# Paul Ready
**Paul Ready** (born 1977) is a British actor known principally for stage work at the National Theatre and the Royal Court, and on television for playing Lee in *Utopia* (2013–2014), Kevin Brady in *Motherland* (2016–2022), Henry Goodsir in *The Terror* (2018), and Rob MacDonald in *Bodyguard* (2018).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713961/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1977, Birmingham, England, UK[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713961/) |
| Training | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA); National Youth Theatre in his teens[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713961/) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/feb/02/paul-ready-interview-motherland-taming-of-the-shrew-globe) |
| Signature TV roles | Lee in *Utopia* (7 episodes, 2013–2014); Kevin Brady in *Motherland* (20 episodes, 2016–2022); Henry Goodsir in *The Terror* (10 episodes, 2018); Rob MacDonald in *Bodyguard* (5 episodes, 2018)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713961/) |
| Film credits | *Angels & Insects* (1995), *The Death of Stalin* (2017), *The Dig* (2021), *Heart of Stone* (2023), *Bring Them Down* (2024)[3](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/paul-ready/credits/3030049810/) |
| Stage base | Regular at the National Theatre and Royal Court; National credits include *Major Barbara*, *Saint Joan*, *A Woman Killed with Kindness*, and *Time and the Conways*[4](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-terror/cast/paul-ready--1033031) |
| Recognition | Commendation at the 2003 Ian Charleson Awards; 2019 Satellite Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a series, miniseries, or limited series[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713961/) • [5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/paul-ready/bio/3030049810/) |
| Family | Married to actor and writer Michelle Terry, artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe; one daughter, Scout[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713961/) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/feb/02/paul-ready-interview-motherland-taming-of-the-shrew-globe) |
## Early life and training
Ready was born in [Birmingham](https://www.edgepedia.org/birmingham) and grew up in the city's Harborne district, attending King Edward VI Five Ways school.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713961/) He discovered acting in his teens at a Birmingham youth theater, encouraged by his English teacher; because the school was an all-boys grammar school, he played women's roles, including Daisy in *Daisy Pulls It Off* and Claire Zachanassian in *The Visit*.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/nov/12/motherland-paul-ready-interview-macbeth-michelle-terry-shakespeare-globe) At 17 he played Romeo opposite [Rosamund Pike](https://www.edgepedia.org/rosamund-pike)'s Juliet in a [National Youth Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-youth-theatre) production of *Romeo and Juliet* at London's Bloomsbury Theatre.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713961/) He then trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713961/)
## Stage career
After drama school, Ready became a regular at the National Theatre and the Royal Court. His National Theatre credits include *A Woman Killed with Kindness*, *London Assurance*, *Three More Sleepless Nights*, *Major Barbara*, *Saint Joan*, and *Time and the Conways*; other stage work includes *In the Republic of Happiness* at the Royal Court, *Noises Off* at the Old Vic and West End, *Measure for Measure* at the Young Vic, *World Music* at the Donmar Warehouse, and a West End *One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest* starring [Christian Slater](https://www.edgepedia.org/christian-slater).[4](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-terror/cast/paul-ready--1033031) • [5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/paul-ready/bio/3030049810/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713961/) He received a commendation at the 2003 Ian Charleson Awards, which honor young actors in classical roles.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713961/)
**Work with Michelle Terry.** Ready met his wife, the actor and writer Michelle Terry, while both were working at the National Theatre, and the two have repeatedly played onstage couples, first in *London Assurance* and then in Martin Crimp's *In the Republic of Happiness*, a Royal Court production whose third act Ready recalls with audience members walking out.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/nov/12/motherland-paul-ready-interview-macbeth-michelle-terry-shakespeare-globe) In 2018 the couple starred as Macbeth and [Lady Macbeth](https://www.edgepedia.org/lady-macbeth) at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, the indoor candlelit sister space of [Shakespeare's Globe](https://www.edgepedia.org/shakespeares-globe), where Terry is artistic director.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/nov/12/motherland-paul-ready-interview-macbeth-michelle-terry-shakespeare-globe) In 2020 they appeared together in the Globe's experimental *The Taming of the Shrew*, in which the cast signed up without knowing which parts they would play.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/feb/02/paul-ready-interview-motherland-taming-of-the-shrew-globe) His earlier Globe work includes *The Fir Tree*, *Macbeth*, and *Love's Labour's Lost* (also on US tour).[7](https://cdn.shakespearesglobe.com/uploads/2023/09/Press-Release-Shakespeares-Globe-announces-cast-for-Twelfth-Night-For-One-Night-Only.pdf) In 2026 he returned to the National Theatre in [Maxim Gorky](https://www.edgepedia.org/maxim-gorky)'s *Summerfolk*.[8](https://www.bigissue.org.uk/culture/theatre/paul-ready-after-motherland-summerfolk/)
## Television and film
Ready's screen career began with an appearance in the Oscar-nominated *Angels and Insects* (1995), and television became his more consistent showcase, with early appearances in *Blackpool* (2004) and *Holby City*.[9](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/paul-ready/) His breakout television role came as Lee, an assassin working for a shadowy government agency, in the [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) cult drama *Utopia* (2013–2014); he has described the character's teaspoon eye-gouging scene as the kind of extreme role he had never expected to play.[9](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/paul-ready/) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/feb/02/paul-ready-interview-motherland-taming-of-the-shrew-globe) He followed it with an introverted police detective in *Cuffs* (2015) and Frederick Treves, the doctor who rescued [Joseph Merrick](https://www.edgepedia.org/joseph-merrick), in *Ripper Street*.[9](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/paul-ready/)
Between 2016 and 2018 he worked at a rapid pace across three contrasting series and a film: as the amiable, needy stay-at-home dad Kevin Brady in the [BBC Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-two) sitcom *Motherland*, as [Royal Navy](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-navy) doctor Henry Goodsir in AMC's Arctic survival drama *The Terror* (2018), as special adviser Rob MacDonald in [Jed Mercurio](https://www.edgepedia.org/jed-mercurio)'s political thriller *Bodyguard* (2018), and opposite Steve Buscemi in Armando Iannucci's *The Death of Stalin* (2017).[9](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/paul-ready/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713961/) His Goodsir performance drew particular attention; Vanity Fair's account of the series finale called it a portrayal whose purity of spirit makes the character's fate wrenching.[10](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/05/the-terror-series-finale-henry-goodsir-paul-ready-suicide) The *Bodyguard* role, a morally cowardly politico, made him unexpectedly recognizable to London commuters after an episode in which his character appeared to have blown up Keeley Hawes's home secretary.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/nov/12/motherland-paul-ready-interview-macbeth-michelle-terry-shakespeare-globe)
Later screen credits include *[MotherFatherSon](https://www.edgepedia.org/motherfatherson)* (2019), *The Dig* (2021), *The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself* (2022), *Heart of Stone* (2023), *A Gentleman in Moscow* (2024, as Petrov), and *Bring Them Down* (2024).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713961/) • [11](https://www.metacritic.com/person/paul-ready/) He was nominated for a 2019 Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries, or Limited Series.[5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/paul-ready/bio/3030049810/) Upcoming work includes the feature film *All That Glitters*, a young adult comedy drama inspired by Shakespeare, and the [BBC One](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-one) comedy *Ann Droid*, reuniting him with *Motherland* co-star [Diane Morgan](https://www.edgepedia.org/diane-morgan).[12](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/paul_ready/press/)
## Playing Kevin
Ready has said that finding the right comic level for Kevin in *Motherland* was a daily challenge, because filming gives an actor no immediate audience reaction the way theater does.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/nov/12/motherland-paul-ready-interview-macbeth-michelle-terry-shakespeare-globe) In a 2025 interview he said he is "in denial" about resembling his hapless character, recounting being recognized while stuck in a water ride at a holiday park and by a father in a soft-play ball pit who announced, "I'm Kevin."[13](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/mar/01/paul-ready-i-wanted-to-be-a-tennis-player-but-i-was-crap) After *Motherland* ended, he said he wondered whether audiences would still accept him in serious drama, a question his 2026 casting in Gorky's *Summerfolk* at the National Theatre addressed.[8](https://www.bigissue.org.uk/culture/theatre/paul-ready-after-motherland-summerfolk/)
## References
1. [Paul Ready, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713961/)
2. [Paul Ready: 'We've all got Motherland's Kevin in us', The Guardian (2020)](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/feb/02/paul-ready-interview-motherland-taming-of-the-shrew-globe)
3. [Paul Ready List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/paul-ready/credits/3030049810/)
4. [Paul Ready, The Terror cast bio, AMC](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-terror/cast/paul-ready--1033031)
5. [Paul Ready Biography, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/paul-ready/bio/3030049810/)
6. [Motherland's Paul Ready: 'Michelle Terry and I are very much like the Macbeths!', The Guardian (2018)](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/nov/12/motherland-paul-ready-interview-macbeth-michelle-terry-shakespeare-globe)
7. [Shakespeare's Globe cast announcement, Twelfth Night (2023)](https://cdn.shakespearesglobe.com/uploads/2023/09/Press-Release-Shakespeares-Globe-announces-cast-for-Twelfth-Night-For-One-Night-Only.pdf)
8. [Motherland star Paul Ready returns to theatre with Summerfolk, The Big Issue (2026)](https://www.bigissue.org.uk/culture/theatre/paul-ready-after-motherland-summerfolk/)
9. [Paul Ready, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/paul-ready/)
10. [How The Terror Crafted Its Haunting, Perfect Series Finale, Vanity Fair (2018)](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/05/the-terror-series-finale-henry-goodsir-paul-ready-suicide)
11. [Paul Ready, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/paul-ready/)
12. [Paul Ready press clippings, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/paul_ready/press/)
13. [Paul Ready: 'I wanted to be a tennis player – but I was crap', The Guardian (2025)](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/mar/01/paul-ready-i-wanted-to-be-a-tennis-player-but-i-was-crap)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Q to Se*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license