Paul Bettany was born into a theatre family. His father, Thane, is still an actor. His mother has retired from acting. He has an older sister who is a mother and a writer and he has a niece. His maternal grandmother, Olga Gwynne (her maiden and stage name), was a successful actress, while his maternal grandfather was a musician and promoter. He was brought up in North West London and after the age of 9 in Hertfordshire (Brookmans Park). Immediately after finishing at Drama Centre he went into the West End to join the cast of 'An Inspector Calls', though when asked to go on tour with this play he chose to stay in England.
Son of Thane Bettany. Has one older sister named Sarah, who lives in Cornwall (England) with her daughter Emaly. Developed laryngitis after filming A Knight's Tale because of all the yelling he had to do as Geoffrey Chaucer. Also plays the guitar, and used to busk on Westminster Bridge in London. Acted for a year with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Has a stepson named Kai Dugan (mother is Jennifer Connelly). August 5, 2003 - his wife, Jennifer Connelly, gave birth to their first child, a boy. Son's name is Stellan, named after the actor Stellan Skarsgård who acted with him in Dogville. Apparently turned down the role of the Tooth Fairy in Red Dragon (most probably offered to him after his frightening appearance as psycho gangster in Gangster No. 1) in favour of a much more poorly paid role in Lars von Trier's Dogville. Has appeared in many theatre productions, debuting in Stephen Daldry's production of "An Inspectors Calls," grabbing the American film industry's attention in Joe Penhall's "Love and Understanding." He also appeared in "One More Waster Year" and "Stranger's House." Nominated for Best Actor for his role in Gangster No1 by London Film Critics Circle Awards. Paul's "acting heroes" are Humphrey Bogart, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Peter O'Toole and Vincent Cassel. When he was 16, his younger brother Matthew, who was 8, died in a fall. Consequently, he claimed to be obsessed with having lots of children. Won Evening Standard Film Award 2001 for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Geoffrey Chaucer in A Knight's Tale. Writer/director Brian Helgeland wrote the role of Chaucer in A Knight's Tale specifically for Paul. He "refused" to do the movie without him. The production companies did not think Bettany was known well enough, Helgeland thought that if he backed down on his choice of Bettany, he would have to back down on everything else. Dated Laura Fraser. Was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in June 2004. Lists his favourite foods as cheese and broccoli; and his favourite drink is whisky.