: Paul McGuigan
Certificate: 
London, 1968. Gangster (Paul Bettany) is rising fast through the ranks of Freddie Mays' (David Thewlis) crime organization, his ruthless efficiency soon making him Freddie's right-hand man. But when Freddie falls for nightclub hostess Karen (Saffron Burrows), Gangster becomes jealous and begins to ..read more »
63%
from 3,607 members
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Gangster No. 1 - Blu-ray
(2000)
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis, Paul Bettany
Director: Paul McGuigan
Certificate:
London, 1968. Gangster (Paul Bettany) is rising fast through the ranks of Freddie Mays' (David Thewlis) crime organization, his ruthless efficiency soon making him Freddie's right-hand man. But when Freddie falls for nightclub hostess Karen (Saffron Burrows), Gangster becomes jealous and begins to ..read more »
65%
from 983 members
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Every Woman Knows a Secret
(1999)
Starring: Miles Anderson, Tom Chadbon, Siobhan Redmond
Director: Paul Seed
Certificate: 
Charged with drunk driving in a fiery, fatal car crash, Rob (Paul Bettany - The Da Vinci Code) is blamed for the death of Jesss (Siobhan Redmond - Beautiful People) son. Battling the familys hostility, Rob reaches out to Jess for comfort and their shared grief draws them together in a powerful ..read more »
45%
from 6 members
Currently unavailable
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Killer Net
on DVD
(1998)
Starring: Richard McCabe, Tam Williams, Kathy Brolly
Director: Geoffrey Sax
Certificate:
A techno-thriller from the pen of Lynda La Plante. Scott Miller (Tam Williams) is a computer enthusiast and psychology student who becomes involved with a raunchy woman who he met through his dalliances with the internet. She introduces him to the world of sexual experimentation, on-line porn and ..read more »
61%
from 552 members
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Dead Babies
on DVD
Starring: William Marsh, Hayley Carr, Charlie Condou
Director: William Marsh
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Drama based on the novel by Martin Amis. When a group of college kids get together for a weekend of partying, they find themselves mixed up in a murderous plot. Having planned on a weekend of hard-core debauchery, the English students and their visiting American friends do not notice when a series ..read more »
41%
from 1,549 member
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A Knight's Tale - Blu-ray
Starring: Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Paul Bettany
Director: Brian Helgeland
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
In the Middle Ages, before television or professional sports, there's only one form of competition to separate the men from the boys--jousting tournaments. William Thatcher (Heath Ledger), a poor and humble squire, has always dreamed of proving himself worthy as a knight in a jousting match. When ..read more »
71%
from 2,672 members
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Sharpe - Classic Collection - Blu-ray
(7 discs)
Starring: James Purefoy, Brian Cox, Sean Bean
Director: Tom Clegg
Certificate:
Collection of the feature-length television movies set during the Napoleonic Wars, starring Sean Bean as the maverick British rifleman Richard Sharpe. 15 episodes feature, including the special, 'Sharpe: The Legend', in which Rifleman Cooper (Michael Mears), who fought alongside Sharpe throughout ..read more »
83%
from 216 members
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Paul Bettany facts
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...gh Heath Ledger really has the whole film stolen from under his nose the moment Paul Bettany walks onto the screen. Completely naked. So a bit of an entrance really.
Th...
