

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.
22 movies · 23 shows

National Theatre at Home: Summerfolk
2026·0.0

All That Glitters
2026·0.0

Bring Them Down
2025·6.7

Heart of Stone
2023·6.7

Capture
2023·6.3

Motherland: Last Christmas
2022·0.0

The Dig
2021·6.8

Muse
2020·8.0

The Death of Stalin
2017·7.0

The Circuit
2016·7.0

Beside Himself
2016·0.0

One Wrong Word
2013·0.0

Utopia
2013·8.5

Private Peaceful
2012·6.6

Love's Labour's Lost - Live at Shakespeare's Globe
2010·0.0

National Theatre Live: London Assurance
2010·7.0

Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman
2005·7.1

Jeffrey Archer: The Truth
2002·4.7

Plain Jane
2002·9.0

Princess of Thieves
2001·6.1

Maybe Baby
2000·5.4

Angels and Insects
1995·6.2