Jaye Davidson
photo credit: Getty Images
photo credit: Jean-Paul Aussenard/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
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Alfred Amey

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Jaye Davidson

Active - 1992 - 1995  |   Born - Mar 21, 1968 in Riverside, California, United States  |   Genres - Culture & Society, Science Fiction, Drama

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Biography by Andrea LeVasseur

Actor Jaye Davidson made an electrifying film debut as Dil, the enigmatic singer and hairdresser in The Crying Game (1992), earning him an Academy award nomination. Though born in California, he was raised in Hertfordshire, England, and was discovered at a gay nightclub for his part in The Crying Game. In 1994, he made his second film appearance in Roland Emmerich's science fiction adventure Stargate as the Egyptian sun god Ra. Soon after doing some work on TV, Davidson decided he didn't like acting and went back to his original career as a fashion design assistant in London.

Factsheet

  • Studied ballet as a child.
  • Was discovered for his Oscar-nominated role in the 1992 drama The Crying Game while partying ("I said 'no' and staggered off.")
  • Had no interest in acting, but was about to become unemployed, and took on the sensational role that famed director Stanley Kubrick told Crying Game director Neil Jordan couldn't be cast.
  • Teamed with such veteran actors as Forest Whitaker, Miranda Richardson and Stephen Rea, the untrained Davidson created what the New York Times called "pure magic," determined that "I've got to be really professional, these people are paying me."
  • His performance in the film earned him the National Board of Review's "most auspicious newcomer" award.
  • After some more acting (including a role in the 1994 science-fiction film Stargate), returned to a fashion-design career.