Jaye Davidson
Jaye Davidson (born Alfred Amey; March 21, 1968) is an American-born British model and retired actor. He is probably best known for his role as the transgender woman Dil in the 1992 suspense-drama thriller film The Crying Game,[1][3] for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Among science fiction fans, he is known for his appearance in 1994's Stargate as the god-like Ra.
Jaye Davidson | |
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Born | Alfred Amey[1] March 21, 1968[2] Riverside, California, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor, model |
Years active | 1992–1996; 2009 |
Career
Davidson, who had no prior professional acting experience, was discovered at a wrap party for Derek Jarman's Edward II and was invited to audition for The Crying Game.[4] He was cast in the role of Dil.[5] The film was a critical and popular success.[6] It is known for a surprise plot twist: a love scene in which Dil undresses and main character Fergus (played by Stephen Rea) discovers that Dil is transgender. The scene required full-frontal nudity.[7] Rea later said, "'If Jaye hadn’t been a completely convincing woman, my character would have looked stupid'". When the film was released, Miramax requested that reviewers keep Davidson's gender a secret.[4]
For his work in The Crying Game, Davidson was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor[8][9] and for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1993.[10] Davidson also received nominations for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor[11] and the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress in 1993.[11]
Davidson starred as Ra, an alien impersonating a god,[12] in the 1994 science fiction adventure film Stargate.[13][14] He was surprised when they agreed to pay his $1m fee.[15]
Davidson later retired from acting,[5] stating that he "genuinely hated the fame" he was receiving. He became more involved in modelling, and has since worked on several high-profile photo shoots.[16]
Personal life
Davidson was born in California, but grew up in Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, England.[17] His father is a black African and his mother is a white Englishwoman.[18]
Davidson is gay. During his acting career, he said that his androgynous look alienated him within the gay community; he stated that gay men "love very masculine men. And I'm not a very masculine person. I'm reasonably thin. I have long hair, which isn't very popular with gay men."[19] He later adopted a more traditionally masculine look, with a shaved head, tattoos, and a more muscular physique.[20]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | The Crying Game | Dil | Neil Jordan | National Board of Review Award for Most Auspicious Debut[21] Nominated — National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor[22] Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor[8][9] Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role[10] Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor[11] Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress[11] |
1994 | Stargate | Ra | Roland Emmerich | |
1996 | Catwalk | Himself | Documentary | |
2009 | The Borghilde Project | Nazi photographer |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Jiggery Pokery | Jo | Television movie |
References
- "Jaye Davidson". TV Guide. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- "Jaye Davidson". IMDb.
- Maslin, Janet (17 December 1992). "INTO THE LIMELIGHT WITH: Jaye Davidson; A Star to Match A Mystery Role". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
- Giles, Jeff; Giles, Jeff (1 April 1993). "Jaye Davidson: Oscar's Big Surprise".
- Brady, Tara. "'The Crying Game': 'They wanted me to cast a woman that was pretending to be a man'". The Irish Times.
- "Neil Jordan's suprise [sic] hit". EW.com.
- Vineyard, Jennifer (5 December 2014). "Stephen Rea on The Crying Game's Surprise Penis". Vulture.com. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
- Academy Award Editors (March 7, 1993). "The 6th Academy Awards 1993". 65th Academy Awards. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
- AMC FilmSite Editors (March 7, 2015). "1992 Academy Awards® Winners and History". AMC FilmSite. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
- BAFTA Editors (January 4, 1993). "Actor in a Supporting Role in 1993". BAFTA. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
- Adler, Tony (March 7, 1993). "Actor in a Supporting Role in 1993". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
- Times, Stephanie Dolgoff, New York. "EGYPTOLOGIST GUIDES 'STARGATE' CAST IN HIEROGLYPHICS-SPEAK". OrlandoSentinel.com.
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/stargatepg13hinson_a019b2.htm
- LeVasseur, Andrea (2010). "Jaye Davidson". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
- https://stack.com.au/film-tv/whatever-happened-to-jaye-davidson/
- Vincent, Alice (15 February 2016). "Oscars flashback: whatever happened to Gilbert Grape's mama?". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
- Celebrities with a connection to Borehamwood and Elstree - Borehamwood and Elstree Times - Discussion on Topix Retrieved 2016-10-30.
- Maslin, Janet (17 December 1992). "INTO THE LIMELIGHT WITH: Jaye Davidson; A Star to Match A Mystery Role" – via NYTimes.com.
- Giles, Jeff (22 March 1993). "The Open Secret -- In A Rare Interview, Jaye Davidson Leaves Nothing To The Imagination When Discussing The Oscar-Nominated Film, 'The Crying Game'". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
- "Jaye Davidson - Where are they now?". Virgin Media. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2018-08-12.
- Cohn, Lawrence (February 24, 1993). "No-shows beset Griffith Awards". Variety. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
- J. Fox, David (January 4, 1993). "'Unforgiven' Tops National Critics' List : Awards: Clint Eastwood film is picked as best movie of '92, Eastwood as best director, David Webb Peoples' tale as best screenplay". The LA Times. Retrieved October 31, 2015.