Rupert Graves

Birthday: 30 June 1963, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, UK

Height: 180 cm

Born in a seaside resort town, Britain's Rupert Graves was born a rebel, resisting authority and breaking rules at an early age. In his teens he became a punk rocker and even found work as a circus clown and in traveling comedy troupes. In 1983 he made his professional stage debut in "The Killing of Mr. Toad" and went on to co-star with Harvey Fierstein in the London production of "Torch Song Trilogy." It didn't take long for somebody to take note of Rupert's boyish good looks and offbeat versatility. By the mid-80s he was a presence in quality films and TV, primarily period pieces such as his Freddy Honeychurch in A Room with a View (1985) and the gay drama Maurice (1987).Rupert moved to the front of the class quickly. His decisions to select classy, obscure arthouse films as opposed to box-office mainstream may have put a dimmer on his star, but earned him a distinct reputation as a daring, controversial artist in the same vein as Johnny Depp. In A Handful of Dust (1988) he essayed the role of a penniless status seeker who beds down a married socialite; in Different for Girls (1996) he was the lover of a male-to-female transsexual woman; in The Innocent Sleep (1996) he played a derelict drunk; and in the award-winning Intimate Relations (1996) he portrayed an aimless boarder who has a relationship with both the mother/landlady and her daughter.Equally adept at costume and contemporary drama, Rupert more recently earned rave reviews on Broadway with "Closer" in 2000 and "The Elephant Man" in 2002. Rupert is currently married to production coordinator Susie Lewis. Show less «

You have to be savvy to be a celebrity. You have to create a personality and shove that out. It just...Show more »

You have to be savvy to be a celebrity. You have to create a personality and shove that out. It just seems fatuous to me. Professionally, it's a good idea. But I can't do it. Show less «

I was a closet straight. I think I wanted to be gay because I thought it was arty and interesting. A...Show more »

I was a closet straight. I think I wanted to be gay because I thought it was arty and interesting. And also, I was phenomenally shy with girls. Show less «

It's interesting when you're in your thirties and you're not the same pretty boy that you were when ...Show more »

It's interesting when you're in your thirties and you're not the same pretty boy that you were when you were 21. I think people's anger at themselves getting older is projected on to you because you become a symbol of that. Show less «

I just think the older I get, actually, the better I feel.

I don't plan. I don't think, 'I have to do this kind of part 'cause I've done that kind of part.' I'...Show more »

I don't plan. I don't think, 'I have to do this kind of part 'cause I've done that kind of part.' I'm not a very good planner. Show less «

The urge to act became the overriding force in my life. It thrilled me. There's a moment with acting...Show more »

The urge to act became the overriding force in my life. It thrilled me. There's a moment with acting when you're in the groove, and you and what you're trying to do are seamlessly one. That happens sometimes, and I'm really happy it can happen to me. Show less «

"I'm really pleased with myself. I've not had any training. I came from Weston-super-Mare, the same ...Show more »

"I'm really pleased with myself. I've not had any training. I came from Weston-super-Mare, the same place as John Cleese, but I didn't have an education. I knew nothing about acting except that early on I knew I wanted to do it, and I've managed for 20 years to do things without doing them just for the money. Very, very occasionally when I've been really strapped for cash I thought I'd better do a job for money maybe about four times in 20 years, every five years or so on average. And the rest of the time I've done pretty much as I've pleased in jobs that have interested me. By those standards, which are the standards that I judge myself by, I feel happy. The amount of work you need to do to become a very successful celebrity is something I'm not prepared to do." Interview with Andrew Billen, March 27, 2002. Show less «

I drifted into acting, and I've drifted into my career, and I've never been guided by anything parti...Show more »

I drifted into acting, and I've drifted into my career, and I've never been guided by anything particularly concrete. Show less «

On his character in Sherlock (2010): I'm too stupid even to be Watson. I'm just Lestrade.

There's a thing I think children realize at a certain age, which is that if their parents say, 'Don'...Show more »

There's a thing I think children realize at a certain age, which is that if their parents say, 'Don't do it', and they go ahead and do it, they're still not going to die. And I think that's what it is: that no matter what you do, you're not going to die. Show less «

I'm entirely uneducated. I went to public school - public in the American sense - a blue-collar, wor...Show more »

I'm entirely uneducated. I went to public school - public in the American sense - a blue-collar, working-class school. I never got a scholarship, I left when I was 15, never did any exams. Show less «

I was a dozy boy; I'd like to have been like James Dean, but I was more Arthur Askey - pathetically ...Show more »

I was a dozy boy; I'd like to have been like James Dean, but I was more Arthur Askey - pathetically rebellious in a cheeky, chappy sort of way. Show less «

It's just very dull. Talking about yourself and about something that you've got less interest in tha...Show more »

It's just very dull. Talking about yourself and about something that you've got less interest in than you had, because you've always moved on to something else. Show less «

Not being anxious requires a level of humility, doesn't it? It does, I think. It's not all about you...Show more »

Not being anxious requires a level of humility, doesn't it? It does, I think. It's not all about you. Show less «

Celebrity's a pain in the backside - you're always on display.

I'm crap at interviews. I'm just not very good at sentences.

I was concerned about doing the right thing when I was a kid. I suppose as a child, you're a massive...Show more »

I was concerned about doing the right thing when I was a kid. I suppose as a child, you're a massive egomaniac, and you think that everything you do is going to affect the world. Show less «

The amount of work you need to do to become a very successful celebrity is something I'm not prepare...Show more »

The amount of work you need to do to become a very successful celebrity is something I'm not prepared to do. Show less «

On his favorite Sherlock (2010) scene: I don't often get too much to say. I think my favorite scene ...Show more »

On his favorite Sherlock (2010) scene: I don't often get too much to say. I think my favorite scene is when Lestrade first saw that Sherlock was okay, at the underground car park. The art is to react, in the moment, so it depends very much on what Benedict Cumberbatch is doing, and the other people are doing. And there's a scene [in the special] between Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson that was great. We've been friends for awhile, Una Stubbs and I, and it was great to get to act together. Show less «

I kind of always wanted to act, but to get a grant I would have needed two A-levels, and I was too f...Show more »

I kind of always wanted to act, but to get a grant I would have needed two A-levels, and I was too far away from even O levels. I didn't know you could get a scholarship, so I determined early not to pursue that. Show less «

I never went to acting school. I started in the circus, music hall, I was in a group, did kids' bits...Show more »

I never went to acting school. I started in the circus, music hall, I was in a group, did kids' bits. I've always had this kind of insecurity being uneducated. Show less «

Giving interviews is just very dull. Talking about yourself and something that you've got less inter...Show more »

Giving interviews is just very dull. Talking about yourself and something that you've got less interest in than you had, because you've already moved on to something else. But you have a contractual obligation. - interview with Emma Brooks, April 22, 2002. Show less «