This acclaimed classical stage actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company possesses soulful deep-set eyes and sharp features that made him ideal for the title role in the RSC adaptation of Dickens's "Nicholas Nickleby" on the London and Broadway stages and television. His performance earned a Tony and an Olivier Award and an Emmy nomination. Rees won acclaim for his portrayal of an art critic whose visit to an elderly painter (played by Laurence Olivier) causes problems in the PBS adaptation of John Fowles' "The Ebony Tower" (1987) He joined the hit TV comedy "Cheers" for the 1989-90 season as Kirstie Alley's suitor, the single-minded international financier and corporate raider Robin Colcord and co-starred in the short-lived sci-fi series "M.A.N.T.I.S" (Fox, 1994-95).Rees studied art in London and was "discovered" while working as a scene painter at Wimbledon. Within three years, he had joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared in numerous productions there before winning international stardom as "Nicholas Nickleby". Post-"Nickleby" roles include the lead in Tom Stoppard's "The Real Thing" (1983), "Hamlet" (1984) and Stoppard's "Hapgood". In addition to acting, he has written and directed for the stage.
Rees has had a sporadic film career. He made his debut in Stephen Frears' "Saigon - Year of the Cat" (1983), adapted from David Hare's play. In Bob Fosse's "Star 80" (also 1983), he portrayed a film director loosely based on Peter Bogdanovich. Rees was sculptor Edgar Papworth in Bob Rafelson's biopic of explorers Sir Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke, "Mountains of the Moon" (1990). He turned villainous in both "If Looks Could Kill" (1991) and "Stop! or My Mom Will Shoot" (1992). For Mel Brooks' "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" (1993), Rees offered a spirited spoof of Alan Rickman's portrayal of the Sheriff of Nottingham in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991). He next appeared in Adrienne Shelley's feature directorial debut "Sudden Manhattan" and the film version of Jon Robin Baitz's "The Substance of Fire" (both 1996).
Profession(s):
Actor, director, playwright, scenery painter, stage designer, drama professor
Sometimes Credited As:
OBIE Award Performance "The End of the Day" 1991 - 1992
Plays and Players London Theatre Critics Award Best Supporting Actor "Hapgood" 1988
Tony Actor in a Play "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby" 1982
Society of West End Theatres (SWET) Award Best Actor "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby" 1979 - 1980
2006 Cast opposite Steve Martin in a prequel to the 1964 Peter Sellers original film "The Pink Panther"
2006 Co-starred with Mary McDonnell in the independent feature "Crazy Like a Fox"
2001 Played John Adams in the L.A. Reprise! staging of "1776"
2000 Staged Off-Broadway revival of Shaw's "Arms and the Man"
2000 Appeared on Broadway alongside Derek Jacobi in Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya"
2000 Directed the play "The Late Middle Classes" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival
1999 Played Peter Quince in "William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream"
1999 Directed and starred in a stage production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival
1997 Joined cast of the NBC sitcom "Boston Common"
1994 Co-starred on short-lived Fox series "M.A.N.T.I.S"
1994 Provided voice of Prince Malcolm, a recurring character on the syndicated animated series "Gargoyles"
1992 Played Prince Charles in ABC biopic "Charles & Diana: Unhappily Ever After"
1989 - 1990 Played recurring role on NBC sitcom "Cheers"
1986 Named associate director with Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company
1983 Reprised role of Nicholas Nickleby in syndicated TV miniseries
1983 Appeared in first feature films "Saigon--Year of the Cat" and "Star 80"
1981 Starred in the title role of the RSC award-winning 81/2 hour production, "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby"
1967 Joined the RSC; appeared in "The Taming of the Shrew", "As You Like It" and other productions
1964 While earning extra money as a scenery painter and stage designer, made acting debut in stage comedy, "Hindle Wakes" in Wimbledon
Raised in working-class neighborhood in South London
Co-wrote plays,"Double-Double" and "Elephant Manse" with Eric Elice
