Profession: Actor, Film Producer, Film Director, Screenwriter, Voice Actor

“As a married father, I seem to have become incredibly sexy. I can feel it.”- Paul Bettany

As someone rightly points out “he is a signpost of blond, gorgeous Englishness.” Paul Bettany is a British Actor, film producer, film director, screenwriter and voice actor who is well known for his roles in successful films like  A Knight’sTale, A Beautiful Mind, The Da Vinci Code, Creation, The Tourist and many more. He has a net worth of $5 million.

Early Life-

Paul Bettany was born on 27 May 1971 in Shepherd’s Bush, London, England, UK. His mother was a stage singer, theatre teacher, and stage manager. His father was a dancer, actor, and drama teacher. When Bettany was 16, his brother Matthew died after falling from a pavilion near their home at age 8. It was a trying time for him, “It blew the family apart. Life was never the same again”, he said of the incident. Shortly after his brother’s death, Bettany dropped out of school, left home, and went to live on his own in London. He was a skilled guitar player and earned money by playing his guitar in the streets of London. Towards the end he got very sick, his father came and picked him up and so he went back home. He later worked in a home for the elderly. After working there for a year, Bettany enrolled at the Drama Centre in London.

Acting Career-

Bettany began his acting career onstage with The Inspector Calls in the West End. He went on to appear in various other productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company like Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar. He then moved to television, appearing in a BBC production of Oliver Twist. He made his film debut with a role in Bent (1997). His first leading role was in the film Gangster No. 1(2000). Bettany’s first big Hollywood production A Knight’s Tale (2001) brought him much critical acclaim. He played Geoffrey Chaucer in the film. A Beautiful Mind came out the same year. Bettany’s portrayal of Dr. Stephen Maturin in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World(2003) won him many nominations and awards including a BAFTA nomination. He played Charles Darwin in the 2009 film Creation.

His other important films include The Reckoning, Firewall, Dogville, Wimbledon, The Da Vinci Code, Legion, Priest, Blood and The Tourist amongst many. He is also the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S. in the “Iron Man” franchise. Bettany is to play the character of Vision in the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron alongside his voice role as J.A.R.V.I.S.

Awards-

London Film Critics’ Circle Award for Supporting Actor of the Year (2001) for- A Knight’s Tale

Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor(2003) for- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and The Heart of Me

London Film Critics’ Circle Award for British Actor of the Year(2003) for- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Jordan Award for Best Actor(2004) for- Wimbledon

Glamour Awards Man of the Year 2006

Personal Life-

Bettany is married to Actress Jennifer Connelly. They met while they were filming together for  A Beautiful Mind and got married in 2003. “I remember looking across that enormous table and seeing Jennifer. Thank God I’d learnt my part. I’d never been that close to someone that beautiful before,”he says of his first meeting with Jennifer. The couple live in New York with their two children Stellan and Agnes and Connelly’s son Kai.  

 Assets-

Since moving to New York together, Bettany and wife Connelly have owned and moved from one gorgeous home to another.

Limestone townhouse in Brooklyn-

It is a much talked about house that the couple owned-  a gorgeous 18-room single family limestone mansion in Brooklyn, New York. Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany put it on the market for $8.5 million.

Tribeca Penthouse-

Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly owns this penthouse apartment in one of America’s most desirable and fashionable neighbourhoods-  the affluent TriBeCa neighbourhood, situated on the edge of New York City.  The couple has put the 4,096 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms house in the market  at an asking price of $8,495,000.

Vermont farm house-

Stowe, Vermont is famous for being the abode of many famous celebrities including Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly. Bettany said he bought the 100-acre farm in Vermont as a weekend retreat for his children.

Fun Facts-

-          He quit smoking after finding out his son, Stellan, imitating him with a pen.

-          He named his son Stellan after actor Stellan Skarsgard whom he starred together with in Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang)  and   Dogville .

-          He suffered from laryngitis after filming A Knight’s Tale due to all the yelling he had to do portraying Geoffrey Chaucer in the film.

-          His role as Geoffrey Chaucer in A Knight’s Tale was specifically written for him by director Brian Helgeland.

-          He loves broccoli, cheese and whisky and his favorite book is “Darkness at Noon”.

-          He was once was a cocaine user but he quit after an incident with a friend.

Money Quote-

-          You realise you have the privilege of being in the stupidly fortunate position of earning a lot of money in a very short period of time. So the actual privilege is that you can then take time off – and if you don’t, you’re a fool. You’re earning all this money to support children whom you then don’t see, which is absurd.

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