Treading the boards on a London stage may be the traditional way for film stars to gain acting credibility, but straight actors playing gay roles is fast becoming the career move du jour.
British hot stuff Paul Bettany is no exception and he's reportedly signed on the dotted line to play Charles in the remake of Evelyn Waugh's classic tale of doomed aristocratic love, Brideshead Revisited. With Bettany picking up Jeremy Irons’ mantle, Jude Law playing Sebastian and written by period drama maverick Andrew T. Davies, Totty Watch reckons we'll be in for a treat.
In his latest film the cute actor swaps his playboy looks for something paler as he turns albino to play the assassin Silas in the Hollywood adaptation of Dan Brown’s blockbuster code-cracking adventure, The Da Vinci Code.
All of which is quite a change from Wimbledon, his last big film, that saw him in very much in control of his balls! He knocked them about, took a backhand and even played with them on centre court while doing a nice line in panting and grunting! Time to take a cold shower and find out more…
Name
Paul Bettany
Vitals
Born on 27 May 1971 in west London
Famous For
Although Paul came from a family of thesps he had no interest in acting until he was 19. His first career choice was to be a rock star, but the poor love got embarrassed singing his own songs in front of an audience. Bless. A career singing covers as a busker on the steps of Westminster Bridge must have cured his shyness to some degree, because now he's being touted as The Next Big Thing.
It was Paul's role as a thoroughly nasty piece of work in Gangster No. 1 that thrust him into the limelight. Based on the Kray brothers, and reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange, his portrayal of a sadistic thug would have given even Malcolm McDowell cause for concern. Apart from a small role in Sean Mathias's adaptation of the gay Holocaust drama Bent, his career had remained on the small screen.
His versatility as an actor has stopped any chance of typecasting in its tracks. He played a gobby Chaucer with a gambling habit who spouted poetry in the nude in A Knight's Tale and virtually stole the show from blonde competition, Heath Ledger.
He was brave enough to appear alongside Russell Crowe twice - and still lived to tell the tale. Firstly in A Beautiful Mind, as Russ's imaginary friend, and then as the contemplative yin to Russ's bombastic yang in Master and Commander. A Beautiful Mind caused huge controversy with its story of mathematical genius John Forbes Nash who won the Nobel Prize despite suffering from schizophrenia. Implying that Nash was virtually cured through the love of a good woman and a strong will, it failed to mention that he was gay and spent a lot of time in the toilets of his local YMCA.
Despite becoming a sort after commodity by Hollywood and being married to Oscar winning actress Jennifer Connelly, not to mention being drop dead gorgeous and earning shed loads of cash, Paul has managed to keep his feet firmly on the ground. He told the Sunday Telegraph that, "Making Master and Commander was as difficult as making a lot of money for dressing up in someone else's clothes."
The question everyone is asking now is 'Could Paul Bettany be the new Hugh Grant?' With his leading role in British romantic comedy Wimbledon set to put a soppy grin on our faces, could it be that our favourite bumbling Englishman is about to be usurped.
Worth Knowing
Paul's father, a former Royal Navy Officer, forced him to join the Sea Cadets to "make a man out of him" and my how he succeeded.
He used to share a flat with two lesbians when he was a drama student.
At the beginning of his career Paul had a problem with cocaine and Lorazepam, which lead to a few hotel rooms being trashed in true rock star style.
He likes to go commando and leant his only pair of underpants to Dogville director Lars von Trier.
Availability
Paul had ample opportunity to get frisky when he was stuck on a galleon in the middle of the ocean with a bunch of randy sailing rascals for months on end without a woman in sight, but he preferred looking at rare turtles and examining fauna and flora. Oh dear. Let's hope that saucy little minx Jude Law can change his mind in Brideshead Revisited! In reality, he's married to the actress Jennifer Connelly.
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Catch the lovely Paul Bettany in tight breeches amongst a gaggle of seamen in Master and Commander. Or, if that’s too much for you, how about seeing him in top psychological form opposite hunky Australian Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind.