Jaye Davidson (born Alfred Amey; March 21, 1968) is an English model, fashion stylist, and retired actor. He made his acting debut as the transvestite Dil in the thriller film ''
The Crying Game'' (1992),
for which he received an
Academy Award nomination for
Best Supporting Actor. Following his breakthrough, he portrayed the villainous
Ra in the commercially successful science fiction film ''
Stargate
''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the Stargate (film), film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien E ...
'' (1994). Davidson retired from acting afterwards, disliking the fame that the roles brought him.
Life
Davidson was born in
Riverside, California, and was raised in
Borehamwood in
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
,
England. His father is from
Ghana and his mother is from
England.
Davidson is
gay. During his acting career, he said that his androgynous look alienated him within the gay community. He stated that
gay men
Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including ' ...
"love very masculine men. And I'm not a very masculine person. I'm reasonably thin. I have long hair, which isn't very popular with gay men."
In 2017, he married Thomas Clarke.
Career
Davidson, who had no prior professional acting experience, was discovered at a
wrap party for
Derek Jarman's ''
Edward II
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...
'' and was invited to audition for ''
The Crying Game''.
He was cast in the role of Dil.
The film was a critical and popular success. It is known for a surprise plot twist: a love scene in which Dil undresses and main character Fergus (played by
Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea ( ; born 31 October 1946) is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as ''V for Vendetta'', ''Michael Collins'', ''Interview with the Vampire'' and ''Breakfast on Pluto''. Rea was nominated for the Academy Award ...
) discovers that Dil is transgender. The scene required full-frontal nudity. Rea later said, “If Jaye hadn’t been a completely convincing woman, my character would have looked stupid.” When the film was released, Miramax requested that reviewers keep Davidson's gender a secret.
For his work in ''
The Crying Game'', Davidson was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while worki ...
and for the
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1993.
Davidson also received nominations for the
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor and the
in 1993.
Davidson starred as
Ra, an alien impersonating
a god, in the 1994 science fiction adventure film ''
Stargate
''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the Stargate (film), film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien E ...
''. He was surprised when they agreed to pay his $1 million fee.
Davidson later retired from acting,
stating that he "genuinely hated the fame" he was receiving. He became more involved in
modelling, and has since worked on several high-profile photo shoots, in addition to working as a fashion stylist in
Paris.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Jaye
1968 births
American male film actors
American expatriates in England
English male film actors
Living people
English gay actors
Male actors from Riverside, California
English male models
Male models from California
Gay models
People from Borehamwood
American emigrants to England
American gay actors
LGBT people from California
LGBT African Americans