Ioan Gruffudd was born on October 6, 1973 in Cardiff, Wales, UK to
educators Gillian (James) and Peter Gruffudd. He has a brother, Alun,
who is two years younger and a sister, Siwan, who is seven years
younger. He got his start at age 13 in the Welsh soap opera
Pobol y Cwm (1974). He attended
the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1992 to 1995, and was then cast
as the title role of the television remake
Poldark (1996). After playing
Oscar Wilde's lover John Gray in
Oscar Wilde (1997) and Fifth Officer Harold Lowe
in Titanic (1997), Gruffudd became a
leading man in the Hornblower series of television movies between 1998
and 2003. He then played Pip in the big budget BBC production of
Great Expectations (1999).
Other film roles include
102 Dalmatiner (2000),
Black Hawk Down (2001),
King Arthur (2004),
Der Mann, der die Welt veränderte (2006),
Fantastic Four (2005) and
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007).
He resides in Los Angeles, California.
