Ray Stevenson

This article is about the actor. For the political activist of the same name, see Ray Stevenson (political activist).

Ray Stevenson
Stevenson in 2014
Born	George Raymond Stevenson (1964-05-25) 25 May 1964 Lisburn, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1993–present
Spouse	Ruth Gemmell ​ ​ (m. 1997; div. 2005)​
Partner(s)	Elisabetta Caraccia (2005–present)
Children	3

George Raymond Stevenson (born 25 May 1964) is a Northern Irish actor. He is known for playing Dagonet in the film King Arthur (2004) and Titus Pullo in the BBC/HBO television series Rome (2005–2007). He has portrayed two Marvel Comics characters: Frank Castle / The Punisher in Punisher: War Zone and The Super Hero Squad Show, and Volstagg in Thor and its sequels Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. In the 2011 film Kill the Irishman, he portrayed mobster Danny Greene. In 2012, he appeared in the seventh season of Dexter as Isaak Sirko, as well as Porthos in Three Musketeers 2011. He also portrayed the character Blackbeard in the third and fourth seasons of Black Sails. He voiced Gar Saxon in Star Wars Rebels from 2016 to 2017 and Star Wars: The Clone Wars in 2020.

Early life

George Raymond Stevenson was born in Lisburn on 25 May 1964, the second of three sons born to Irish parents. His father who was a Royal Air Force pilot. He moved to England with his family at the age of eight, first settling in the Lemington area of Newcastle upon Tyne and later in Seaton Delaval. He attended the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating at the age of 29.

Career

Film

Stevenson made his film debut in The Theory of Flight (1998) as a gigolo hired to help Helena Bonham Carter's character lose her virginity. In 2002, he starred in the short film No Man's Land, which was the antipodal picture from actor/director Edward Hicks prior to his graduation from the London Film School. In the 12 minute film, set during World War I, Stevenson portrayed an experienced private who is forced to help a novice officer (David Birkin) back to safety after they both find themselves trapped and isolated in "No Man's Land" during the Battle of Ypres. In 2004, he starred in King Arthur as Dagonet, a knight of the round table who sacrifices his life for his comrades. His first leading role in a film was in the Scottish horror picture Outpost (2008), portraying a mercenary pitted against Nazi zombies in a bunker somewhere in Eastern Europe. That same year, he also starred in Punisher: War Zone, as Frank Castle / The Punisher, a former Marine turned vigilante after the murder of his family. In 2010, he played an antagonist in the comedy The Other Guys.

In 2011, Stevenson appeared in the film Kill the Irishman, based on the book To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia, as Danny Greene, the Irish American mobster who took on the Italian mob in Cleveland in the 1970s. He starred as Volstagg, one of Thor's trusted comrades, in the 2011 Marvel film Thor. Also that year, he played Porthos in Paul W.S. Anderson's adaptation of The Three Musketeers. He played Firefly in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, released in 2013. He appeared in the Finnish-American thriller film Big Game. In 2014, he starred in the film Divergent, based on the first book of The Divergent Series. He reprised his role in the sequels, The Divergent Series: Insurgent, released in March 2015, and The Divergent Series: Allegiant, released in March 2016. In 2019, he was announced as a lead antagonist in the movie RRR, a Telugu film directed by S.S.Rajamouli scheduled to release in 2021. This marks his debut in the Indian cinema.

Television

Stevenson is known for playing legionary Titus Pullo in the BBC/HBO series Rome. Other television work includes guest appearances in popular series including Waking the Dead and Murphy's Law as well as lead roles in City Central and At Home with the Braithwaites. He has also appeared in several TV films such as Some Kind of Life in 1995, and The Return of the Native. Some of his earliest parts were in two Catherine Cookson films: The Dwelling Place (1994) and The Tide of Life (1996). Stevenson reprised his role this time as the voice of the Punisher in The Super Hero Squad Show and played the role of Isaak Sirko in the seventh season of Dexter in 2012.

On 24 March 2015, it was announced by producers that Stevenson would be joining the cast of the STARZ series Black Sails as the character Edward Teach.

Stage

Stevenson's stage work includes playing the part of Jesus Christ in the York Mystery Plays in 2000 at York Minster. In 2001, he took the part of Roger in the play Mouth to Mouth by Kevin Elyot, at the Albery Theatre in London with Lindsay Duncan and Michael Maloney. His most well-known part is perhaps that of the Cardinal in The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster with Janet McTeer at the Royal National Theatre in 2003.

Personal life

In 1997, Stevenson married English actress Ruth Gemmell in London; they had met on the set of Band of Gold (1995), and later played a married couple in Peak Practice (1997). They divorced in 2005 after eight years of marriage. Since 2005, Stevenson has been in a relationship with Elisabetta Caraccia, with whom he has three sons.

Filmography

Film

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	The Theory of Flight	Gigolo
1999	G:MT – Greenwich Mean Time	Mr Hardy
2004	King Arthur	Dagonet
2008	Outpost	DC
2008	Punisher: War Zone	Frank Castle / Punisher
2009	Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant	Murlough
2010	The Book of Eli	Redridge
2010	The Other Guys	Roger Wesley
2011	Kill the Irishman	Danny Greene
2011	Thor	Volstagg
2011	The Three Musketeers	Porthos
2013	G.I. Joe: Retaliation	Firefly
2013	Jayne Mansfield's Car	Phillip Bedford
2013	Thor: The Dark World	Volstagg
2014	Divergent	Marcus Eaton
2014	Big Game	Morris
2015	The Divergent Series: Insurgent	Marcus Eaton
2015	The Transporter: Refueled	Frank Martin Sr.
2016	The Divergent Series: Allegiant	Marcus Eaton
2017	Thor: Ragnarok	Volstagg
2017	Cold Skin	Gruner
2018	Accident Man	Big Ray
2018	Final Score	Arkady Belav
2021	RRR†	Scott	Indian film; Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	A Woman's Guide to Adultery	Journalist
1994	A Dwelling Place	Matthew Whitwell	3 episodes
1994	The Return of the Native	Clym Yeobright	TV movie
1995	Band of Gold	Steve Dickson	12 episodes
1995	Some Kind of Life	Steve	TV movie
1996	The Tide of Life	Larry Birch
1997	Peak Practice	Joe Higson	1 episode: "Home Truths"
1997	Drover's Gold	Armstrong	5 episodes
1998	City Central	DI Tony Baynham	32 episodes
1999	Love in the 21st Century	Alex	1 episode: "Toyboys"
2000	Holby City	Laurence Haney	1 episode: "Taking It on the Chin"
2000	The Bill	Sgt. Gartland	1 episode: "Over the Edge"
2001	At Home with the Braithwaites	Graham Braithwaite	11 episodes
2001	Dalziel and Pascoe	Jeff Parry	1 episode: "Truth and Consequences"
2003	Red Cap	Sgt. Chris Roxborough	1 episode: "Cover Story"
2003	Murphy's Law	Robert Eaglan	1 episode: "Kiss and Tell"
2004	Waking the Dead	Dr Tim Faulkner	1 episode: "Fugue States"
2005-07	Rome	Titus Pullo	22 episodes
2007	Life Line	Peter Brasco	TV movie
2009	The Super Hero Squad Show	Frank Castle/The Punisher	1 episode: "Night in the Sanctorum"
2012	Dexter	Isaak Sirko	9 episodes Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television
2014	Crossing Lines	Miles Lennon	4 episodes
2015	Saints & Strangers	Stephen Hopkins	TV miniseries
2016–2017	Black Sails	Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard)	Series 3 & 4: 11 episodes
2016–2017	Star Wars Rebels	Gar Saxon	Voice; 2 episodes
2017	Rellik	DSI Edward Benton	6 episodes
2019	Reef Break	Jake Elliot
2019	Medici	Ferdinand I of Naples	2 episodes
2020	The Spanish Princess	James IV of Scotland	2 episodes
2020	Vikings	Ohthere of Hålogaland	Main role (season 6)
2020	Star Wars: The Clone Wars	Gar Saxon	Voice; 2 episodes

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	York Mystery Plays	Christ
2001	Mouth to Mouth	Roger
2003	The Duchess of Malfi	The Cardinal

External links

• Official website
• Ray Stevenson at IMDb
• Ray Stevenson at the TCM Movie Database
• Ray Stevenson at AllMovie