Luke George Evans (born 15 April 1979) is a Welsh actor and singer. He began his career on the stage, and performed in London's West End productions of Taboo, Rent, Miss Saigon, and Piaf before making his film breakthrough in the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans. Following his debut, Evans was cast in the action and thriller films Immortals (2011), The Raven (2012), and the reimagined The Three Musketeers (2011).
In 2013, Evans starred as the antagonist Owen Shaw in Fast & Furious 6, and also played Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson's three-part adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Evans portrayed the vampire Dracula in the character's 2014 film origin story Dracula Untold. Evans then portrayed Gaston in Disney's live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast (2017), psychologist William Moulton Marston in the biographical drama Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017), played a lead role as John Schuyler Moore in Seasons 1 and 2 of The Alienist (2018–2020), Wade McClusky in Midway, and the Coachman in Disney's live-action remake of Pinocchio (2022). He released his debut album, At Last, on 22 November 2019. In 2021, he had a main role in the Hulu drama series Nine Perfect Strangers. Evans starred in the 2026 production of The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway, for which he received a Tony Award nomination.
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Early life and education
Luke George Evans was born on Easter Sunday, 15 April 1979, in Pontypool, Wales. He was brought up in Aberbargoed. Evans is the only child of Yvonne and David Evans. He was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, though he left the religion when he was 16 and left school at the same time.
At age 17, Evans moved to Cardiff, where he studied with singing coach Louise Ryan. In 1997, he won a scholarship to London Studio Centre, then located in Kings Cross, London. He graduated in 2000.
Career
From 2000 to 2008, Evans starred in many West End productions, including La Cava, Taboo, Rent, Miss Saigon and Avenue Q, as well as several fringe shows in London and at the Edinburgh Festival.
In 2008, Evans landed his most significant stage role playing Vincent in the play Small Change written and directed by Peter Gill at the Donmar Warehouse. His performance drew attention from film casting directors and U.S. talent agencies, and he was nominated for the Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Newcomer. Later that year, he did his second show at the Donmar Warehouse, Piaf, in which he played Yves Montand.
Evans had his first film audition at age 30. In 2009, he landed his first film role, playing the Greek god Apollo in the 2010 remake Clash of the Titans. Also in 2010, he appeared as Clive in the film Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, directed by Matt Whitecross, as the Sheriff of Nottingham's thug in Robin Hood, alongside Matthew Macfadyen (whom he would later play alongside again in The Three Musketeers), and played handyman and good guy Andy, in director Stephen Frears' film Tamara Drewe, based on Posy Simmond's comic strip. Evans went on to portray DI Craig Stokes in Blitz (2011), the film adaptation of Ken Bruen's novel of the same name, in which he starred with Jason Statham and Paddy Considine. In early 2010, he shot the independent film, Flutter, directed by Giles Borg.
Evans played the Musketeer Aramis in Paul W. S. Anderson's version of The Three Musketeers (filmed in 2010 and released in 2011). He was cast in a lead role in Tarsem Singh's Greek epic, Immortals (2011), in which he played the King of the Gods, Zeus.
At the end of 2010, he took a role opposite John Cusack in James McTeigue's film The Raven, replacing Jeremy Renner. In the film, released in 2012 and set in mid-nineteenth century Baltimore, Evans played Detective Emmett Fields, who investigates a series of murders inspired by the poetry and short stories of Edgar Allan Poe.
In 2011, Evans shot No One Lives, a psychological horror film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, in New Orleans.
Evans played the role of Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).
Personal life
Evans is gay, though he prefers not to speak about his personal life. Between 2014 and 2016, he dated actor and model Jon Kortajarena. Since 2021, he has been in a relationship with Fran Tomas.
Discography
Tours
At Last! The Live Tour (2021)
