# Stephen Rea
**Stephen Rea** (born 1946 in Belfast) is a Northern Irish actor of stage, film, and television whose portrayal of Fergus in [Neil Jordan](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-jordan)'s *The Crying Game* (1992) brought him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and who co-founded the [Field Day Theatre Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/field-day-theatre-company) with the playwright [Brian Friel](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-friel) in 1980.[1](https://www.nationalgallery.ie/ga/node/4426) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001653/awards/) • [3](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/about-us/news/stephen-rea-dr-mark-phelan-talk-translations) He has received three BAFTA nominations and won a BAFTA TV Award in 2015, and in 2024 the Irish Film & Television Academy gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award.[4](https://ifta.ie/life_time/stephen_rea.php)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1946, Belfast; educated at Belfast High School and Queen's University, then trained at the Abbey Theatre School in Dublin[1](https://www.nationalgallery.ie/ga/node/4426) |
| Breakthrough role | Fergus, a morally conflicted IRA kidnapper, in *The Crying Game* (1992); Oscar nomination for Best Actor, BAFTA nomination, and National Society of Film Critics Best Actor award[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001653/awards/) • [5](https://time.com/3834823/the-crying-game-movie-review/) |
| Field Day Theatre Company | Co-founded with Brian Friel in 1980; inaugural production was Friel's *Translations* at the Guildhall in Derry[3](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/about-us/news/stephen-rea-dr-mark-phelan-talk-translations) |
| Neil Jordan collaboration | Appeared in nine of Jordan's films, including *Angel*, *The Crying Game*, *Interview with the Vampire*, *Michael Collins*, and *The End of the Affair*[6](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/can-t-help-acting-on-instinct-1.961248) |
| BAFTA win | 2015 BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actor as Sir Hugh Hayden-Hoyle in BBC Two's *The Honourable Woman*[7](https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-news/tv-bafta-winners-graham-norton-and-stephen-rea-win-coveted-awards/31210969.html) |
| IFTA record | Three IFTA Awards from nine nominations, including Best Actor in a Lead Role - Drama for *The English* (2023) and the Lifetime Achievement Award (2024)[4](https://ifta.ie/life_time/stephen_rea.php) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001653/awards/) |
| Later stage work | Long collaboration with Sam Shepard beginning in 1974; starred in David Ireland's *Cyprus Avenue* at the Abbey and a Dublin production of Beckett's *Krapp's Last Tape*[6](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/can-t-help-acting-on-instinct-1.961248) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/sep/30/stephen-rea-british-identity-is-dwindling-brexit-samuel-beckett-cyprus-avenue) • [4](https://ifta.ie/life_time/stephen_rea.php) |
## Early life and training
Rea grew up in Belfast in a working-class Protestant family with nationalist sympathies.[6](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/can-t-help-acting-on-instinct-1.961248) He attended Belfast High School and [Queen's University Belfast](https://www.edgepedia.org/queens-university-belfast), taking a degree in English, then trained at the Abbey Theatre School in Dublin.[6](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/can-t-help-acting-on-instinct-1.961248) • [1](https://www.nationalgallery.ie/ga/node/4426) He described moving to the Abbey as "a conscious decision to be an Irish actor rather than some strange hybrid."[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-show-people-43-stephen-rea-a-star-in-another-language-1551188.html)
The Abbey archives record him acting there from 1964 through the late 1980s, in productions ranging from *Kathleen ni Houlihan* (1965) to Brian Friel's *Aristocrats* (1979), and later directing *The Cure at Troy* in 1990.[10](https://www.abbeytheatre.ie/archives/person_detail/13326/) After relocating to London in the early 1970s, he found work in experimental theater, joining the group Freehold, and in 1974 played the lead in [Sam Shepard](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-shepard)'s *Geography of a Horse Dreamer*, which Shepard directed.[6](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/can-t-help-acting-on-instinct-1.961248) That year he also played the stand-up comic George McBrain in Trevor Griffiths's *Comedians* and turned down £600 a week to perform the character's act on the northern club circuit, against the £90 a week he was earning.[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-show-people-43-stephen-rea-a-star-in-another-language-1551188.html)
In the late 1970s he worked with [Samuel Beckett](https://www.edgepedia.org/samuel-beckett) on *Endgame* at the Royal Court, an experience he later counted among his career highlights; he recalls Beckett talking only about the jokes in the play, never its meaning.[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-show-people-43-stephen-rea-a-star-in-another-language-1551188.html) • [6](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/can-t-help-acting-on-instinct-1.961248)
## Field Day
In 1980 Rea co-founded the Field Day Theatre Company with Brian Friel, whom he had asked directly because, in his words, Friel "is the greatest living Irish playwright."[6](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/can-t-help-acting-on-instinct-1.961248) • [11](https://stephenrea.net/theatre.htm) The company's first production, Friel's *Translations*, opened in 1980 at the [Guildhall](https://www.edgepedia.org/guildhall) in Derry and set the tone for a decade of productions and publications addressing language, history, and identity in [Northern Ireland](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-ireland).[3](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/about-us/news/stephen-rea-dr-mark-phelan-talk-translations) • [12](https://mtc-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/File/7676.pdf) Rea described the venture as "a conscious intervention into the situation we had then in the North of Ireland," responding to what he saw as a low level of debate during the Troubles.[13](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-withstephen-rea_25284/)
Field Day mounted numerous productions over the following decade, including *Saint Oscar*, *Pentecost*, *The Riot Act*, and *The Cure at Troy*, several of which Rea also directed.[13](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-withstephen-rea_25284/) The company toured nationally and internationally, and for a period, as *The Irish Times* put it, "came to resemble an alternative national theatre."[6](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/can-t-help-acting-on-instinct-1.961248) Rea remained associated with Field Day long after: in 2012 he staged David Ireland's short play *Half a Glass of Water* under its banner, and in 2018 he spoke of planning a literary festival in Derry for Field Day's 40th anniversary in 2020.[14](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/stage/stephen-rea-i-can-t-imagine-teams-of-loyalists-rolling-up-to-watch-it-1.2522706) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/sep/30/stephen-rea-british-identity-is-dwindling-brexit-samuel-beckett-cyprus-avenue)
## Film career and Neil Jordan
Rea's film collaboration with the director Neil Jordan produced nine films, beginning with Jordan's first feature, *Angel* (1984), in which Rea played Danny.[6](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/can-t-help-acting-on-instinct-1.961248) • [15](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/stephen-rea/) The list continues through *The Company of Wolves* (1984), *The Crying Game* (1992), *Interview with the Vampire* (1994), *Michael Collins* (1996), *The Butcher Boy* (1997), *In Dreams* (1999), *The End of the Affair* (1999), and *Breakfast on Pluto* (2005).[16](https://stephenrea.net/intro.htm)
*The Crying Game*, made for $5 million, made Rea internationally known. He played Fergus, an IRA volunteer who guards a kidnapped British soldier ([Forest Whitaker](https://www.edgepedia.org/forest-whitaker)) and later, in London, falls in love with the soldier's partner Dil ([Jaye Davidson](https://www.edgepedia.org/jaye-davidson)).[5](https://time.com/3834823/the-crying-game-movie-review/) Rea was named Best Actor by the National Society of Film Critics and was nominated for the [Academy Award for Best Actor](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-actor) and the BAFTA Film Award.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001653/awards/) IFTA's citation credits his "nuance" in the portrayal with opening international audiences' eyes to the complicated nature of the violence in Northern Ireland.[4](https://ifta.ie/life_time/stephen_rea.php) His other screen work includes Mike Leigh's *Life Is Sweet* (1990), Robert Altman's *Prêt-à-Porter* (1994), *V for Vendetta* (2005), and *Black '47* (2018).[15](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/stephen-rea/) • [4](https://ifta.ie/life_time/stephen_rea.php) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001653/awards/)
## Television and later career
Rea's television work brought him a second wave of recognition. In 2015 he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Sir Hugh Hayden-Hoyle in the [BBC Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-two) series *The Honourable Woman*, beating [Ken Stott](https://www.edgepedia.org/ken-stott), Adeel Akhtar, and James Norton.[7](https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-news/tv-bafta-winners-graham-norton-and-stephen-rea-win-coveted-awards/31210969.html) He followed with roles in *War & Peace* (2016), the Emmy-nominated *Counterpart*, *Flesh and Blood*, *The Stranger*, and the BBC/Amazon western *The English* (2022), for which he won the 2023 IFTA Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role - Drama.[17](https://www.paviliontheatre.ie/content/files/1753201776101_9NStZ5.pdf) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001653/awards/)
On stage he has continued to work with writers who create parts for him. Brian Friel wrote the role of Owen in *Translations* for him, Stewart Parker created Lenny Harrigan in *Pentecost* for him, and David Ireland wrote the central role of Eric Miller in *Cyprus Avenue* (2016) for him, a character described as one of "smothered comedy and saturnine tragedy."[14](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/stage/stephen-rea-i-can-t-imagine-teams-of-loyalists-rolling-up-to-watch-it-1.2522706) In 2024 he starred in a Dublin production of Beckett's *Krapp's Last Tape*.[4](https://ifta.ie/life_time/stephen_rea.php)
## Awards and recognition
Across screen categories, Rea's record includes an Oscar nomination (1993 ceremony listing, for *The Crying Game*), three BAFTA nominations with one win, a Golden Globe nomination for the television film *Crime of the Century* (1997), a Daytime Emmy nomination for *Snow in August* (2002), and Best Actor awards at both the [Cairo International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/cairo-international-film-festival) and the Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival for *Citizen X* (1995).[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001653/awards/) At the IFTAs he has three wins from nine nominations and received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024, presented by Neil Jordan, with video tributes from [Cillian Murphy](https://www.edgepedia.org/cillian-murphy) and Jessie Buckley.[4](https://ifta.ie/life_time/stephen_rea.php) • [18](https://www.newsfour.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NewsFour_Jun-Jul-2024.pdf) He has also received honorary degrees from Queen's University Belfast and the University of Ulster.[1](https://www.nationalgallery.ie/ga/node/4426)
A Northern Irish author of the same name, also from Belfast and writing about football and Ozzy Osbourne, maintains a separate public profile; the two are frequently confused.[19](https://stephen-rea.com/)
## References
1. [Stephen Rea (b.1946 Belfast), actor, 2025 - National Gallery of Ireland](https://www.nationalgallery.ie/ga/node/4426)
2. [Stephen Rea - Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001653/awards/)
3. [Stephen Rea & Dr Mark Phelan Talk 'Translations', Lyric Theatre Belfast](https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/about-us/news/stephen-rea-dr-mark-phelan-talk-translations)
4. [Stephen Rea, IFTA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient](https://ifta.ie/life_time/stephen_rea.php)
5. [Queuing For The Crying Game, TIME](https://time.com/3834823/the-crying-game-movie-review/)
6. [Can't help acting on instinct, The Irish Times](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/can-t-help-acting-on-instinct-1.961248)
7. [TV BAFTA winners: Graham Norton and Stephen Rea win coveted awards, Irish Independent](https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-news/tv-bafta-winners-graham-norton-and-stephen-rea-win-coveted-awards/31210969.html)
8. [Stephen Rea: 'No matter how much they enforce Brexit, British identity is dwindling', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/sep/30/stephen-rea-british-identity-is-dwindling-brexit-samuel-beckett-cyprus-avenue)
9. [Show People: Stephen Rea - A star in another language, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-show-people-43-stephen-rea-a-star-in-another-language-1551188.html)
10. [Rea, Stephen - Abbey Theatre Archives](https://www.abbeytheatre.ie/archives/person_detail/13326/)
11. [Stephenrea.net - Theatre](https://stephenrea.net/theatre.htm)
12. [Context: Social - Irish Theatre (MTC document)](https://mtc-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/File/7676.pdf)
13. [20 Questions With…Stephen Rea, WhatsOnStage](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-withstephen-rea_25284/)
14. [Stephen Rea: 'I can't imagine teams of loyalists rolling up to watch it', The Irish Times](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/stage/stephen-rea-i-can-t-imagine-teams-of-loyalists-rolling-up-to-watch-it-1.2522706)
15. [Stephen Rea - Independent Talent](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/stephen-rea/)
16. [Stephenrea.net - Intro](https://stephenrea.net/intro.htm)
17. [Stephen Rea - Pavilion Theatre programme](https://www.paviliontheatre.ie/content/files/1753201776101_9NStZ5.pdf)
18. [News Four, June/July 2024 - Awards page](https://www.newsfour.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NewsFour_Jun-Jul-2024.pdf)
19. [Stephen Rea, Author (namesake website)](https://stephen-rea.com/)
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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 › Irish actors › Surnames N to W*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; 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