Paul Ready

British actor Paul Ready's extensive stage training led to consistent work in diverse character roles on television, from a government killer on "Utopia" (Channel 4, 2013-2014) to a happy-go-lucky father on "Motherland" (BBC Two, 2016- ) and a Royal Navy officer in AMC's "The Terror" (2018- ). Born in Birmingham, England and raised in the nearby town of Harbourne, he began appearing on stage in his teens, and at 17, starred as Romeo opposite Rosamund Pike's Juliet in a National Youth Theatre production of Shakepeare's play at London's Bloomsbury Theatre. After honing his craft at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Ready soon became a staple of both the National Theatre and Royal Court, performing in both classical dramas like Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" and George Bernard Shaw's "Major Barbara" for director Nicholas Hynter, and modern works like "London Assurance." His screen-acting career began in 1995 with an appearance in the Oscar-nominated "Angels and Insects," though television proved to be a more consistent showcase for his talents through appearances on series like "Blackpool" (BBC, 2004) and "Holby City" (BBC One, 1999- ). His breakout television role came as an assassin for a shadowy government agency on the cult drama "Utopia," which led to more substantive roles in series like the police drama "Cuffs" (BBC One, 2015), which cast him as an introverted police detective, and "Ripper Street" (BBC One/Two, Amazon Video, 2012-2016), for which he played Frederick Treves, the British doctor who rescued Joseph Merrick, the "Elephant Man." From 2016 to 2018, Ready worked at a dizzying pace, appearing opposite Steve Buscemi in the dark historical comedy "The Death of Stalin" for writer-director Armando Ianucci ("Veep," HBO, 2012- ) and starring in three very diverse series: on "Motherland," he was an amiable stay-at-home dad in the midst of a cadre of "alpha" mothers, while on "The Terror," he was a Royal Navy officer facing an unknown menace in the frozen Arctic. Finally, Ready was cast in a recurring role on "Bodyguard" (BBC, 2018- ), a political thriller about a police officer (Richard Madden) assigned to protect a Home Secretary (Keely Hawes) whose politics are in conflict with his own moral code.