Matthew Rhys

About Matthew Rhys

Matthew Rhys Evans (born on 4 November 1974) and known professionally as Matthew Rhys, is a Welsh actor, best-known as Kevin Walker, the gay lawyer brother on the American ABC family drama Brothers & Sisters.

Born and raised in the historic city of Cardiff, South Glamorgan, South Wales, Rhys was educated through the Welsh language at Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Melin Gruffydd, and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf. At seventeen, after playing the lead role of Elvis Presley in a school musical, he applied to, and was accepted at, the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London (RADA). Shortly thereafter, in 1993, he was awarded the Patricia Rothermere Scholarship. During his time at RADA, Rhys appeared in Back-Up, the BBC police series about the operational support units Hooli Vans, as well as in House of America. He then returned to Cardiff to act in his own language in the Welsh film Bydd yn Wrol (Be Brave), for which he won Best Actor at the Welsh BAFTA's.

In January 1998, Rhys went to New Zealand to star in Greenstone, a colonial costume drama for television. He then landed a role in Julie Taymor's critically acclaimed adaptation of Titus, starring Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange. Next he played Ray in Peter Hewitt's quirky film comedy, Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? After returning to Wales, he did two consecutive films with Jonathan Pryce: The Testimony of Taliesin Jones, a film about a dysfunctional single-parent family in which he played the elder son, and Sara Sugarman's comedy Very Annie Mary, in which he played the role of Nob. Rhys would later reunite with Very Annie Mary star Rachel Griffiths on Brothers & Sisters.