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Paul Ready
Birmingham, England, UK
Paul John Ready (born 23 June 1977) is a British actor known for portraying Kevin Brady in Motherland (2016-2022), Lee in Utopia (2013–2014), Rob MacDonald in Bodyguard (2018), an…
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Paul John Ready (born 23 June 1977) is a British actor known for portraying Kevin Brady in Motherland (2016-2022), Lee in Utopia (2013–2014), Rob MacDonald in Bodyguard (2018), and Henry Goodsir in The Terror (2018). His film credits include The Death of Stalin (2017), The Dig (2021), Heart of Stone (2023), and Bring Them Down (2025). He is recognised for his ability to take on diverse roles and bring depth to his characters in different genres. Paul was born in Birmingham and, growing up in the town of Harborne, he attended King Edward VI Five Ways school. He went on to train at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and, at the age of 17, he played Romeo in the National Youth Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet at London's Bloomsbury Theatre, playing opposite Rosamund Pike's Juliet. He is a regular at the National and Royal Court theatres. Past appearances have included leading parts in Major Barbara and Saint Joan (both plays by George Bernard Shaw) and Time and the Conways by J.B. Priestley. His West End credits include One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which starred Christian Slater. Ready is married to actress and writer Michelle Terry, whom he met in Shakespeare's Globe 2009 production of Love's Labour's Lost — they have one daughter. In 2018 he starred as the titular character in Macbeth at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, opposite Terry as Lady Macbeth. In 2020, he and Terry returned to the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse as Petruchio and Biondello respectively in The Taming of the Shrew. In 2025, he starred in Chekhov's Three Sisters as Aleksandr Vershinin, once again alongside Terry. Paul received a commendation at the Ian Charleson Awards in 2003.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2026
Ann Droid
TV show Michael
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2026
National Theatre at Home: Summerfolk
Movie Sergei Vassilich Bassov
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2026
All That Glitters
Movie Shakespeare
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2025
Bring Them Down
Movie Gary
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2023
Heart of Stone
Movie Bailey
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2023
Capture
Movie Dad
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2022
Motherland: Last Christmas
Movie Kevin
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2022
The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself
TV show Soul
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2021
The Dig
Movie James Reid Moir
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2020
Mandy
TV show Cooper
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2020
Muse
Movie Aderman
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2019
MotherFatherSon
TV show Nick Caplan
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2019
Flack
TV show Damien Paulson
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2019
Rob & Romesh Vs
TV show
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2018
Bodyguard
TV show Rob MacDonald
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2018
The Terror
TV show Doctor Henry Goodsir
More credits
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2017
Motherland
TV show Kevin
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2017
The Death of Stalin
Movie NKVD Officer Delov
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2016
The Witness for the Prosecution
TV show Tripp
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2016
The Circuit
Movie Danny
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2016
Beside Himself
Movie Devlin
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2015
Cuffs
TV show DI Felix Kane
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2013
One Wrong Word
Movie Tony
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2013
Utopia
TV show Lee
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2013
Utopia
Movie Lee
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2012
Ripper Street
TV show Dr. Frederick Treves
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2012
Private Peaceful
Movie Captain Wilkins
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2011
Silk
TV show Tony Paddick
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2010
Love's Labour's Lost - Live at Shakespeare's Globe
Movie Don Armado
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2010
National Theatre Live: London Assurance
Movie Charles Courtly
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2006
Pulling
TV show Mike
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2005
Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman
Movie Anthony David Farrow
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2005
Twisted Tales
TV show Phil
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2004
Blackpool
TV show
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2004
Life Begins
TV show Mark
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2002
Tipping the Velvet
TV show Renter Alice
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2002
Jeffrey Archer: The Truth
Movie Paul McCartney
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2002
Plain Jane
Movie Clerk
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2002
Born and Bred
TV show Abel Marl
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2001
Princess of Thieves
Movie Sheriff's servant
