Paul Ready

Known for ActingBorn 1977-06-23 (age 48)Birmingham, England, UK

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.Read more

Movies & web series

Capture

Plain Jane

Born and Bred

Muse

Utopia

Agatha Christie's Poirot

Life Begins

Bodyguard

Mandy

Twisted Tales

Pulling

Silk

Ripper Street

The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself

The Terror

Motherland

The Death of Stalin

The Circuit

Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman

Heartbeat

National Theatre Live: London Assurance

The Witness for the Prosecution

The Dig

Flack

MotherFatherSon

Heart of Stone

Cuffs

Bring Them Down

Blackpool

Tipping the Velvet

Private Peaceful

Rob & Romesh Vs

Angels and Insects

Princess of Thieves

Maybe Baby

Jeffrey Archer: The Truth

All That Glitters

Motherland: Last Christmas

Motherland - Christmas special

Beside Himself

One Wrong Word

Utopia

Love's Labour's Lost - Live at Shakespeare's Globe