Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, the son of a headmaster and a teacher, studied acting at the famed RADA school in London. He began his professional career while there, appearing on episodes ofBack-Upand in the filmHouse of America. He then spent some time working in New Zealand, where his credits included Julie Taymor'sTitus. He has since worked in Wales, Ireland, London and the United States.

Rhys is best known for his role on the ABC dramaBrothers & Sistersand for playing Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in the UK filmThe Edge of Love, a performance that earned him a nomination for a BAFTA Cymru Award. Other credits includeGreenstone, Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?, The Abduction Club, Columbo, Beau Brummell: This Charming Man(in which he played Lord Byron),Love and Other Disasters(opposite Brittany Murphy),The Scapegoat, Sorted, and a BBC miniseries based on Charles Dickens' unfinished novel,The Mystery of Edwin Drood.