Biography

Young British actor Hugh Dancy was born on June 19th, 1975 in Stoke-on-Trent, England to mother, Sarah (a publisher), and father, Jonathan (a writer and a philosophy professor). He has a younger sister, Kate, and a younger brother, Jack.

Hugh became attracted to acting by sheer chance. At thirteen years old, as punishment for a bad deed, he was sent off to the theatre. He has also been quoted as saying that it was a good way to meet girls while attending a full-time school where there weren’t any. He hasn’t looked back since.

Hugh attended the all-boy Winchester School at the age of 13 before going on to Oxford University at the age of 18. Hugh had every intention on becoming an actor. However, because of his family’s strong academic tradition, Hugh chose instead to pursue a degree in English at university rather than attend acting school. He surely made his parents very proud with the 2:1 degree he received from the prestigious school.

Within the six month window Hugh gave himself after graduating, he worked as a bartender (and apparently, not a very good one) and continued with theatre, appearing in several small theatre productions in London such as The Tempest, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Measure for Measure, Twelth Night, and Much Ado About Nothing.

After a lucky series of circumstances, Hugh landed himself an agent (Dallas Smith of PFD, agent to Sienna Miller, Michael Sheen, Kate Winslet, and more). He got his first television role in “Trial & Retribution II” and also appeared in episodes of TV shows such as “Cold Feet,” “Dangerfield,” “The New Adventures of Robin Hood,” and others. Later he went on to star in the television drama “David Copperfield.” During that time, he also had the opportunity to perform on stage in productions of Billy and the Crab Lady and Sam Mendes’ (“American Beauty”) play, To the Green Fields Beyond.

His first movie role was in Young Blades in which he played the musketeer D’Artagnan. His big break was in Ridley Scott’s (“Gladiator”) Black Hawk Down as medic Kurt Schmid. Afterward, he starred in successful BBC Drama, “Daniel Deronda,” portraying the title role.

Later, Hugh appeared in several films such as The Sleeping Dictionary and Tempo. In 2004, he starred in the Miramax fairy tale Ella Enchanted alongside Anne Hathaway (Princess Diaries, Brokeback Mountain), playing the role of Prince Char. He also appeared as Galahad in the ensemble epic King Arthur. In fall 2004, Hugh also starred in the one-night only play The Soldier’s Tale alongside Jeremy Irons (Kingdom of Heaven, Eragon). During that time, Hugh became the Face of Burberry Brit for Men and modeled in the fashion line’s Fall 2004, Spring/Summer 2005 and Fall 2005 campaigns.

In 2006, you could find Hugh in all three categories of movies, stage and TV. Shooting Dogs (Beyond the Gates in the USA), a film based on the 1994 Rwandan genocide, premiered at the 2005 British Film Festival. Showered with excellent reviews, it was also nominated for a 2005 BAFTA. Hugh also starred alongside Saffron Burrows at the one-time only play The Silence of the Sea, a production apart of the Hay Festival in Wales. He also starred as the charming yet twisted Earl of Essex in Channel 4/HBO’s two-episodes TV Drama “Elizabeth I.” For his performance, he garnered Emmy and Satellite Award nominations for “Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries” and “Best Actor in a Miniseries.”

In 2007, Hugh released several movies such as The Jane Austen Book Club, Evening, Blood and Chocolate, and Savage Grace. Hugh also appeared on stage in the Broadway revival of Journey’s End, a critically acclaimed show but a commercial failure. The night it closed, it took home “Best Revival of a Play” at the 2007 Tony Awards. He finished the year off filming Adam in New York City, in which he portrayed Adam Raki, a man with Aspergers Syndrome.

In 2008, Hugh had a quiet year, spending the spring in New York City to film Confessions of a Shopaholic with Isla Fisher, which was distributed wide in theatres on Valentine’s Day weekend, 2009. Hugh also participated in the Fall 2008 Gap Campaign, “Create Your Own Gap,” alongside Liv Tyler and Gennifer Goodwin.

The year 2009 started out with a bang, as Hugh and the cast of Adam (Rose Byrne, Frankie Fraison, and Peter Gabriel) took to the Park City, UT slopes for the Sundance Film Festival. Adam was met with positive critical and public reception and immediately picked up by Fox Searchlight. The film also picked up the Alfred P. Sloan prize at Sundance, which honored “an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer or mathematician as a major character.”

Confessions of a Shopaholic also had its worldwide release in February. Although not critically favored, it earned $108 million dollars worldwide in its theatrical release. The same month, Hugh and then-girlfriend Claire Danes announced their engagement. They later married in a private ceremony in France in mid-September. Adam was given a limited domestic and UK release in July. Hugh was honored with a Spotlight Award at the 12th Annual Savannah Film Festival for his work in the film.

Although 2009 has yet to end, Hugh will star in Alexi Kaye Campbell’s “The Pride” in New York City from January 27 to March 30, 2010. The play is set to run off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in Greenwich Village. The show also stars Ben Whishaw and Andrea Riseborough.