Early Life and Education
Rufus Sewell was born on October 29, 1967, in London, England. He is the son of Jo, a Welsh artist and pianist, and William, an animator and former builder. When Rufus was five, his parents divorced, and five years later, his father passed away. Sewell was subsequently raised by his mother alongside his older brother, Caspar. He went to Trafalgar Junior School, where he was a member of the drama club. Following this, Rufus attended Orleans Park School and then West Thames College. He went on to enroll at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
Film Career
Sewell made his feature film debut in 1991 with a role in the independent drama “Twenty-One.” However, he had his breakthrough in 1993, when he starred in the violent, controversial “Dirty Weekend.” The year after that, he appeared alongside Albert Finney in “A Man of No Importance.” Rufus was subsequently in the biographical period film “Carrington,” Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of “Hamlet,” the suspense film “Victory,” and an adaptation of the Thomas Hardy novel “The Woodlanders.” He had his biggest year yet in 1998, when he appeared in a total of five films: “Dangerous Beauty,” “Illuminata,” “Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence,” “At Sachem Farm,” and the science-fiction film “Dark City,” in which he starred as amnesiac John Murdoch. Sewell closed out the decade with another starring role in the Australian film “In a Savage Land.” In the early 2000s, Rufus was in the supernatural horror film “Bless the Child,” the romantic adventure comedy “A Knight’s Tale,” and the thriller “Extreme Ops.” He next appeared in the Western swashbuckler “The Legend of Zorro.” Sewell had another huge year in 2006, appearing in five films: “Tristan and Isolde,” “The Illusionist,” “Amazing Grace,” “The Holiday,” and the anthology film “Paris, je t’aime.” His subsequent credits included “Downloading Nancy,” “Vinyan,” “The Tourist,” “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” “Hotel Noir,” “All Things to All Men,” “I’ll Follow You Down,” and “The Sea.” Rufus has also had notable roles in 2014’s “Hercules,” the fantasy action film “Gods of Egypt,” the Oscar-winning dramas “Judy” and “The Father,” and M. Night Shyamalan’s 2021 thriller “Old.”
Television Career
On the small screen, Sewell first appeared in episodes of the British series “Gone to Seed” and “Screen Two” in the early ’90s. He gained greater recognition in 1994, when he starred as Will Ladislaw in the BBC adaptation of George Eliot’s “Middlemarch.” The next year, he had major roles in John Schlesinger’s television film “Cold Comfort Farm” and on the anthology series “Performance.” Following a five-year hiatus, Rufus returned to television in 2000 to play Ali Baba in the two-part miniseries “Arabian Nights.” He was subsequently in the television film “She Creature” and the miniseries “Helen of Troy,” in which he played Agamemnon. The same year as the latter, Sewell starred as the titular king in the television film “Charles II: The Power and the Passion.” After this, he was in another television film called “Taste.” In 2023, Rufus earned critical and popular praise for his role in the Netflix series “The Diplomat.” That year, it was announced that he would play Prince Andrew in an upcoming series about the Royal’s horrendous 2019 television interview with the BBC in which he was asked about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Stage Career
Sewell began his professional stage career in 1993, when he originated the role of Septimus Hodge in Tom Stoppard’s play “Arcadia.” He didn’t return to theater acting until 2006, when he starred in Stoppard’s new play “Rock ’n’ Roll.” For his performance as Jan, Rufus won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Play and also received a Tony Award nomination. His other credits include productions of Harold Pinter’s “Old Times” and Patrick Marber’s “Closer.”
Personal Life
In 1999, Rufus married his first wife, Australian fashion journalist Yasmin Abdallah; they ended up divorcing the following year. In 2004, Sewell wed producer and screenwriter Amy Gardner. The couple had a son named William and divorced in 2006. Rufus has another child, a daughter named Lola, from his relationship with Ami Komai. In December 2023, it was revealed that Sewell had become engaged to his girlfriend, Vivian Benitez, who is 30 years his junior. The couple married in July 2024.
