Stuart Townsend
Biography
Stuart Townsend is an Irish actor and director, born in Howth, County Dublin, and attended Dublin's Gaiety School of Acting. His professional stage debut came in True Lines, which opened in Kilkenny and later played the Dublin Theatre Festival and London's Bush Theatre. Early screen parts in Irish shorts led to Trojan Eddie and Shooting Fish (1997), and his title role in About Adam (2000) raised his profile in the United States. In 2000 he took the part of Val Xavier in Orpheus Descending on the London stage. He went on to play the vampire Lestat in Queen of the Damned (2002). In The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), he played Dorian Gray. He was cast as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings but was replaced by Viggo Mortensen before filming began. Later credits include the 2005 TV remake Night Stalker, Chaos Theory (2008), and Grace and Grit (2021). He also directed Battle in Seattle (2007).
53years old
Turns 54 on December 15in 63 days
- Born Howth
- Star sign: SagittariusThe sign runs November 22 to December 21
Movie Career
- Films
- 14
- Career span
- 28 years1997 to 2025
First and latest
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A role that slipped away
Townsend had been cast as Fandral in Kenneth Branagh's Thor, but in January 2010 he was replaced, with unspecified creative differences given as the reason.
Early training
Stuart Townsend studied at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin. His non-professional stage debut came in 1993, in the school's production of Colin Teevan's Tear Up The Black Sail.
First role
Townsend's first professional stage role came in True Lines, a John Crowley production that opened in Kilkenny and later played the Dublin Theatre Festival and London's Bush Theatre.
Big break
Townsend took the title role in About Adam, playing a seducer, and that portrayal gave him exposure in the United States.
Beyond film
Townsend returned to the London stage in 2000 as Val Xavier in Tennessee Williams's Orpheus Descending, playing opposite Helen Mirren as Lady Torrance.
Stuart Townsend movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen2003 Action, Adventure, Fantasyas Dorian Gray
IMDb rating 5.8193K votes
Most often with
Stefan Schwartz directed two of these films. Three actors appear in two of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Charlize Theron's page
Scout Taylor-Compton's page
Lorena Sarria's page
Stefan SchwartzDirector, 2 films, 1997 to 2005
All films by Stefan Schwartz
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.