Acting
43 titles
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.
All That Glitters
2026
Bring Them Down
2025
Heart of Stone
2023
Capture
2023
Motherland: Last Christmas
2022
The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself
2022
The Dig
2021
Motherland - Christmas special
2020
Mandy
2020
Muse
2020
MotherFatherSon
2019
Flack
2019
Rob & Romesh Vs
2019
Bodyguard
2018
The Terror
2018
Motherland
2017
The Death of Stalin
2017
The Witness for the Prosecution
2016
The Circuit
2016
Beside Himself
2016
Cuffs
2015
One Wrong Word
2013
Utopia
2013
Utopia
2013
Ripper Street
2012
Private Peaceful
2012
Silk
2011
Love's Labour's Lost - Live at Shakespeare's Globe
2010
National Theatre Live: London Assurance
2010
Pulling
2006
Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman
2005
Twisted Tales
2005
Blackpool
2004
Life Begins
2004
Tipping the Velvet
2002
Jeffrey Archer: The Truth
2002
Plain Jane
2002
Born and Bred
2002
Princess of Thieves
2001
Maybe Baby
2000
Angels and Insects
1995
Heartbeat
1992
Agatha Christie's Poirot
1989