Rhys Yates

Rhys Yates was born and raised in a tough area of north west London. He found solace in acting, first via the National Youth Theatre’s social inclusion programme Playing Up, an experience that gave him the necessary qualifications to gain a BA in Acting from Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance.

He made his screen debut in the bittersweet indie drama Common People (2013), but it was in 2016 that Rhys’ star began to shine, landing roles in crime series Stan Lee’s Lucky Man (Sky), historical comedy Plebs (ITV) and BAFTA-winning British soap EastEnders (BBC). Rhys followed this playing Julius in the star-studded historical action epic Britannia (Sky/Amazon), co-created by Jez Butterworth. He added Brit flick Postcards from London (2018), a quirky drama about five art-mad male escorts, to his filmography.

The last few years have proven to be particularly fruitful. In 2021, with roles in Silent Witness two-parter ‘Redemption’ (BBC), and the recurring character of Smiler in two seasons of Stephen Merchant and Elgin James’ crime thriller The Outlaws (BBC One/Amazon Studios), with a third season to come. His highest profile role to date was in season five of Chris Lang’s Unforgotten (ITV) in 2023, where he played one of the leading characters, Jay Royce. And he landed the part of Tom Cat in US Army actioner Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, alongside lead Jake Gyllenhaal.

Upcoming, Rhys will soon be seen in Andrea Arnold’s new film, Bird (2024), which was nominated for the Palme D’Or and Queer Palm awards at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

Rhys is represented by Josh Woodford at Hamilton Hodell.

Talent Agent:
Hamilton Hodell
hamiltonhodell.co.uk
+44 20 7636 1221
Joshua Woodford
[email protected]

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