Stephen Rea was born on October 31, 1943 in Belfast, Ireland, he is a Protestant Republican. Rea attended the Abbey Theatre School and divided his time in the 1970s and 1980s between fringe theater, major stage productions, television, and films. He made his film debut in Neil Jordan's Angel in 1982, better known as Danny Boy in the United States. He married a former IRA bomber named Dolours Price in 1983 and they have 2 sons together.
After acting for years in the Irish and British theater and having done numerous film roles for almost a decade, Rea achieved stardom, and a nomination for an Oscar as Best Actor for his complex performance as Fergus, an IRA volunteer in Neil Jordan's The Crying Game.
He co-founded the Field Day Theater Company with Seamus Heaney and Brian Friel in 1980, that was based in Dublin. It performed around Ireland traveling to towns that didn't recieve many live performances of plays. He also starred in all of the productions of the Field Day Theatre, except for one which he directed.
Rea's work now includes over 30 films, 8 of these were made with director/writer Neil Jordan, including Rea's 1982 film debut in Angel, The Company of Wolves, The Crying Game, Interview With The Vampire, Michael Collins, The Butcher's Boy, In Dreams and The End of the Affair.
The following are movies that Stephen Rea has appeared in, courtesy of the Internet Movie Database:
Ulysses (2002) .... Leopold Bloom
D'Artagnan (2001) .... Richelieu
Snow in August (2001) .... Rabbi Judah Hirsch
On the Edge (2000)
End of the Affair, The (1999) .... Henry Miles
Life Before This, The (1999) .... Brian
Guinevere (1999) .... Connie Fitzpatrick
In Dreams (1998) .... Doctor Silverman
Still Crazy (1998) .... Tony Costello
This Is My Father (1998/I) .... Father Quinn
Hacks (1997/I) .... Brian
... aka Big Twist, The (1997) (USA)
... aka Sink or Swim (1997) (USA: video title)
Double Tap (1997) .... Cypher
Butcher Boy, The (1997) .... Da Brady/Adult Francie
Fever Pitch (1997) .... Ray, the Governor
Further Gesture, A (1996) .... Dowd
... aka Break, The (1998) (USA)
Last of the High Kings, The (1996) .... Cab Driver
... aka Summer Fling (1998) (USA: video title)
Crime of the Century (1996) (TV) .... Richard Hauptmann
Trojan Eddie (1996) .... Trojan Eddie
Michael Collins (1996) .... Ned Broy
Lumière et compagnie (1995) .... (segment "John Boorman")
... aka Lumiere y compañía (1996) (Spain)
... aka Lumière and Company (1995)
Shadow of a Gunman (1995) (TV) .... Seamus Shields
All Men Are Mortal (1995) .... Fosca
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (1995) .... Nikos
... aka Li (1995)
Citizen X (1995) (TV) .... Burakov
Angie (1994) .... Noel Riordan
Prêt-à-Porter (1994) .... Milo O'Brannigan
... aka Ready to Wear (1994)
Princess Caraboo (1994) .... Gutch
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) .... Santiago
... aka Interview with the Vampire (1994) (USA: short title)
Bad Behaviour (1993) .... Gerry McAllister
Hedda Gabler (1993/I) (TV) .... Ejlert Lovborg
Crying Game, The (1992) .... Fergus
Life Is Sweet (1990) .... Patsy
"Not with a Bang" (1990) TV Series
Nobody Here But Us Chickens (1989) (TV) .... Paul (segment "Not As Bad As They Seem")
Doctor and the Devils, The (1985) .... Timothy Broom
Four Days in July (1984) (TV) .... Dixie
Company of Wolves, The (1984) .... Young Groom
Loose Connections (1983)
Joyce in June (1982) (TV) .... Stanislaus Joyce/McIntosh
Angel (1982/I) .... Danny
... aka Danny Boy (1982) (Canada: English title: video title) (USA: video title)
Comedians, The (1979) (TV) .... Caretaker
... aka Play for Today: The Comedians (1979) (TV) (UK: series title)
Professional Foul (1977) (TV) .... Hollar
... aka BBC2 Play of the Week: Professional Foul (1977) (TV) (UK: series title)
"I Didn't Know You Cared" (1975) TV Series .... Carter Brandon (1975-76)
K Is for Killing (1974) (TV)
... aka Color Him Dead (1974) (TV) (USA)
... aka Thriller: K Is for Killing (1974) (TV) (UK: series title)
Cry of the Banshee (1970) .... Villager