Rufus Frederick Sewell is an English actor. In film, he has had lead roles in The Woodlanders, The Honest Courtesan, Dark City, A Knight's Tale, and Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence. On television, he became well known for his role as the hero, Will Ladislaw, in the BBC adaptation of George Eliot's Middlemarch. In 2003, he appeared in the lead role in a miniseries about the life of King Charles II of England. On stage, he originated the role of Septimus Hodge in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, and was nominated for an Olivier Award.

His most recent venture in this genre was playing the part of Petruchio in the BBC's 2005 version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew as part of the Shakespeare Re-Told season, which earned him a Best Actor nomination at the 2006 BAFTA Television Awards. Sewell has recently finished filming Amazing Grace, a film based on the story of William Wilberforce's political fight to abolish slavery in Britain. His next projects as known are Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy The Holiday and Tom Stoppard's new play Rock 'n' Roll at the Royal Court Theatre from June '06.

Public Name: Rufus Sewell
Birth Name: Rufus Frederick Sewell
Date of Birth: October 29, 1967
Place of Birth: Twickenham, London

Filmography

• The Holiday (2006)
• Amazing Grace (2006)
• Paris, je t'aime (2006)
• The Illusionist (2006)
• Tristan + Isolde (2006)
• The Taming of the Shrew (2005)
• The Legend of Zorro (2005)
• "Charles II: The Power & the Passion" (2003)
• Victoria Station (2003)
• Helen of Troy (2003)
• Extreme Ops (2002)
• Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature (2001)
• A Knight's Tale (2001)
• Bless the Child (2000)
• Arabian Nights (2000)
• In a Savage Land (1999)
• At Sachem Farm (1998)
• Illuminata (1998)
• Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence (1998)
• Dark City (1998)
• Dangerous Beauty (1998)
• The Woodlanders (1997)
• Hamlet (1996)
• Henry IV (1995)
• Carrington (1995)
• Cold Comfort Farm (1995)
• Victory (1995)
• A Man of No Importance (1994)
• Citizen Locke (1994)
• "Middlemarch" (1994)
• A Night with a Woman, a Day with Charlie (1994)
• Dirty Weekend (1993)
• Dirtysomething (1993)
• "Gone to Seed" (1992)
• Twenty-One (1991)
• The Last Romantics (1991)

Awards

• Theatre World Award "Translations" 1995
• London Critics' Circle Award Most Promising Newcomer "Making It Better" 1992