Paul Ready
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- June 23, 1977
- Place of birth
- Birmingham, England, UK
Biography
Paul John Ready (born 23 June 1977) is a British actor known for portraying Kevin Brady in Motherland (2016-2022), Lee in Utopia (2013–2014), Rob MacDonald in Bodyguard (2018), and Henry Goodsir in The Terror (2018). His film credits include The Death of Stalin (2017), The Dig (2021), Heart of Stone (2023), and Bring Them Down (2025). He is recognised for his ability to take on diverse roles and bring depth to his characters in different genres.
Paul was born in Birmingham and, growing up in the town of Harborne, he attended King Edward VI Five Ways school. He went on to train at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and, at the age of 17, he played Romeo in the National Youth Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet at London's Bloomsbury Theatre, playing opposite Rosamund Pike's Juliet.
He is a regular at the National and Royal Court theatres. Past appearances have included leading parts in Major Barbara and Saint Joan (both plays by George Bernard Shaw) and Time and the Conways by J.B. Priestley. His West End credits include One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which starred Christian Slater. Ready is married to actress and writer Michelle Terry, whom he met in Shakespeare's Globe 2009 production of Love's Labour's Lost — they have one daughter. In 2018 he starred as the titular character in Macbeth at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, opposite Terry as Lady Macbeth. In 2020, he and Terry returned to the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse as Petruchio and Biondello respectively in The Taming of the Shrew. In 2025, he starred in Chekhov's Three Sisters as Aleksandr Vershinin, once again alongside Terry.
Paul received a commendation at the Ian Charleson Awards in 2003.
Movies with Paul Ready
- The Death of Stalin 2017 · ★ 7.0
- Heart of Stone 2023 · ★ 6.7
- The Dig 2021 · ★ 6.8
- Princess of Thieves 2001 · ★ 6.1
- Maybe Baby 2000 · ★ 5.5
- Bring Them Down 2025 · ★ 6.7
- Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman 2005 · ★ 7.1
- Angels and Insects 1995 · ★ 6.2
- Private Peaceful 2012 · ★ 6.6
- The Circuit 2016 · ★ 6.8
- Jeffrey Archer: The Truth 2002 · ★ 4.7
- Capture 2023 · ★ 6.3
- Muse 2020 · ★ 8.0
- National Theatre Live: London Assurance 2010 · ★ 7.0
- Plain Jane 2002 · ★ 9.0
- Love's Labour's Lost - Live at Shakespeare's Globe 2010
- Beside Himself 2016
- One Wrong Word 2013
- All That Glitters 2026
- Motherland: Last Christmas 2022
- National Theatre at Home: Summerfolk 2026