Ray Stevenson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ray Stevenson
Stevenson at the film premiere of "Divergent"
Born	George Raymond Stevenson (1964-05-25)25 May 1964 Lisburn, Northern Ireland
Died	21 May 2023(2023-05-21) (aged 58) Lacco Ameno, Italy
Education	Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Occupation	Actor Film actor Stage actor
Years active	1993–2023
Spouse(s)	Ruth Gemmell ​ ​ (m. 1997; div. 2005)​
Partner(s)	Elisabetta Caraccia
Children	3

George Raymond Stevenson (25 May 1964 – 21 May 2023) was an actor from Northern Ireland. He portrayed Dagonet in the film King Arthur (2004) and Titus Pullo in the BBC/HBO television series Rome (2005–2007). He portrayed two Marvel Comics characters: Frank Castle / The Punisher in Punisher: War Zone (2008) and The Super Hero Squad Show, and Volstagg in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (2011–2017). His other films include Kill the Irishman (2011), where he portrayed mobster Danny Greene, The Three Musketeers (2011), and RRR (2022), where he portrayed the villainous Governor Scott. His television roles include Ukrainian mobster Isaak Sirko in the seventh season of Dexter, Blackbeard in the third and fourth seasons of Black Sails, and voicing Gar Saxon in Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Early life

George Raymond Stevenson was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, on 25 May 1964, the second of three sons born to an Irish mother. His father 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). 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. 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. 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, Stevenson was announced as a lead antagonist in the film RRR, a Telugu film directed by S. S. Rajamouli and released in 2022. This marked his debut in Indian cinema.

Television

Stevenson played legionary Titus Pullo in the BBC/HBO series Rome. His other television work included guest appearances in Waking the Dead, Murphy's Law and lead roles in City Central and At Home with the Braithwaites. He also appeared in TV films, including 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 as the Punisher as a voice actor 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.

At Star Wars Celebration 2023, Stevenson was announced as playing the Dark Jedi Baylan Skoll in the upcoming series Ahsoka.

Stage

Stevenson's stage work included 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 was 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. Stevenson had three sons with Italian anthropologist Elisabetta Caraccia.

Death

Stevenson died on 21 May 2023 while filming Cassino in Ischia in Italy, four days before his 59th birthday. No cause of death has been revealed. However, he was reportedly hospitalized during filming on Ischia. Stevenson's co-stars, including Rosario Dawson, Scott Adkins and James Purefoy, paid tribute.

Filmography

Film

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	The Theory of Flight
1999	G:MT – Greenwich Mean Time	Mr Hardy
2004	King Arthur	Dagonet
2008	Outpost	DC
	Punisher: War Zone	Frank Castle / Punisher
2009	Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant	Murlough
2010	The Book of Eli	Redridge
	The Other Guys	Roger Wesley
2011	Kill the Irishman	Danny Greene
	Thor	Volstagg
	The Three Musketeers	Porthos
2013	G.I. Joe: Retaliation	Firefly
	Jayne Mansfield's Car	Phillip Bedford
	Thor: The Dark World	Volstagg
2014	Divergent	Marcus Eaton
	Big Game	Morris
2015	The Divergent Series: Insurgent	Marcus Eaton
	The Transporter: Refueled	Frank Martin Sr.
2016	The Divergent Series: Allegiant	Marcus Eaton
2017	Thor: Ragnarok	Volstagg
	Cold Skin	Gruner
2018	Accident Man	Big Ray
	Final Score	Arkady Belav
2022	RRR	Governor Scott Buxton	Indian film
	Memory	Detective Danny Mora
	Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday	Big Ray
TBA	1242: Gateway to the West	Cesareane	Post-production, posthumous release
	Cassino in Ischia	Nic Cassino	Filming, posthumous release

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	A Woman's Guide to ...	Journalist
1994	The Dwelling Place	Matthew Whitwell	3 episodes
1994	The Return of the Native	Clym Yeobright	Television film
1995	Band of Gold	Steve Dickson	12 episodes
1995	Some Kind of Life	Steve	Television film
1996	The Tide of Life	Larry Birch	3 episodes
1997	Peak Practice	Joe Higson	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	Episode: "Toyboys"
2000	Holby City	Laurence Haney	Episode: "Taking It on the Chin"
2000	The Bill	Sgt. Gartland	Episode: "Over the Edge"
2001	At Home with the Braithwaites	Graham Braithwaite	11 episodes
2001	Dalziel and Pascoe	Jeff Parry	Episode: "Truth and Consequences"
2003	Red Cap	Sgt. Chris Roxborough	Episode: "Cover Story"
2003	Murphy's Law	Robert Eaglan	Episode: "Kiss and Tell"
2004	Waking the Dead	Dr Tim Faulkner	Episode: "Fugue States"
2005–2007	Rome	Titus Pullo	22 episodes
2007	Life Line	Peter Brasco	Television film
2009	The Super Hero Squad Show	Frank Castle/The Punisher	Voice, 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 / Blackbeard	11 episodes
2016–2017	Star Wars Rebels	Gar Saxon	Voice, 2 episodes
2017	Rellik	DSI Edward Benton	6 episodes
2019	Reef Break	Jake Elliot	13 episodes
2019	Medici	Ferdinand I of Naples	2 episodes
2020	The Spanish Princess	James IV of Scotland	2 episodes
2020	Vikings	Ohthere of Hålogaland	11 episodes
2020	Star Wars: The Clone Wars	Gar Saxon	Voice, 2 episodes
2022	Das Boot	Commander Jack Swinburne	8 episodes
2023	Ahsoka	Baylan Skoll	Upcoming series, posthumous release

Stage

See also

In Spanish: Ray Stevenson para niños