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Ioan Gruffudd is a Welsh actor best know internationally for his portrayal of Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic) in the 2005 Marvel film Fantastic Four, and its 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

On February 21, 2014, it was announced that Gruffudd had landed the starring role in ABC's new drama Forever, portraying Dr. Henry Morgan.[1]

Biography[]

Welsh-born actor, Ioan Gruffudd, began acting at age 11 in a Welsh language soap opera called Pobol Y Cwm (People of the Valley) for the BBC in Wales. He went on to study at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, when, at age 23, he was cast as Pip in a BBC adaptation of Great Expectations.

Ioan was introduced to an American audience when he played 5th Officer Harold Godfrey Lowe aboard James Cameron's Titanic in 1997. Soon after, he was cast as the title role in Horatio Hornblower, an adaptation of C.S. Forester novels for A&E. In 1999, Ioan met his wife, Alice Evans, on the set of 102 Dalmatians, when he played Kevin Shephard opposite Glenn Close. He played Lt. Beales in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down and Dan Blakely in the horror thriller The Gathering alongside Christina Ricci. Having moved to Los Angeles in 2003, he immediately landed the part of Lukas Gold, one of the leading roles in the CBS drama Century City, alongside Viola Davis. Later that year, he appeared as Lancelot opposite Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, Hugh Dancy, and Joel Edgerton in Antoine Fuqua's epic retelling of King Arthur for Disney, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

After playing the lead role of William Wilberforce in Michael Apted's Amazing Grace alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Ioan became internationally known when he was cast as Dr. Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic in the Fantastic Four and The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer for 20th Century Fox. Both films grossed over $600 million dollars worldwide. In 2011, Ioan showed his comedic side when he appeared as the Wetwork Guy, alongside Jason Bateman, Jason Sudekis, and Charlie Day in Seth Gordon's hilarious Horrible Bosses.

His other film credits include the quirky comedy The TV Set, co-starring David Duchovny and Sigourney Weaver, the British drama The Kid, directed by Nick Moran, and the fantasy adventure The Secret of Moonacre, alongside Tim Curry. He also voiced the title character in the animated film Agent Crush, was featured alongside Julia Roberts and Ryan Reynolds in Fireflies in the Garden and starred in the tragic love story Solomon & Gaenor, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Foreign Language Film. In addition to his expertise in drama and comedy, Ioan displayed his musical proficiency in 2013 with a guest starring arc on Glee, where he appeared as Paolo San Pablo and performed songs and scenes from Funny Girl, with Lea Michele. Next year, Ioan will return to the big screen in the earthquake-based action film San Andreas, opposite Dwayne Johnson and Carla Gugino.

Ioan was recently awarded the Welsh BAFTA's Sian Phillips award for significant contribution to film or television. He currently resides in Los Angeles.

Filmography[]

  • 1996: A Relative Stranger as Nigel Fraiman 
  • 1996: Poldark as Jeremy Poldark
  • 1997: Wilde as John Gray
  • 1998: Horatio Hornblower: The Duel as Acting Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower
  • 1998: Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship as Acting Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower
  • 1999: Horatio Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil as Acting Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower 
  • 1999: Horatio Hornblower: The Wrong War as Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower
  • 1999: Solomon & Gaenor as Solomon Levinsky
  • 1999: Great Expectations as Pip
  • 1999: Warriors as Lt. John Feeley
  • 2000: 102 Dalmations as Kevin Shepeard
  • 2001: Another Life as Frederick Edward Francis Bywaters
  • 2001: Hornblower: Mutiny as Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower
  • 2001: Horatio Hornblower: Retribution as Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower
  • 2001: Very Annie Mary as Hob
  • 2001: Black Hawk Down as Beales
  • 2002: Shooters as Freddy Guns
  • 2002: Man and Boy as Harry Silver
  • 2002: The Forsyte Saga as Phillip Bosinney - (TV Mini-Series)
  • 2002: The Gathering as Dan Blakely
  • 2004: Century City as Lukas Gold
  • 2005: King Arthur as Lancelot
  • 2005: Justice League TV Series as Mr. Miracle, Scott Free, and Computer
  • 2005: The Little Things as Simon - (Short Movie)
  • 2005: Fantastic Four as Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards
  • 2006: The TV Set as Richard McCallister
  • 2006: Amazing Grace as William Wilberforce
  • 2007: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer as Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards
  • 2008: Fireflies in the Garden as Addison
  • 2008: The Secret of Moonacre: Sir Benjamin Merryweather and Sir Wrolf Merryweather
  • 2008: W. as Prime Minister Tony Blair
  • 2010: The Kid as Colin Smith
  • 2011: Foster as Alec
  • 2011: Sanctum as Carl
  • 2011: Tri Diwrnod Diwetha' as Llias
  • 2011-2012: Ringer as Andrew Martin
  • 2013: The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box as Charles Mundi
  • 2013: Eddie as The Killer
  • 2014: Under Milk Wood as Mog Edwards
  • 2014: Playing it Cool as Stuffy
  • 2014-2015: Forever as Henry Morgan
  • 2015: San Andreas as Daniel Riddick
  • 2015: Forever as Anthony
  • 2016: Buttons

Animation/Voice Only[]

  • 2006-2010: American Dad! as Dark-Haired Man/Medic
  • 2008: Agent Crush as Agent Crush
  • 2010: Batman: The Brave and the Bold as Armor/Red Ryan
  • 2010: Ben 10: Alien Force as Devin Levin
  • 2010-2012: Family Guy as Prince Charles, National Geographic Narrator, Man
  • 2014: Justice Leauge: War as Thomas Morrow

Video Games[]

  • 2005: Fantastic Four as Reed Richards (voice)

Upcoming[]

  • 2017: Keep Watching as Carl Mitchell
  • TBA: The Professor and the Madman as Henry Bradley (filming)
  • 2017: Liar as TBA (pre-production)

Notes and Trivia[]

  • His name is pronounced "Yo-wahn Griffith".
  • His first language is Welsh.
  • His parents Peter and Gillian were teachers and his grandparents ran a local amateur drama society in Cardiff, Wales.
  • He was already an accomplished singer and oboist by the age of 13.
  • He has two siblings; a younger brother, Alun and a younger sister, Siwan.
  • He has two daughters, Ella Betsi Janet, who was born on 6 September 2009 and Elsie Marigold, who was born on 13 September 2013.
  • An Associate Member of Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
  • Lived in London for some time with good friends and fellow Welsh actors Matthew Rhys and Michael Sheen.
  • He played the oboe in the South Glamorgan Youth Orchestra for several years.
  • Learned Yiddish for his role in the film Solomon & Gaenor (1999).
  • Had the honor of lighting the National Millennium Beacon for Wales in Cardiff City Centre for the New Year's Eve 2000 celebration.
  • Won the BBC Radio Cymru Showbusiness Award for Best Actor (March 28, 2001).
  • He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England in 1995.
  • He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

References[]

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