Iwan Rheon is an Olivier Award-winning Welsh stage, film and television actor, singer,
guitar player and a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
He is best known for his roles as Simon Bellamy in E4's Misfits and Ramsay Bolton in HBO's
Game of Thrones.
Early life Born in Carmarthen, to Einir and Rheon Thomas,
he has an older brother named Aled.
The family moved to Cardiff when he was five years old.
Rheon attended Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf where he began acting in school drama productions
at age 17.
He was later "spotted" at a National Eisteddfod of Wales, before studying at LAMDA.
His first language is Welsh.
Career Acting
At age 17 Rheon joined Welsh language soap Pobol Y Cwm, in which he played Macsen White,
but he later left to train at LAMDA.
His first notable stage part came in Eight Miles High, which was staged in 2008 at the
Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool.
Later in 2008 he was cast as the haunted Moritz Stiefel in the London production of the Tony
Award-winning rock-musical, Spring Awakening.
He played this role from January 2009 at the Lyric Hammersmith, and continued when the
show was transferred to the Novello Theatre, until it closed in May 2009, five months earlier
than planned.
He earned a What's on Stage Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, which
was eventually won by Oliver Thornton.
For his performance he won the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical at the 2010
Olivier Awards.
Immediately after Spring Awakening, Rheon was cast in the E4 channel's Misfits, a BAFTA
winning programme, a show described by 247 Magazine as "a mix of Skins and Heroes".
He plays nervous, shy Simon Bellamy who gains the superpower of invisibility and precognition
in season 3.
On 20 December 2011, Rheon announced via Twitter that he had left the show, along with fellow
cast member Antonia Thomas.
In 2011 he also appeared in the final episode of Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
In 2011, he was nominated for a Golden Nymph in the "Outstanding Actor – Drama Series"
category for his role in Misfits as Simon Bellamy.
Rheon also made two guest appearances as the character Ben Theodore in Simon Amstell's
comedy Grandma's House.
In early 2012, Rheon filmed the crime heist drama Wasteland with Luke Treadaway and Matthew
Lewis and in spring 2012, he began shooting Alberto Arvelo's Libertador with Edgar Ramirez
in Venezuela and Spain.
He plays Daniel O'Leary to Ramirez's Simon Bolivar.
In May 2012, it was announced that he had signed on to David Leon's gritty drama Driven.
He portrays Ramsay Bolton in the HBO series Game of Thrones and Ash Weston in the ITV
sitcom Vicious with Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi.
In 2013, Rheon played a lead role in Darkside, Tom Stoppard's radio drama based on Pink Floyd's
album The Dark Side of the Moon.
Music Songwriting and singing since the age of 16,
he was lead singer in The Convictions until leaving the band to pursue his acting career.
In 2010, he recorded his first solo work, Tongue Tied EP, at RAK Studios in London,
produced by Jonathan Quarmby and Kevin Bacon.
A 4 track release with acoustic guitar and voice, the EP was released digitally in June
2010.
He returned to RAK Studios, in April 2011, to record his second EP Changing Times, again
produced by Quarmby and Bacon, with the addition of 3 backing musicians.
Changing Times was released on 10 October 2011.
On 7 April 2013, Rheon released his third EP Bang!Bang! and on 9 April 2013, released
the music video for the title track.
Filmography Discography
2010: Tongue Tied EP 2011: Changing Times EP
2013: Bang Bang!
EP References
External links Iwan Rheon Official site