October 2006 - April 2007

9/11: Out Of The Blue won the RTS PROGRAMME AWARD 2006 for Art. Silver River Productions for five "An outstanding film in which the combination of poetry and real interviews for the subject matter was strikingly original. It was judged to be a beautifully conceived and executed programme and Rufus Sewell’s performance of the poem was terrific."  thanks ge2~

Congratulations to Rufus who has made it a three-peat by winning the award for Best Actor for Rock 'n' Roll at the 31st Annual Laurence Olivier Awards.

An update on the release dates for Paris, je t'aime: Australia 19 April,  USA 4 May, and the UK 22 June.

A bit of humor from the London Times that corroborates Rufus' tales of his youth: Stephen Tompkinson has revealed how as a young actor he used to let Rufus Sewell sleep on his floor. “He wore eyeliner at the time and got it all over my pillow case, which left a bit of explaining when my girlfriend came back,” he says.

Trevor Nunn who directed Rock 'n' Roll on the West End has been set to direct on Broadway as well according to Theatre.com. Still no word yet on the cast. You can read about it here.

For those of you in the UK where Amazing Grace will open 23 March from the TimesOnline: Sewell almost missed out because he was intent on playing Clarkson, and Apted initially wanted him to be one of the villains. “I said, ‘In that case, I’m not interested,’” Sewell recalls. “It was an intensely frosty moment. I was only interested in Clarkson, because of the stand he took.” Sewell returned for a separate audition and was hired. “It is the first time I’ve managed to change anyone’s mind,” he says. “That’s an indication of how much I wanted it.”  You can read the rest of the article here. thanks ge2~

From John Adams, the biography by David McCullough on which the HBO miniseries is based: (Alexander Hamilton) As Washington's brilliant Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton had at first greatly impressed Adams but later betrayed him. To Abigail Adams, Hamilton was a dangerous man, "another Bonaparte."

Downloading Nancy has wrapped. You can see a picture of the cast and crew here. thanks uke~

And don't forget The Holiday comes out today on DVD in the US. The extras list an interview with
Rufus so pick up your copy today!

What many Rufus' fans have long suspected has finally been confirmed. Rufus is currently filming the new feature Downloading Nancy in Regina Saskatchewan with Maria Bello and Jason Patric. Downloading Nancy follows the fate of an unhappy housewife who instead of committing suicide, meets a man over the internet and hires him to kill her. Things become complicated when the two unexpectedly fall in love. You can read the rest of the press release here.    thanks pattirose~

If you haven't tired of the subject just yet, here is a bit of Rufus' acceptance speech that Trevor Nunn read at the Olivier Awards: Currently filming in Canada, Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Rufus Sewell sent his director Trevor Nunn to collect his Best Actor trophy for him. Sewell dictated if-needed acceptance remarks to Nunn over the phone, which Nunn faithfully read, editing out only those relating to the director “bloke”. Sewell recalled he “had a great opportunity in the theatre when Tom (Stoppard) and Trevor cast me in Arcadia when I was first starting out”, but he’d come to realize during his career that those opportunities were rare. However, he said, another came in the form of Stoppard’s Rock ‘n’ Roll and he wanted “to thank Tom Stoppard on my knees” for letting him do it. He also praised all of his fellow cast members, including Sinead Cusack, who “every night cast her spell that I just had to wander into”. And he credited the Royal Court “for making Tom Stoppard a Royal Court writer at last”. 

If you haven't done so there is still plenty of time left this weekend to check out Amazing Grace at your local cinema. You can find the one nearest you at the official website here.

And don't forget, for those of you in the UK Amazing Grace opens 23 March 2007.

On Amazing Grace Michael Sragow of the Boston Sun writes: ...Rufus Sewell's effortlessly dashing, cheerfully disreputable, indefatigable radical Thomas Clarkson. And this from Connie Ogle of the Miami Herald: ...Britain's best character actors, including Rufus Sewell as cheeky abolitionist Thomas Clarkson, who's interesting enough to merit a movie of his own. And yet another from Mahnola Dargis of The New York Times: Among the more valuable players is Rufus Sewell as Thomas Clarkson, a reformer whose passion seems to tip into zealotry when he speaks about the French Revolution; you half expect him to pull on some wellies so he can wade through the blue blood about to spill over the Place de la Concorde. And this from S. T. Karnick: ...superb performers such as [...] Rufus Sewell in his standout performance as Wilberforce's friend and inspiration, Thomas Clarkson.

IMDB.com has updated their page on the untitled mini-series about John Adams and as announced Rufus is listed as portraying Alexander Hamilton. You can find it here. Check back often for updates.

More news on the as yet unnamed mini-series about John Adams for HBO. You can read about it here.

And Rock 'n' Roll opened in Prague at the National Theatre on 22nd February with an all Czech cast featuring The Plastic People of the Universe. Sir Tom Stoppard was in attendance. You can read a review with a brief mention of Rufus, here.

Amazing Grace just cracked the top ten last weekend even in limited release.

And don't forget, Amazing Grace opened this weekend in selected theatres. You can find the one nearest you at the official website here.

Illuminata will be released on DVD in the UK on 5 March 2007. You can order it here.

William Wordsworth, an abolitionist himself, wrote a sonnet to Clarkson on the occasion of the 1807 bill abolishing the slave-trade:

Clarkson! it was an obstinate Hill to climb;
How toilsome, nay how dire it was, by Thee
Is known,–by none, perhaps, so feelingly;
But Thou, who, starting in thy fervent prime,
Didst first lead forth this pilgrimage sublime,
Hast heard the constant Voice its charge repeat,
Which, out of thy young heart’s oracular seat,
First roused thee.–O true yoke-fellow of Time
With unabating effort, see, the palm
Is won, and by all Nations shall be worn!
The bloody Writing is for ever torn,
And Thou henceforth shalt have a good Man’s calm,
A great Man’s happiness; thy zeal shall find
Repose at length, firm Friend of human kind!

Lots of exciting new work in the pipeline for Rufus who is filming in Regina, Saskatchewan this week. The Virginian Pilot reports that Rufus will star along side Paul Giamatti, Stephen Dillane, Danny Huston and Laura Linney as Alexander Hamilton in the HBO miniseries John Adams to begin filming this week in Williamsburg. You can read about it here.

Congratulations to Rufus who has made it a three-peat by winning the award for Best Actor for Rock 'n' Roll at the 31st Annual Laurence Olivier Awards. Not in attendance due to a filming commitment, Trevor Nunn accepted the Best Actor award on behalf of Rufus: “Rufus has got an extraordinary dexterity, quickness, nimbleness to the point where you know if you say ‘in one moment you have to be absolutely believably a Czechoslovakian, and the next you must have no trace of an accent’ you will never have a problem. He relishes that sort of dexterity, but he is extraordinarily truthful, very hard on himself. He was wonderful throughout the process, I mean I love him very much so it was a delight when he said yes, and we had just terrific fun throughout.”   thanks rai~

You can read a complete list of winners of the 31st Annual Laurence Olivier Awards here.

We want to remind you that the 31st Annual Laurence Olivier Awards, for which Tom Stoppard, Sinead Cusack and Rufus have been  nominated for Rock 'n' Roll, are on 18 February. You can catch all the latest news here. And on the day of the awards you can keep track of events here.

It's official! For anyone who has been watching the arrival of Rock 'n' Roll on Broadway as closely as we have, Variety announced today that it would happen in the autumn. No cast or theatre have been chosen. So there is still a bit more finger-crossing to do. You can read the entire article here.

The New York Observer has given a nice plot synopsis of Amazing Grace. You can read it here.

If you live in the Tampa Florida area there is an advance screening of Amazing Grace on 20 February. You can read about how to get tickets here.

Amazing Grace will open in the UK on 23 March and in the US on 23 February according to IMDB.

If you live in Minneapolis there is a free showing of Amazing Grace this evening at The Walker Cinema. You can read about it here. 

The Official website for Amazing Grace has included cities and cinemas in the US where the film will open on 23 February. You can read about it here.

According to IMDB The Holiday will be released on DVD in the US on 13 March.

For a bit about the Santa Barbara International Film Festival where Amazing Grace was shown this week, read here. You'll also find an interview with Michael Apted who directed Amazing Grace halfway down the page.

And this from Rufus on winning the Critics Circle Award for Best Actor: Meanwhile, Rufus Sewell has come to the conclusion that the secret to good acting – for him, at least – is playing Czechoslovakian characters. He remarked that he won the 1992 award for Most Promising Newcomer at the Critics’ Circle Awards for James Saunders’ Making It Better, in which Sewell played a Czechoslovakian student, followed up this year by another Czechoslovakian character, Jan. Sewell joked he regretted not having had a chance to chat to Trevor Nunn before the director had to leave in a hurry for his RSC rehearsals about the two of them collaborating on “Wenceslas the Musical” You can read the rest of this article here.

Another hint that Rock 'n' Roll may find its way to Broadway in the autumn from Playbill.com in their piece on the newest incarnation of Translations: Alan Cox is also marking his Broadway bow — in the same role that marked Sewell's debut: the Irish translator who's the lieutenant's immediate superior. Sewell's second Broadway appearance will likely occur in the fall, recreating his 2006 Evening Standard Award-winning performance of a music-loving Czech in Tom Stoppard's most recent London hit, Rock and Roll. When it transfers, Cox's pop, Brian Cox, may come with it. You can read the entire story here.

Would you like a 2007 Calendar with pictures of Rufus from The Taming of the Shrew? You can download one here. a huge thanks to quoll and especially islajane for all of her hard work~

Rufus speaks about his role as Crown Prince Leopold in The Illusionist. You can watch it here. thanks quoll~

Read a new fan commentary on The Taming of the Shrew here. And check out the new Illusionist gallery here.

Congratulations to Tom Stoppard, Sinead Cusack and Rufus for their nominations for Rock 'n' Roll, for the 31st Annual Laurence Olivier Awards, London's equivalent of the Tonys and the UK's most prestigious stage awards. Best of luck to all on 18 February. You can read about it here.

The film grid for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival has been updated and Amazing Grace will be showing on 31 January at 8pm PST.

The Illusionist will be released in the UK on 16 February and in Australia on 1 March. thanks ge2~

Rufus attended the launch of The High Tide Theatre Writers Festival last night in London. You can read about it here. Click through the photos to find him pictured with Sinead Cusack and Richard Eyre (#4).

Rufus has done a voice over for Calpol, for a childrens cold and fever medication. You can watch it here. thanks rai~

An early hint from whatsonstage.com that Rock 'n' Roll may move on to Broadway in the autumn: Trevor Nunn’s award-winning premiere production of Tom Stoppard’s Rock 'n' Roll will finish its twice-extended season at the West End’s Duke of York’s Theatre on 25 February 2007, at the end of its current booking period, ahead of a planned transfer to Broadway in the autumn. You can read all about it here. thanks uke~

Amazing Grace has been chosen as the centerpiece film for the 2007 Santa Barbara International Film Festival taking place later this month. You can read about it here.

The release date for Amazing Grace in the UK is now set to be 23 March 2007 according to IMDB. As reported earlier the film will be released in the US on 27 February 2007.

Paris je t'aime will have limited release in the US on 4 May 2007 according to IMDB.

And don't forget: Fox Home Entertainment has announced the Region 1 DVD release of The Illusionist for 9th January 2007 priced at $29.98 SRP. Order your copy today!

Unsurprisingly to anyone who has been fortunate enough to see it, Rock 'n' Roll comes in as one of the Evening Standards Top Five Plays for 2006. You can read about it here.

Rufus makes another favorite of 2006 for his portrayal of Jan in Rock 'n' Roll at Broadway.com. You can read about it here.

If you missed the last installments of Dr. Syn you can listen to them here: DS06, DS07, DS08, DS09, DS10. You'll need the latest version of Real Player.

Rufus makes the the list of one of the most influential people in UK theatre for his role in Rock 'n' Roll. Congratulations and we wish him many amazing new roles. You can read about it here. And Rufus and Rock 'n' Roll get another nod from the Daily Mail for one of the years best, here.

If you missed Rufus narrate For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio by WH Auden on Sunday 24 December on BBC Radio 3, you can listen again here.

British actor RUFUS SEWELL has the perfect country Christmas planned this year at his mother's 10th century castle. The Illusionist star loves traditional Christmases and makes sure the big day features log fires and long walks. He says, "Christmas in the countryside is beautiful. That's where I tend to go. My family lives in Wales, my mum is in a very old house. "I'd like it to snow more. It doesn't snow as much as it should. It only snows in films but you dream of it snowing at Christmas. "For me, it's all about fireplaces and overeating and pubs and wood smoke and a long walk." Read about it here.

And don't forget for Christmas Eve, Rufus narrates For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio by WH Auden on Sunday 24 December on BBC Radio 3 - 8.15-9.30 GMT. You can read about it here.

You can view the new poster and two new clips from Amazing Grace here.

Two new photos from Amazing Grace have been added to the photo gallery here.

Rufus does radio! A new project for the BBC. Doctor Syn - Ten-part dramatisation of Russell Thorndike's novel. Dr.Syn meets Mr. Mipps, falls in love with the beautiful Imogene and encounters the wicked Squire. Weekdays starting from Monday (18 December) at 9am, 8pm and 1am (GMT). You can read episode synopsis' and how to listen here.

Rufus and Rock 'n Roll make another best of 2006 list at MusicOMH.com. Lisa Hunt saw it three times. We know how she feels. You can read about here.

Praise from Charles McNulty of Calendarlive.com in the Los Angeles Times and another hint that Rufus might reprise the role of Jan in Rock 'n' Roll on Broadway: "Rock 'n' Roll," London. Tom Stoppard's best play since "Arcadia," it's also among his most emotionally accessible. Rufus Sewell, in one of the subtlest performances of the year, offered a stirring portrait of a Czech-born, English-educated citizen grappling with Cold War brutalities. Expect to see the work on Broadway with, one hopes, Sewell, Brian Cox and Sinead Cusack reprising their roles.

For those of you in London Rufus will be giving a reading at The 10th Nordoff-Robbins Christmas Carol Service at St Lukes Church on the 19th of December. You can read about it here.

Rufus was in Los Angeles over the weekend to present an award to his Illusionist co-star Jessica Biel at the 6th Annual Hollywood Life's Breakthrough of the Year Awards. You can see him here and here.

Emine Saner of the Guardian shares a warm and candid interview with Rufus about mistaken identity, his son and life as a character actor here.

Rufus talks to Tom Leonard of the Telegraph about type casting, costume dramas and the end of his bad boy days here. thanks rai~

Rufus talks about playing the love rat, Kate Winslet and  The Holiday for Sky here.

Listen to Rufus talk about The Holiday on GMTV here. -thanks ruthy -

You can vote for Rufus and Rock 'n' Roll here for the Theatre Goers Choice Awards.

Rock 'n' Roll on Broadway? Sewell said to expect him — and the play, another political cavalcade by Tom Stoppard (set in Czechoslovakia, 1968-1989) and the Evening Standard's pick for 2006's Best Play — in New York "hopefully, next year." There is, he allowed "a bit of Stoppard to do here, stuff already going on" — an allusion to The Coast of Utopia: Voyage, part one in the trilogy that just cranked up at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont. Read about it here. thanks Uke~

Another article about The Holiday from someone who appreciates Rufus' eye contact as much as we do. Read it here.

And a lovely mention and picture here as Rufus and Alice make the rounds in New York.

Another nomination for Rufus and Sir Tom Stoppard for Rock 'n' Roll can be read here.

Because we agree Rufus doesn't get enough attention, read here for a small but flattering mention of him at The Holiday premier last night in NYC.

Rufus talks about his Evening Standard Award for Best Actor and the role of Jan in Rock 'n' Roll. You can watch it here. thanks pattirose ~

And yet another very interesting interview with Rufus about his life and his work can be read here. thanks ginny!

CONGRATULATIONS to Rufus and Tom Stoppard on their Evening Standard Awards for Rock 'n' Roll. They are well deserved. You can read about it here!

For everyone who loved listening to Nick Silver Can't Sleep, Rufus narrates For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio by WH Auden on Christmas Eve Sunday 24 December on BBC Radio 3 - 8.15-9.30 GMT. You can read about it here.

For a bit about Rufus' character Thomas Clarkson in Amazing Grace check the official website here.

Just a reminder The Evening Standard Awards will be announced tomorrow in London. Good luck to Rufus, Sinead Cusack and Sir Tom Stoppard on their nominations for Rock 'n' Roll.

The release date for Amazing Grace is now set to be 23rd February 2007 in the US.

If you live in LA--You and a guest are cordially invited to a free screening of the new romantic comedy - The Holiday!
When: Tuesday, November 21st, at 7:30 pm.
Where: Harmony Gold Theater, 7655 Sunset Blvd., LA, CA 90046 (385 seats). RSVP here. Be sure to arrive at least an hour early to ensure seating! thanks Tracey~

Fox Home Entertainment have announced the Region 1 DVD release of The Illusionist for 9th January 2007 priced at $29.98 SRP

Hollywood.com mentions a possible new project. Beauty Loop  would team Rufus once again with Director John Huddles and Producer Kate Driver the duo responsible for Higher Love.

Congratulations to Rufus, Sinead Cusack and Sir Tom Stoppard on their Evening Standard Nominations for the brilliant Rock 'n' Roll.

Listen to Rufus and Fiona Shaw on BBC3's The Verb, in Jancie Kerbel's  Nick Silver Can't Sleep, either here,  or here for additional character notes.

Three new trailers are available for The Holiday, here, here and here where Rufus as Jasper speaks.

Also according to IMDB, Paris je t'aime will be released in the US in April of 2007. As of yet, no release dates have been listed for the UK or Australia/New Zealand.

According to IMDB, Amazing Grace will be released in February 2007. No release dates have been listed for the UK or Australia/New Zealand.

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