P A U L

Paul Bettany was born into a theatre family. His father, Thane Bettany, is still an actor. His mother, Anne Kettle, has retired from acting. He has an older sister who is a mother and a writer and he has a niece. His maternal grandmother, Olga Gwynne (her maiden and stage name), was a successful actress, while his maternal grandfather, Lesley Kettle, was a musician and promoter. He was brought up in North West London and, after the age of 9, in Hertfordshire (Brookmans Park). Immediately after finishing at Drama Centre, he went into the West End to join the cast of "An Inspector Calls", though when asked to go on tour with this play, he chose to stay in England.

Wanna some basic facts? Here you are.
Name: Paul Thane Bettany
Age: 38
Height: 6'3"
Hair: Strawberry Blond
Eyes: Blue
Born: 27 May 1971 in Harlesden, UK (soon!!!)
Sign: Gemini
Lives in: Brooklyn
Father: Thane Bettany
Mother: Anne Kettle
Siblings: Older sister Sarah, younger brother Matthew (d. 1988)
Wife: Jennifer Connelly
Wedding: 1 Jan 2003, Gilmerton House, Scotland
Children: Stellan (5 Aug 2003), Kai (1997, stepson)
Beliefs: Atheist
First Feature Role: Gangster No. 1
Trademarks: Wit, playing guitar, vodka, talking like a sailor
Admires: John Lennon, Brian Patten, Stellan Skarsgеrd, Vincent Cassel
Greatest Influence: John Jameson and Son - "the reasons are manifold"
Smoking: Quit in 2005
Favorite Film: Brief Encounter
Favorite Novel: Darkness at Noon
Sports: Arsenal
World Record: On May 16, 2006, Paul and other Da Vinci Code cast and crew members rode a Eurostar train from London to Cannes, setting an official Guinness World Record for the longest non-stop international train journey.

Quotations

• I'm English, so I can't wear a baseball cap. I'd look like white trash, like I should have a beer and a dog called Skeeter.
• My dad made a lot of stories up at bedtime. He would create these wild stories about this elephant. As I got older, I remember him reading Lord of the Rings. My strongest memory was the moment when you think Frodo is dead and I forced him to read about 250 more pages until you realized he was okay.
• In America, they shoot budgets and schedules, and they don't shoot films any more. There's more opportunity in Europe to make films that at least have a purity of intent.