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Hans Matheson was born on 7th August 1975 at Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Shortly after, his family moved to Canterbury, Kent in England but Hans often spent his summer holidays on Stornoway with his grandparents, As a child, his parents Iain (Ado) and Sheena often took him and his younger brother to folk festivals and Bob Dylan concerts. His father Ado is a musician and his grandfather was a Gaelic Singer and Songwriter before him performing at concerts and ceilidhs throughout Scotland. His great-grandfather was crowned the Celtic Bard in recognition of his writing in the 50's.
Hans claims to have been a shy and introverted child who was not happy at school. He left school and, at the suggestion of his mother, auditioned for drama school; Avondale Hall in Clapham. At the suggestion of his teacher and mentor, he auditioned for a Jez Butterworth TV show called Christmas and this led to a role in Mojo on stage at the Royal Court Theatre and later in the film version of the same name. Roles in TV shows Bramwell, Wycliffe and Family Money followed and films Stella Does Tricks, Still Crazy and Bodywork.
His first break on the international arena came with the his casting as Marius in Bille August's production of the Victor Hugo classic Les Miserables. He then starred in the European films Canone Inverso and I Am Dina and the television mini-series The Mists of Avalon.
He then played the lead role as Yury Zhivago in the 2002 Granada Television adaptation of Doctor Zhivago, the famous Russian novel by Boris Pasternak, where he co-starred with Keira Knightley and Sam Neill. After the long Zhivago shoot, Hans took some time out "in the real world" and worked with his father on Ado's Cd "Out on the Islands" released in 2003.
Hans returned to the small screen in 2004 in the doco-drama Comfortably Numb and the European miniseries Imperium as the Emperor Nero in Nerone. This was followed in 2005 with the acclaimed BBC production of Elizabeth 1: The Virgin Queen where Hans played Robert Devereaux, the Earl of Essex.
In 2006 Hans returns to the big screen in the psychological thriller Half Light opposite Demi Moore. He will follow this with his role as Caravaggio in Slovakian director Juraj Jakubisko's ambitious production of Bathory, featuring Anna Friel in the title role as Elizabeth Bathory. This will be filmed in English and is expected to screen in the European spring of 2007.
Hans is not only a talented actor but plays guitar, violin, piano and harmonica and writes his own songs. He prefers the simple things in life to pursuing fame and fortune.
Source: HansMatheson.org