Jaye Davidson

Jaye Davidson
Born
Alfred Amey[1]

(1968-03-21) March 21, 1968 (age 53)[2]
Riverside, California, U.S.
OccupationActor, model
Years active1992–2009

Jaye Davidson (born Alfred Amey; March 21, 1968) is an American-born English model and retired actor. He made his acting debut as the transgender woman Dil in the thriller film The Crying Game (1992),[1][3] 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 (1994). Davidson retired from acting afterwards, disliking the fame that the roles brought him.

Career

Davidson, who had no prior professional acting experience, was discovered at a wrap party for Derek Jarman's Edward II and was invited to audition for The Crying Game.[4] He was cast in the role of Dil.[5] The film was a critical and popular success.[6] It is known for a surprise plot twist: a love scene in which Dil undresses and main character Fergus (played by Stephen Rea) discovers that Dil is transgender. The scene required full-frontal nudity.[7] 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.[4]

For his work in The Crying Game, Davidson was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor[8][9] and for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1993.[10] Davidson also received nominations for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor[11] and the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress in 1993.[11]

Davidson starred as Ra, an alien impersonating a god,[12] in the 1994 science fiction adventure film Stargate.[13][14] He was surprised when they agreed to pay his $1 million fee.[15]

Davidson later retired from acting,[5] 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.[16]

Personal life

Davidson was born in California, but grew up in Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, England.[17] His father is a black African and his mother is a white English.[18]

Davidson is gay. During his acting career, he said that his androgynous look alienated him within the gay community; he stated that gay men "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."[19] He later adopted a more traditionally masculine look, with a shaved head, tattoos, and a more muscular physique.[20]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleDirectorNotes
1992The Crying GameDilNeil JordanNational Board of Review Award for Most Auspicious Debut[21]
Nominated — National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor[22]
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor[8][9]
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role[10]
Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor[11]
Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress[11]
1994StargateRaRoland Emmerich
1996CatwalkHimselfDocumentary
2009The Borghilde ProjectNazi photographer

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994Jiggery PokeryJoTelevision movie

References

  1. ^ a b "Jaye Davidson". TV Guide. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Jaye Davidson". IMDb.
  3. ^ Maslin, Janet (17 December 1992). "INTO THE LIMELIGHT WITH: Jaye Davidson; A Star to Match A Mystery Role". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  4. ^ a b Giles, Jeff (1 April 1993). "Jaye Davidson: Oscar's Big Surprise".
  5. ^ a b Brady, Tara. "'The Crying Game': 'They wanted me to cast a woman that was pretending to be a man'". The Irish Times.
  6. ^ "Neil Jordan's suprise [sic] hit". EW.com.
  7. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (5 December 2014). "Stephen Rea on The Crying Game's Surprise Penis". Vulture.com. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  8. ^ a b Academy Award Editors (March 7, 1993). "The 6th Academy Awards 1993". 65th Academy Awards. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  9. ^ a b AMC FilmSite Editors (March 7, 2015). "1992 Academy Awards® Winners and History". AMC FilmSite. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  10. ^ a b BAFTA Editors (January 4, 1993). "Actor in a Supporting Role in 1993". BAFTA. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  11. ^ a b c d Adler, Tony (March 7, 1993). "Actor in a Supporting Role in 1993". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  12. ^ Times, Stephanie Dolgoff, New York. "EGYPTOLOGIST GUIDES 'STARGATE' CAST IN HIEROGLYPHICS-SPEAK". OrlandoSentinel.com.
  13. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/stargatepg13hinson_a019b2.htm
  14. ^ LeVasseur, Andrea (2010). "Jaye Davidson". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  15. ^ https://stack.com.au/film-tv/whatever-happened-to-jaye-davidson/
  16. ^ Vincent, Alice (15 February 2016). "Oscars flashback: whatever happened to Gilbert Grape's mama?". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. ^ Celebrities with a connection to Borehamwood and Elstree - Borehamwood and Elstree Times - Discussion on Topix Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  18. ^ Maslin, Janet (17 December 1992). "INTO THE LIMELIGHT WITH: Jaye Davidson; A Star to Match A Mystery Role" – via NYTimes.com.
  19. ^ Giles, Jeff (22 March 1993). "The Open Secret -- In A Rare Interview, Jaye Davidson Leaves Nothing To The Imagination When Discussing The Oscar-Nominated Film, 'The Crying Game'". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  20. ^ "Jaye Davidson - Where are they now?". Virgin Media. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2018-08-12.
  21. ^ Cohn, Lawrence (February 24, 1993). "No-shows beset Griffith Awards". Variety. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  22. ^ J. Fox, David (January 4, 1993). "'Unforgiven' Tops National Critics' List : Awards: Clint Eastwood film is picked as best movie of '92, Eastwood as best director, David Webb Peoples' tale as best screenplay". The LA Times. Retrieved October 31, 2015.

External links