Luke Evans
Luke George Evans (born 15 April 1979)[1] is a Welsh actor and singer. Evans began his career on the stage, performing in many of London's West End productions such as Rent, Miss Saigon, and Piaf before making his film breakthrough in the Clash of the Titans 2010 remake. Following his debut, Evans was cast in such action and thriller films as Immortals (2011), The Raven (2012), and the re-imagined The Three Musketeers (2011).
Luke Evans | |
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![]() Evans at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con | |
Born | Luke George Evans 15 April 1979 Pontypool, Wales |
Alma mater | London Studio Centre |
Occupation |
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Years active | 2000–present |
Home town | Aberbargoed, Wales |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Labels | BMG |
Website | lukeevansofficial |
In 2013, Evans starred as the main antagonist Owen Shaw in the blockbuster Fast & Furious 6, and also played Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson's three-part adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.[2] Evans also portrayed the vampire Dracula in the character's 2014 film origin story, Dracula Untold.[3] In 2017, Evans starred as Gaston in Disney's live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, and portrayed American psychologist William Moulton Marston, creator of fictional character Wonder Woman, in the biographical drama Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. He had a lead role in the period drama series The Alienist in 2018. He released his debut album At Last on 22 November 2019.
Early life
Evans was born on Easter Sunday, 15 April 1979, in Pontypool,[4] and brought up in Aberbargoed,[1] a small village in the Rhymney Valley, Wales, the only child of Yvonne and David Evans.[5][6] He was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, though he left the religion when he was 16 and left school at the same time.[7]
At the age of seventeen, he moved to Cardiff,[8] where he studied under the supervision of Louise Ryan, an established singing coach.[9] In 1997, he won a scholarship to London Studio Centre, then in Kings Cross, London.[10] He graduated in 2000.
Career
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From 2000 to 2008, Evans starred in many of London's West End productions including La Cava, Taboo, Rent, Miss Saigon and Avenue Q, as well as several fringe shows in London and at the Edinburgh Festival.
In 2008, he landed his most significant theatre role playing Vincent in the play Small Change written and directed by Peter Gill at the Donmar Warehouse. For his performance he gained recognition from film casting directors and US agencies and was nominated for the Evening Standard Award for best newcomer. Later that same year he did his second show at the Donmar Warehouse, Piaf, in which he played Yves Montand.
Evans got his first film audition at age 30. In 2009, he landed his first film, playing the Greek god Apollo in the 2010 remake Clash of the Titans. Also in 2010, he appeared as Clive in the film Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, directed by Matt Whitecross, as the Sheriff of Nottingham's thug in Robin Hood, alongside Matthew Macfadyen (whom he would later play alongside again in The Three Musketeers), and played handyman and good guy Andy, in director Stephen Frears' film Tamara Drewe, based on Posy Simmond's comic strip. Evans went on to portray DI Craig Stokes in Blitz (2011), the film adaptation of Ken Bruen's novel of the same name, in which he starred with Jason Statham and Paddy Considine. In early 2010, he shot the independent movie, Flutter, directed by Giles Borg.
Evans played the Musketeer Aramis in Paul W. S. Anderson's version of The Three Musketeers (filmed in 2010 and released in 2011). He was cast in a lead role in Tarsem Singh's Greek epic, Immortals (2011), in which he played the King of the Gods, Zeus. And at the end of 2010, he took a role opposite John Cusack in James McTeigue's film The Raven, replacing Jeremy Renner. In the film, released in 2012 and set in mid-19th century Baltimore, Evans played Detective Emmett Fields, who investigates a series of murders alongside Cusack's Edgar Allan Poe.[11] Shooting took place in Budapest and Serbia in November 2010. In 2011, he shot No One Lives, a psychological horror film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, in New Orleans, and began filming a role in Peter Jackson's three-part adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, playing the role of Bard the Bowman.[2]
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In 2013, Evans played the antagonist Owen Shaw in Furious 6, and in 2014, he played Dracula in the film Dracula Untold.[12][13][14] Evans was cast as Eric Draven in the reboot of The Crow. In June 2014, he joined the cast of the film High-Rise with Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Irons.[15] In January 2015, Evans officially exited The Crow to pursue other projects.[16] The same year, he was named one of GQ's 50 best dressed British men.[17]
In 2016, Evans appeared in the thriller film The Girl on the Train, co-starring Emily Blunt.[18] In 2017, he had the villainous role of Gaston in Disney's live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, co-starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens;[19] and also played the lead role, William Moulton Marston, the creator of Wonder Woman, in the film Professor Marston and the Wonder Women.
In 2018, Evans stars in TNT drama The Alienist, as newspaper illustrator John Moore.[20] The following year, he announced the release of his debut studio album, At Last, which was released on 22 November 2019.[21]
On November 8, 2019, Evans starred in Roland Emmerich’s epic war movie Midway, along with Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Mandy Moore, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Dennis Quaid and Woody Harrelson.[22][23][24][25][26][27] Evans is also set to reprise his role as Gaston in an upcoming Beauty and the Beast prequel limited series for Disney+, in which he will co-star alongside Josh Gad (with the latter serving as co-creator, co-writer and executive producer).[28]
Personal life
In his early 20s in an article in the U.K.'s Gay Times, Evans stated that people would approach him in gay pubs to tell him that they could not believe that he was gay.[29] In a subsequent 2002 interview in The Advocate in the U.S. he said that although his (then) part (in Taboo) was that of a straight man "everybody knew me as a gay man, and in my life in London I never tried to hide it".[29]
By his late 30s, he was less willing to discuss his sexuality with the press, asserting his private life to be private.[30] Little is reported about his private life, and he deliberately shields his family from the press.[30] He stated in response to a question about the opinion that "Hollywood" might have of his sexuality that his private life was not connected to "Hollywood", and that "Talent, success, what you do in your personal life — I don’t see how one should have an effect on the other."[30] As such, although openly gay since the Gay Times interview, he is rarely labelled so.[30]
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Release date | Peak chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
UK [31] |
AUS Dig. [32] |
IRE [33] | ||
At Last | 22 November 2019[34] | 11 | 30 | 84 |
Soundtrack albums
Title | Release date |
---|---|
Beauty and the Beast | 10 March 2017 |
Singles
Title | Release date | Album |
---|---|---|
"Love Is a Battlefield" | 8 October 2019 | At Last |
"Changing" | 23 October 2019 |
Tours
- At Last! The Live Tour (2021)[35]
Filmography
Film
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | The Great Train Robbery | Bruce Reynolds | Miniseries |
2016, 2018 | Robot Chicken | Various characters (voices) | 2 episodes |
2017 | The Grand Tour | Himself | Episode: "Jaaaaaaaags" |
2018–present | The Alienist | John Moore | Main role |
2020 | The Pembrokeshire Murders | Steve Wilkins | Miniseries |
2020 | The Alienist: Angel of Darkness | John Moore | 8 episodes |
2020 | Crossing Swords | King Merriman (voice) | Main role 10 episodes |
TBA | Nine Perfect Strangers | Lars | Upcoming miniseries |
Video games
Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Fast & Furious: Showdown | Owen Shaw | |
Theme park rides
Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Fast & Furious: Supercharged | Owen Shaw | |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Monte-Carlo Television Festival | Outstanding Actor in a Mini-Series | The Great Train Robbery | Nominated |
Acapulco Black Film Festival | Best Ensemble Cast | Fast & Furious 6 | Nominated | |
2015 | British Independent Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | High Rise | Nominated |
2017 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Duo (with Josh Gad) | Beauty and the Beast | Nominated |
Teen Choice Awards[37] | Choice Movie: Villain | Won | ||
Choice Hissy Fit | Nominated |
References
- "Evans finds himself among the stars". walesonline. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- Fleming, Mike (16 June 2011). "Luke Evans To Play Bard in 'The Hobbit'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- Justin Vactor. "Luke". Screen Rant. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- "Pontypool-born Luke Evans hopes to be new Bourne star". walesonline. 9 April 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- "Aberbargoed actor Luke Evans' success in Hollywood". Wales Online. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- Rachel Mainwaring (30 May 2010). "Welsh actor Luke Evans is hot Hollywood property". Wales Online. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- "Hobbit star Luke Evans swaps the valleys for the Shire". The Guardian. 7 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
- "Luke Evans Interview TAMARA DREWE". Collider. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- "Welsh actor Luke Evans is hot Hollywood property". walesonline. 29 May 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- Mo-Net s.r.l. Milano-Firenze. "Luke Evans". mymovies.it. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- Leins, Jeff. "Luke Evans, Alice Eve Join 'The Raven'". News in Film. Archived from the original on 9 January 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
- Mike Fleming Jr. "'The Crow' Reboot Flies With Luke Evans – Deadline". Deadline. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- The Deadline Team. "Universal Dates 'Dracula' Origin Pic For August 8, 2014 – Deadline". Deadline. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- Pamela McClintock. "Title Change: 'Dracula' Renamed 'Dracula Untold'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- Oliver Lyttelton (13 June 2014). "'The Hobbit' Star Luke Evans Joins Tom Hiddleston in Ben Wheatley's 'High Rise'". Indie Wire. Archived from the original on 16 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
- "Luke Evans Officially Exits 'The Crow' Reboot; Relativity Seeking New Star". TheWrap. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- "50 Best Dressed Men in Britain 2015". GQ. 5 January 2015. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015.
- "Luke Evans in The Girl on the Train". Rotten Tomatoes. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- "Luke Evans To Star Opposite Emma Watson In Disney's Beauty And The Beast".
- "It's time to light a fire under sleepy 'Alienist'". 20 February 2018.
- Dommu, Rose (9 October 2019). "Luke Evans to Cover Cher's 'If I Could Turn Back Time' on Debut Album". Out. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
- Donnelly, Matt (31 October 2019). "Roland Emmerich Just Made a $100 Million Indie Film. Will It Work?". Variety. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- Fleming Jr, Mike (23 May 2017). "Bona Film Group Stakes $80M On Roland Emmerich/Mark Gordon WWII Battle Pic 'Midway:' Cannes". Deadline. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- Wiseman, Andreas (2 May 2018). "Roland Emmerich's WWII Epic 'Midway' Sets Sail With Woody Harrelson, Mandy Moore & AGC Studios — Cannes Hot Pic". Deadline. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- Kit, Borys (3 July 2018). "Luke Evans Joins Roland Emmerich's Naval Action Movie 'Midway' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- Marc, Christopher (24 July 2018). "Roland Emmerich's WWII Epic 'Midway' Adds 'The Guest' Cinematographer - GWW". thegww.com. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- D'Alessandro, Anthony (5 September 2018). "Roland Emmerich's WWII Epic 'Midway' To Open Veterans Day Weekend 2019". Deadline. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
- Goldberg, Lesley (6 March 2020). "'Beauty and the Beast' Prequel Series in the Works at Disney+ (Exclusive)". Retrieved 7 March 2020m.
- Barclay 2002, p. 55.
- Swithinbank 2017.
- "Luke Evans | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- "ARIA Australian Top 50 Digital Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- "Irish Albums Chart: 29 November 2019". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- "Luke Evans". Genius. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- "Hey guys, I'm really happy to announce that my postponed tour dates have now been rescheduled!!..." twitter. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- "Luke Evans Joins Sixth 'Fast & Furious' Film". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- Ramos, Dino-Ray (13 August 2017). "Teen Choice Awards 2017 Winners: 'Wonder Woman', 'Beauty And The Beast', 'Riverdale' Among Honorees". Deadline. enske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
Sources
- Barclay, Paris (3 September 2002). "Breaking the Taboo". The Advocate. p. 55. Retrieved 31 August 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Swithinbank, Robin (23 March 2017). "Roll The Tape: Luke Evans". The Jackal.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
External links
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