{"id":893301,"date":"2026-09-15T21:24:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T21:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/893301\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T21:24:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T21:24:12","slug":"matthew-rhyss-alma-mater-pays-tribute-to-loyal-pupil-and-welsh-language-devotee-matthew-rhys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/893301\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Rhys\u2019s alma mater pays tribute to \u2018loyal pupil\u2019 and Welsh language devotee | Matthew Rhys"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Matthew Rhys made history as the first actor ever to win two best lead Emmy awards in one night,<\/a> he paid tribute to his roots.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the great and good people of Wales<\/a>, who were as much a nurturer as anyone else,\u201d said the proud Welshman now living in New York, \u201cWe are a small but mighty nation\u201d. \u201cDiolch yn fawr iawn,\u201d he added, meaning \u201cthank you very much\u201d in Welsh.<\/p>\n

Rhys, 51, who won best lead for the supernatural Apple comedy Widow\u2019s Bay, and the psychological Netflix thriller The Beast in Me, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada), one of the UK\u2019s most prestigious drama schools. Growing up in Whitchurch, Cardiff, he was inspired by Welsh film heroes Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins.<\/p>\n

But the seeds of his undoubted talent were truly sown at his Welsh-speaking schools \u2013 Ysgol Melin Gruffydd and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf \u2013 where he received not just an \u201cexcellent education, but \u201clots of drama and school performances\u201d, he has said.<\/p>\n

A fellow pupil, BBC\u2019s Morning Live host Gethin Jones, has recalled the pair performing together in an Elvis show at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf, when Rhys was 17. \u201cIn the Welsh language there\u2019s no \u2018v\u2019 so we all walked around in these shirts that said \u2018Elfis\u2019,\u201d Jones told viewers.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Rhys] was a remarkable talent, even then,\u201d the school\u2019s current headteacher, Matthew Evans, told the Guardian. Former staff remember how he was \u201cable to enthuse an audience and the cast around him\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Hollywood star remains in contact with the school, whose alumni also include the fellow actor and friend Ioan Gruffudd<\/a>. Rhys took time to talk to pupils during Covid, said Evans, and he joined in a virtual farewell for his former music and drama teacher. \u201cHe\u2019s a very loyal former pupil,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s very proud of his Welsh language skills. He also commends his upbringing in Welsh cultural activities, like the Eisteddfod, as a great stepping stone for his career. From a very young age, pupils take part in ensembles, all kinds of choirs, and that has given him, obviously, such a fabulous start in life. Also a love for the theatre and performing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhys, whose partner Keri Russell was also nominated for her lead role in Netflix drama the Diplomat, has said that seeing Burton and Hopkins \u201cup there on screen made me believe that my own ludicrous hopes could one day become real. They were proof that it was possible for people from Wales to get a foothold in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell. Photograph: Frederic J Brown\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Today he has his own enviable haul of awards \u2013 10 wins and 58 nominations according to IMDb \u2013 including another Emmy in 2018 for The Americans. His stellar career has included roles as diverse as gay lawyer Kevin Walker in the US series Brothers & Sisters, to Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in The Edge of Love.<\/p>\n

Success was not guaranteed and, even when it came, was punctuated with periods of drought, which is why he has been keen to give back. He is an ambassador for Into Film Cymru, which helps educators teach film as part of the curriculum for Wales.<\/p>\n

It is \u201cas much down to luck as talent,\u201d he has said. After The Graduate \u2013 he starred as Benjamin Braddock at the Gielgud Theatre in London in 2000 \u2013 he didn\u2019t work for a year. \u201cAnd it was touch and go whether I\u2019d carry on.\u201d He considered other professions outside the industry, including joining the British army.<\/p>\n

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Even after success there have been hiccups \u2013 a botched James Bond audition for one \u2013 and he still found himself out of work for long periods of time, which \u201ckeeps you humble\u201d.<\/p>\n

Perhaps that is why, on learning of his double Emmy nomination this year, the Welsh pessimist in him said: \u201cWell, this is it, this is the height of it all, it\u2019s downhill from now on,\u201d he told Wales Online ahead of Monday\u2019s ceremony.<\/p>\n

There is not much time for celebrating his Emmys in a packed diary. Rhys has a second series of Widow\u2019s Bay to film in 2027, he is back to the UK soon for the BBC drama Dragon Slayers as the the former Sunday Times editor Harry Evans, and he is about to take Mark Jenkins\u2019s one-man play Playing Burton off-Broadway. He is the Welsh language voice of Han Solo in Star Wars: A New Hope due to air on S4C this Christmas.<\/p>\n

He may be enjoying his status as undisputed king of American TV, but can he claim the Welsh crown too? Speaking of his friend and former Hollywood flatmate, the actor-director Michael Sheen, Rhys has said there is no \u201creal rivalry\u201d, despite \u201cconstant humiliation\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always know whatever it is I think I\u2019m doing well at, Sheen\u2019s always like, \u2018Oh, well, I\u2019ve just taken over the Welsh National Theatre,\u2019\u201d he told Wales Online. \u201cSo, you always know it\u2019s like whatever you\u2019re doing, times it by 10, and that\u2019s what Sheen\u2019s probably doing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Matthew Rhys made history as the first actor ever to win two best lead Emmy awards in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":893302,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134],"class_list":["post-893301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/893302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}