Coventry Evening Telegraph (England); 7/16/1999; McMULLEN, MARION
HE was picked to play the ultimate dream date in the latest Brit film hit Virtual Sexuality - a Mr Right who is perfect in every way.
"It was fun," says Rupert Penry-Jones with a large grin, "I was supposed to be this dream man generated by computer, but the catch was I had a mind of a woman. I enjoyed doing it because it was so different."
The mundane and ordinary has never appealed to the 28-year-old actor and he admits to being far from perfect.
He was expelled from drama school for being a disruptive influence on the other students and his blue-eyed blond looks led to him working as a model on the catwalks of Milan for a time and being snapped by top fashion photographers.
But acting has always been part of Rupert's life, which is hardly surprising when you consider his mother is actress Angela Thorne and his father is actor Peter Penry-Jones.
He may not take himself too seriously, but Rupert is serious about his work and had no qualms about packing his bags and heading to Warwickshire when the Royal Shakespeare Company invited him to Stratford to star in their current season.
"It meant not having to worry about auditions for a year," he jokes. "I admit I was a little worried it might be like going to drama school again, but the atmosphere here is really great.
"You live, eat and breathe the work here," explains Rupert tucking into a lunch of hot dogs, "and I enjoy the fact there are no distractions. It is all-consuming. I find myself rehearsing, performing, going home to learn lines and then starting all over again the next day." He says he was encouraged to return to acting after sitting with a group of model friends in Italy one night and being told by them that it was foolish to turn his back on a career he obviously had a talent for.
Theatre roles have followed including a spell at the National Theatre in London and Bristol Old Vic and his film credits include Hilary And Jackie and Black Beauty.
Rupert also joined forces with Robson Green for BBC 1 drama The Student Prince and has also appeared on TV in French And Saunders, Absolutely Fabulous and Kavanagh QC.
Now he is winning great acclaim playing the love-struck Spanish prince Don Carlos in a passionate production of Schiller's famous tale at The Other Place in Stratford.
He will also be seen next month as Alcibades in Timon Of Athens at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre opposite Alan Bates in the title role.
"One director told me he gave me my first job because he loved the fact that I got thrown out of drama school," laughs Rupert, "but there have been bad times. I didn't have an audition for a year and a half and that's when I did the modelling, although I'm not really model material.
"The catwalks were alright, but the photo-shoots were a bit embarrassing."
He spurs a hot dog with his fork and adds: "But I have now got a large collection of photographs to my name."
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