Jonathan Rhys Meyers

[Deleted]

I only thought he was goodlooking for about 5 minutes during Bend it like Beckham.

[canuckcutie]

According to People.com he'll be returning to London for treatment for alcohol addiction.

[Deleted]

So he's been to rehab how many times now?

[luthia]

I would love to know what his underlying problems are. I suppose Dr. Drew Pinsky would say trauma of some kind (sexual abuse, parental abandonment). I am disappointed that he used the racial slur. I have liked him since Beckham and thought he was sexy. He also does not have the cookie cutter looks of some young male actors. His look is quite unique with the full lips and piercing and soulful blue eyes. He also has a sexy kind of swagger.

He had a lot going for him when he first came on the scene, but I have always wondered why his career seemed to have stalled, particularly where it came to film work. The Tudors is a great role for him, but every actor wants to be a film star and I know he does. Could it be that his career stalled because of his alcoholism, which may have played out on movie sets? We will never know what goes on behind the scenes on some film sets, but if he can't control himself in the airport and is an alcoholic, perhaps it has played some role in his behaviour on movie sets or his relationships with directors etc.

It is just interesting that we have seen other young stars overtake him, when he, at one point, seemed to be the perfect young actor who was made for film work: nice accent, cool look and swagger and bonafide movie star looks, but with a more exotic or unique slant than, say, a Robert Pattinson.

I wonder if he has been frustrated with his film career and had expectations about a big screen career that was never fully realized. He mentioned in some online articles that he would love to have a big box office hit. And, he mentioned on Tavis Smiley that he tries to be rational when he finds out that another actor got a role over him. So, it sounds that he is not one of those actors who only wants to do the art films. It sounds like he has been keen on being a movie star with a big movie.

[Deleted]

During the Bend it Like Beckham days, I remember reading articles that sort of alluded to a somewhat tragic childhood. I can't remember the specifics but something about his childhood sounded a bit tragic. Maybe that is what contributed to his alchohol problems.

I was surprised he used the racial slur. He said he came up with the scene in Bend it Like Beckham where his character comforts Jess after she is called a "pa--" and she tells him that he wouldn't know what it's like to be called something like that. His character responds by saying "But I'm Irish." Because his own Irish experience apparently informed that scene I'm surprised he used a slur on the airport employee.

[Yossarian]

I think his father walked out on the family when he was young.

Is he still with his heiress gf? I wonder what she is making of this?

[ross]

May 18, 2010 21:34:10 GMT -4 @ds1 said:

His character responds by saying "But I'm Irish." Because his own Irish experience apparently informed that scene I'm surprised he used a slur on the airport employee.

Ireland became a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic country both very late and very quickly. As late as the late 90's pretty much the only non-white faces you'd see in Dublin would be medical students or Chinese restauranteers. People migrated from Ireland rather than to and that created a certain mindset.

Since then there have been some huge cultural shifts and sadly racism and xenophobia have been part of them in some quarters.

[Mutagen]

May 18, 2010 21:25:58 GMT -4 luthia said:

He had a lot going for him when he first came on the scene, but I have always wondered why his career seemed to have stalled, particularly where it came to film work. The Tudors is a great role for him, but every actor wants to be a film star and I know he does. Could it be that his career stalled because of his alcoholism, which may have played out on movie sets? We will never know what goes on behind the scenes on some film sets, but if he can't control himself in the airport and is an alcoholic, perhaps it has played some role in his behaviour on movie sets or his relationships with directors etc.

This is kind of a dumb theory, but I wonder if Cillian Murphy sort of usurped him in the "hot Irish bad boy" department. Although it's worth noting that Murphy seems like far less of a real-life "bad boy."

[Hamatron]

He's not a good actor. At all. That is my theory. Maybe I am not seeing it, but to me he is really flat in everything he does.

[Deleted]

May 18, 2010 22:26:26 GMT -4 Hamatron said:

He's not a good actor. At all. That is my theory. Maybe I am not seeing it, but to me he is really flat in everything he does.

I think this theory works.

I haven't seen all of his movies so maybe he has had some better performances, but I thought he was not good in that Woody Allen movie with Scarlett Johannson. Something was missing from his acting in that one.