Paul Bettany

He had dated actress Emily Mortimer in the past.

On 1 January 2003, he married American actress Jennifer Connelly who was his childhood crush. The duo met during the filming of ‘A Beautiful Mind.’ However, during that time, both were in other relationships and so didn’t date each other until they ended their previous relationships.

He and Connelly have two children, daughter Agnes and son Stellan. Connelly also has a son from a previous relationship.

Paul Bettany was born on 27 May 1971 in Shepherd's Bush, West London. His father Thane was an actor, drama teacher, and dancer, while his mother, Anne, served as a stage singer, stage manager, and theatre teacher.

Bettany was initially raised Roman Catholic. He also attended Methodist and Church of England congregations. However, he became an atheist later.

While his father taught at Queenswood School, an all-girls boarding school near Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Bettany, along with his family, lived on the campus.

When he was 16, he lost his eight-year-old brother Matthew in a freak accident. Deeply disturbed by his death, Bettany left his home, dropped out his school, and went on to live alone. He started living in a small flat and began performing on London streets.

His parents divorced eventually, which further affected Bettany emotionally. After working as a street performer for two years, Bettany found a job in a home for the elderly. He then went on to study at the Drama Centre in London.

Paul Bettany made his stage debut in the West End revival of the play ‘An Inspector Calls’, playing the part of Eric Birling. During this time, he also performed in Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ ‘Richard III,’ and ‘Julius Caesar.’

At the age of 21, he played Bill Sikes in a BBC production of ‘Oliver Twist.’ From 1994 to 1996, he played guest roles in the dramas ‘Wycliffe’ and ‘The Bill’. He appeared as Prince William of Orange in the English TV drama ‘Sharpe's Waterloo’ in 1997. The same year, he made his film debut in ‘Bent.’

He continued working on stage and acted in Joe Penhall's ‘Love and Understanding’. In 1998, he got featured in the television productions ‘Coming Home’ and ‘Killer Net’.

The actor’s last stage appearances were in the plays ‘Stranger's House’ and ‘One More Wasted Year,’ after which he focused on his film career. In 2000, Bettany had a lead role in the flick ‘Gangster No.1’. The same year, he played James Steerforth in the television movie ‘David Copperfield’.

In 2001, he was cast as Geoffrey Chaucer in the American medieval adventure-comedy flick ‘A Knight's Tale’. He also played Charles Herman in ‘A Beautiful Mind’ that year.

In 2008, Paul Bettany was cast in the voice role of J.A.R.V.I.S. in the American superhero film ‘Iron Man’, the first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Jon Favreau, the movie also starred Robert Downey, Jr., Terrence Howard, Shaun Toub, Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow.

The film ‘Iron Man’ was selected as one of the ten best movies of the year by The American Film Institute. It was also nominated for two Academy Awards. Bettany’s performance was appreciated and he went on to reprise his voice role in the films’ sequels ‘Iron Man 2’ and ‘Iron Man 3’ that were released in 2010 and 2013 respectively.

Bettany also lent his voice to the character of J.A.R.V.I.S. in the film ‘The Avengers’. He played the Vision in the film’s sequel ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ (2015) and also reprised his role as J.A.R.V.I.S. in the same flick. The actor portrayed the Vision again in the film’s sequels ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Captain America: Civil War’.