We got a request for more Jonathan Rhys Meyers coverage from a loyal reader of the site, and it made me realize that before the Amy Winehouse tragedy, we were concerned that this was the summer that Jonathan was going to kill himself with alcohol and drug abuse. It was back at the end of June when police and paramedics were called to Jonathan’s Maida Vale, London home. According to various sources, Jonathan had overdosed on pills, but he was conscious when everyone arrived, and he tried to refuse help. He was taken to a hospital where I assume he had his stomach pumped, and then he was released. Some called it a “suicide attempt” but others claimed it was just another night of excess for JRM.

More than a week ago, The Sun got their hands on a video of JRM wasted, as usual, and singing Bob Marley. According to The Sun, JRM met some people (strangers) at a Brixton, South London pub. He and his new friends got hammered at the pub, and then took the party to a private home, where someone taped JRM drinking cans of cider and trying to sing “No Woman No Cry”. The timeline for this is not specified, The Sun only claims that this took place “weeks after his suspected suicide.” An eyewitness to the incident says, “He was drinking pints of cider and was off his face.” Here’s the video:

Ugh. So, basically, JRM has serious problems. The man has been in and out of rehab FIVE times. He is an alcoholic, and I often wonder if his addiction is even worse than the addicts we regularly pay attention to (Winehouse, Lohan).

JRM just turned 34 years old last week, and he’s got a new film coming out, Albert Nobbs, in the fall. He’s expected at the Toronto Film Festival in September. We hope he’ll make it there.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

This is sad news. According to the British media, Jonathan Rhys Meyers has attempted suicide in London. JRM allegedly took a “large quantity of pills” while he was in his home in the London area of Maida Vale. Paramedics allegedly found JRM “slumped” on the floor, but he was apparently conscious, and he tried to refuse medical attention. The paramedics called the police, and JRM was rushed to a London hospital late Tuesday night. Scotland Yard told the media: “Officers were called by London Ambulance Service following reports of a man refusing treatment. The man was taken to hospital.” JRM’s rep had no comment.

It’s widely known that JRM is an alcoholic, and likely a drug addict as well. He’s been in and out of rehab five different times (that we know of), and he’s gotten into some legal troubles over the years for his drunken or cracked-out behavior in public. Beyond that, though, JRM always seemed like a pretty decent guy, aware of his problems. He often comes across as extremely fragile – emotionally fragile, psychologically fragile. It’s possible that this wasn’t a flat-out suicide attempt, but merely a guy with problems not paying attention to how many pills he was taking. Or it could be that in a bad moment, JRM really did try to take his own life. I don’t know. But it’s sad. He really isn’t some kind Lohan about his problems – he’s not throwing his issues in our faces or anything. He’s just a dude with some major demons.

UPDATE: A source tells Us Weekly that this was not a suicide attempt: “It was not a suicide attempt. He did relapse and was hospitalized for that, but was released.”

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Generally speaking, I’ve lost count of how many drunken exploits, arrests and truly odd f-cking stories I’ve heard about from Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The boy is a raging alcoholic, if not a drug addict too. He’s been in and out of rehab for years, and I would be tempted to compare him to Lindsay Lohan, except that his cracked-out shenanigans don’t have a Lohan-esque whiff of famewhore – plus, Jonathan is really, really talented, and when he’s sober (and maybe not even then), he can turn in some impressive work. Jonathan usually just comes across as a really talented guy with some major demons. I’m kind of through defending him, though – during his last publicly drunken escapade, he pitched a fit at JFK airport, and dropped the n-word at airport staff. Well, Jonathan has a new interview in The Daily Mail, and he’s trying to explain some of what has been going on. Eh:

On his 33rd birthday: ‘It’s time to start thinking seriously about things,’ insists the star of The Tudors. ‘I wouldn’t want to do the 20s again, you know? You go through your 20s sort of like a chrysalis in many ways, stretching into your own skin and trying to bust out of a cocoon. You want to be a butterfly and you just think of everything as, “Ooh, what fun can I have here?” But, after a while, you realise that things are getting in the way of you growing up and being who you really want to be. And when you look harder at exactly what it is that is getting in your way, you quite often find that it’s yourself.’

On his demons: ‘I just don’t want to be that f-cking a–hole sitting in the pub and someone turns around and says, “See him there at the end of the bar. He could have made a f-cking fortune, but he went over to Hollywood and he just f-cking p****d it up against the wall.”‘

On his childhood and teen years: Dublin-born but raised in Cork with his three younger brothers – mostly by his mother (his parents separated when he was three) – he admits that he was something of a rebel. He was expelled from school at 16 for truancy, and took to spending his days in a pool hall. There he struck up an unusual friendship with Christopher Croft, a farmer. The openly gay father-of-three offered Rhys Meyers a job on his farm and put a roof over his head. The pool hall is also the place Rhys Meyers was discovered by a casting agent. To this day, he credits Croft – whom he has described as a ‘nice man’ – with giving him some stability in his life. But he’s unwilling to discuss the exact nature of his relationship with Croft, or his mentor’s dark side. Last year, Croft was arrested in Morocco – where, coincidentally, the actor keeps a home – for drugging and sexually abusing a 15-year-old homeless boy.

On beginning to work full-time when he was a teenager: ‘When you go all the way through from your late teens to your late 20s on film sets, it’s a very strange introduction to the world,’ he points out. ‘It can take a long time for some people to find out how to ground themselves, and film sets are an odd atmosphere to do it in – especially if, like me, you finished school early.’

On buying his late mother a house: ‘It was one of those things that sons have to do. I just felt it was a way for me to invest my money into somebody that I loved very much.’

On fame: ‘That’s a funny thing, fame,’ he says. ‘People definitely do treat you differently. When you begin to be successful, people say, “Don’t go changing.” Well, that’s easy to say, but the fact is, you don’t change at all – other people do.’

On his girlfriend, Reena Hammer, who is 24 years old and Creative Director of Urban Retreat: She was reportedly the one who gave him the recent ultimatum, ‘Back to rehab or I quit’. ‘I care for Reena more than I’ve cared for anyone,’ he says. ‘She’s so amazing. We’ve been together for five or six years now, we’re very good friends. Having loved her for so long has changed my whole idea of relationships with women.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Well, at least we don’t get the Lohan-esque “I’m not doing anything! I’m just a child!” denials, but in my opinion, there’s still some denial in this interview. Of course, I think his childhood was probably pretty tough, and he may or may not have been abused by a man he trusted very much, and I know that Meyers is trying. BUT – it’s just sad. It’s just a waste of talent. He’s 33 years old, and he has the potential of being one of the best actors of his generation, and he’s just pissing it away because he can’t get it together.

JRM on February 11, 2010 and May 6, 2010. Credit: WENN.

Well, who could have predicted this? Oh, right. Everyone. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is checking into rehab yet again, his rep confirms to People Magazine. Sources say that Jonathan will be checking into a London rehab facility for his ongoing alcoholism. There has been no statement, no apology, no confirmation from his rep that A) Jonathan was behaving so horribly while blackout drunk at JFK airport that he is now banned from United flights and B) That part of his drunken hissy fit was dropping the N-word.

The Tudors star Jonathan Rhys Meyers will return to London for treatment again for his alcohol addiction, PEOPLE has confirmed.

“He just really wants to get better,” says a source close to the actor. “This has been an ongoing battle for him.”

Rhys Meyers first entered rehab in April 2007. He was arrested that November for public intoxication at the Dublin airport and was detained by police in June 2009 at the Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris after allegedly assaulting an airport lounge employee while drunk.

The actor’s rep confirms to PEOPLE that he is again seeking treatment for his addiction, but declined further comment.

[From People]

As best everyone can tell, this will be Jonathan’s fourth time in rehab. We had high hopes the third one would stick, but it didn’t. Radar’s sources at United Airlines are sticking by their story, too, and there are some added details – the flight that Jonathan was kicked off of was New York to Los Angeles, and it was a morning flight – so Jonathan was sh-tfaced at like 9 a.m. or something. Apparently, he was “pounding drinks” in the first class lounge, and when he was trying to board the plane, a United employee stopped him. That’s when Jonathan hurled the N-word at the employee. Angry, crazy douche. Let’s hope this rehab stint works, but still, I’m being realistic. It’s going to take a lot more than some celebrity-friendly London rehab. I mean, I bet there are like five pubs down the street from the rehab!

Jonathan in London on February 21, 2010 & in NYC on May 6, 2010. Credit: WENN.

Last Friday, Radar had a report (that was later confirmed by other sources) that Jonathan Rhys Meyers was acting drunk and crazy at JFK airport a few weeks ago, and his actions led to him being banned from United Airlines. Jonathan acting drunk and crazy at an airport is nothing new – been there, done that, although I was sad to learn that his third stint in rehab didn’t take. Unfortunately, the new twist on Jonathan’s crazy/drunk behavior was that he allegedly used the N-word in his drunken hissy fit as he was being denied entry to his United flight. Ugh.. This story just got a hell of a lot worse:

Tudors star Jonathan Rhys Meyers spewed the ‘N’ word when he was banned from a United Airlines flight due to a drunken display, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.

RadarOnline.com broke the story that the Irish actor was banned from flying United In early May when he became increasingly drunk and disorderly while pounding drinks early in the morning in the first class lounge at New York’s JFK airport. He was waiting to fly to Los Angeles.

Now RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting that the story is even more shocking and ugly. When airline workers noticed the actor drinking and getting out of control they prevented him from boarding the flight to Los Angeles, a source at the airport told us.

As the incident unfolded, Meyers, growing furious, flung the ‘N’ word, the source told RadarOnline.com exclusively. He had been drinking vodka and it was before 7 am. It is unclear if the actor was directing the word toward an individual or just spewing it without a specific target.

The Tudors star used the racial slur as he was being informed by the airline that they were not going to allow him to board the plane. An airline employee confirmed the incident to RadarOnline.com.

It’s by far the ugliest display of behavior for an actor who has a history of traveling misbehavior. In 2007, seven months after checking into rehab for the second time, he was arrested at Dublin airport and charged with being drunk and in breach of peace (the charges were later dropped).

Then, in June 2009, three months after checking out of rehab the third time, he was arrested after allegedly attacking a number of staff at a bar in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport.

[From Radar]

A couple of people pointed out that I treated Jonathan differently than I treated, say, Lindsay Lohan. I do, I acknowledge that. Lindsay is only famous at this point for being a f-cking mess, and she makes no effort to get help or to acknowledge that she’s on one of the biggest, most cracked-out downward spirals ever. Jonathan, on the other hand, seems like a functioning alcoholic who spends his time – in equal parts – doing solid work and being a deranged alcoholic. Plus, I buy that Jonathan really wants help, and that he tries to get help and stay sober, although it doesn’t stick. Now, is Jonathan a racist, or was the N-word just part of some drunken catastrophe? I don’t know. But it pisses me off, and even if he was blackout drunk, he should publicly apologize for the entire incident and seek help, yet again.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers is still drinking, and still causing problems at airports. That’s what Radar claims, with a source telling them about a recent incident involving Jonathan at New York’s JFK airport, “pounding drinks” and creating a big problem with his drunken, “belligerent” behavior. He was so bad that he was banned from flying, not just that day, but ever again on United Airlines.

I was trying to research to see just how many times Jonathan has been arrested, created disturbances or been a general drunken nuisance, and I get exhausted just looking at the incidents. At least one of those occasions came right after his mom died, so there’s that one. But there has been at least two more incidents. Also – I believe the count is at “three” for “Jonathan’s rehab stints”. Third time was not the charm.

Tudors star Jonathan Rhys Meyers has had his fair share of run-ins at airports and a chronicled battle with alcohol. Now, a source has exclusively confirmed to RadarOnline.com that the actor has now been banned from flying United Airlines due to a recent drunken display.

According to a source at John F. Kennedy airport in New York, in early May Rhys Myers was booked on a United Airlines flight headed to Los Angeles. Despite the early morning departure time, airline workers noticed the actor “pounding drinks” in the first class lounge and becoming increasingly drunk and disorderly.

Rhys Myers then attempted to board the plane but was prohibited from flying due to “belligerent” and “disruptive” behavior that “was getting out of control.”

When contacted by RadarOnline.com, an official from United Airlines confirmed the story but refused to elaborate, citing passenger privacy laws.

The Tudors actor has a history of traveling misbehavior. In 2007, seven months after checking into rehab for the second time, he was arrested at Dublin airport and charged with being drunk and in breach of peace (the charges were later dropped). Then, in June 2009, three months after checking out of rehab the third time, he was arrested after allegedly attacking a number of staff at a bar in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport.

[From Radar]

Look, I’m not so much of an a–hole that I don’t feel bad for the guy. He’s obviously an alcoholic who is really struggling. And I can mostly forgive some anger and drunken belligerence at airports, just because airports are horrible, and I always feel like I need a drink too. But after so many times, don’t you think Jonathan would wise up? That he would say to himself “If I go to this airport alone, I’m going to end up pounding drinks at the bar and I’ll just cause a disturbance, so I better bring a sober minder with me.”

Jonathan Rhys Meyers is best known for his role as Henry VIII in the Showtime series The Tudors. Henry VIII was of course a rotund drunken womanizer while Meyers is a very thin, pretty drunken Irishman whose womanizing status is up to question. (He has a longterm girlfriend and we don’t hear much about him picking up women.)

Meyers has a new interview with Parade in light of the fourth and final season of The Tudors, which starts airing April 11. He says he’s ready for the next chapter in his life but that he loved the role and his work on the show. He also comes across as vain and completely unapologetic about it. Meyers wasn’t about to sacrifice those razor sharp features and tight abs for a role and says he couldn’t be bothered to gain weight in order to portray Henry VII later in his life.

On not gaining weight to portray Henry VII
“He was a lot heavier and taller than I am, but so what? I think I’d have been stupid to put on a fat suit and I wasn’t about to gain a lot weight. But I think Henry was better looking than he was portrayed in the classic portrait by Hans Holbein. I think he would have hated it. It may be great art, but it’s not a good picture. I’ve seen fat, ugly pictures of Brad Pitt because some paparazzi got him from a bad angle on a bad morning. So how would he feel if that were the sole image of him that would be seen by future generations? He’d be going, ‘What the hell? I was a great looking guy.’”…

As for getting passionate on the set.
“Actually, it’s not unpleasant to get it on with beautiful actresses and you don’t have any nasty repercussions afterward. To make it work, you have to experience a little sexual chemistry. But it can be a bit taxing when you’re doing sex scenes in front of a crew of like a hundred people under hot lights with cameras poking into all sorts of private areas.”

Go ahead and call him a hot hunk.
“I’d rather people think I’m sexy than not. Let’s be honest. Physicality is going to have a bearing on the parts you get. And if you think differently, you’re in the wrong business.”

[From Parade]

I love how Meyers justifies not gaining weight for a role by saying that a portrait artist just got Henry VII at a bad angle! The guy was obese as an older man, but Meyers didn’t even want to wear a fat suit to portray him. He just can’t not look pretty. He does do that exceptionally well, you have to give that to him. As much as Meyers was criticized for not physically embodying the legend of Henry VII, he was also praised for making the monarch so damn sexy. One journalist even called him “lickable.”

It looks like there’s plenty of male eye candy on this show. I just discovered another actor that’s arguably more attractive than Meyers – a guy named Henry Cavill who plays Henry VII’s brother in law Charles Brandon. That Brandon guy also looked nothing like the beefcake Cavill, below. Who really cares, though, when you get to stare at hotties like these?

Photos courtesy of Showtime via Facebook

Believe it or not, I’m not one of those girls constantly attracted to bad boys. True, I like them a little scruffy, a little haughty, with some edge. But I don’t swoon at the first sight of a motorcycle, or a whiff of a leather jacket. But there’s something about Jonathan Rhys Meyers, isn’t there? He’s a bad boy, but he’s also got that vulnerable puppy thing going on. After all of his crazy drunken shenanigans, you’d think that most people would write him off. But it’s been nearly a year since his third rehab stay, after which he stayed relatively sober enough to film this movie he’s now promoting, From Paris With Love, and after which Meyers promptly got into a drunken brawl at an airport last June. So… still crazy/drunk, probably. And yet… it agrees with him.

Sidenote: He loves Dunkin Donuts! And he visit’s the Dunkin himself! I wonder what kind of magical donut he goes for. Something with sprinkles, I bet. By the way, that girl with him is his girlfriend, Reena Hammer. You know she probably puts up with a lot of stuff. But she gets to see his vulnerable puppy side too. Sigh…

Anyway, this film, From Paris With Love. It looks like a turd, doesn’t it? And not even because of Meyers! He looks okay in the trailer. It’s just John Travolta’s Village People-look that scares me. I’ve been looking for a good interview with Meyers, but I can’t find much. The film seems to be about Meyers protecting a suitcase full of cocaine, and Travolta’s character is protecting Meyers, I think. Meyers talked about the cocaine in glowing terms: “I accidentally dropped it, running on those steel stairs! I dropped the vase, and I went, “Oh f-ck, the coke!” I had to go all the way back up and do that scene again. The vase became a teddy bear, a blanket, to me, and I felt sad when I had to drop it for the other scene, because it had been my buddy, protecting me from the whole world, this vase of marching powder.” Um… yeah. He’s still messed up. Bless his heart.

Here’s the trailer for From Paris With Love:

Jonathan and his girlfriend in New York on February 2, 2010. Credit: Hector Vallenilla, PacificCoastNews.com

Jonathan Rhys Meyers still seems to have himself a drinking problem. Quite the drinking problem, if you believe French officials. Meyers was detained at Paris’ Charles De Gaulle airport this past weekend for getting into a drunken fight. The whole thing started when a bartender refused to serve an obviously intoxicated Meyers anymore drinks. Logically this led to fighting and punches being thrown, as most drunken things do. Well, that or they lead to sex. Luckily only the former occurred. At least according to charging papers.

Tudors star Jonathan Rhys Meyers was detained by French police on Saturday afternoon following an incident in which he allegedly assaulted an airport lounge employee while drunk, Agence France Presse reports.

The Irish actor, 31, was placed in custody for several hours for having a skirmish with bar employees and allegedly punching one at the Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, according to reports.

The incident began when a bartender at the café area “Le Quotidien” in the departure area of the airport at terminal 2F refused to serve the actor, who appeared drunk, according to the news service. A shouting match developed between Rhys Meyers and the bar manager. Then when another bar employee tried to separate the pair, Rhys Meyers swung and punched the intervening waiter.

Police handcuffed the actor when placing him in custody, and sources tell PEOPLE that the actor remained in a sober lock-up area for three hours before being released.

The AFP reports that Rhys Meyers has been told to appear before the Correctional Tribunal in Bobigny in September to answer charges concerning, “voluntary violence, contempt, issuing death threats and assault,” according to a judicial source.

[From People]

That’s quite the list of complaints there. Contempt? I would like to know what a contempt charge looks like in France. My favorite is the issuing death threats. When Jonathan Rhys Meyers commits crimes, he goes all out. No “I hate you, jerk!” Or whatever. Only a death threat will do. Meyers has had quite the lengthy relationship with alcohol. He went to rehab in April of 2007. Then he was arrested the following November for public drunkenness. He was also photographed drinking shortly after he left rehab. Clearly it didn’t take. I’d love to say hopefully this will be the thing that does it for him, but I highly doubt it.

Here’s Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Dublin last Wednesday. Images thanks to WENN.com .

Rhys Meyers and Travolta on set in December. Credit: WENN.com
Johnathan Rhys Meyers, 31, worked with John Travolta on the recently-wrapped film From Paris With Love. Meyers praised his co-star Travolta and called him generous and friendly. He also told an anecdote about a time that Travolta ordered sushi to the set when they were working into the early hours of the morning:

Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers became firm friends with his From Paris With Love costar John Travolta – because the Hollywood legend is “so generous”.
The pair finished filming in January 2009 – but managed to bond over their Irish roots; Travolta’s mother was Irish-American.
Jonathan, 31, says, “I’ve met a lot of people in my career, but I’ve never met anyone so generous. I’d been doing nightshoots and at 3 o’ clock in the morning, plates of sushi would turn up on set. He was ordering them from the hotel. He’d say, ‘We’re Irish – we’ve got to eat!’”
Meyers also revealed how he comforted the Grease star after the death of his teenage son Jett.
He adds, “I spoke to John. It’s a very trying time for his family. Jett was a beautiful boy.
“John is strong and smart and he has a good support system around him.”

[From Showbizspy via Gossip Rocks]

The first thing that came to mind when I read this was that Travolta was trying to recruit Meyers into Scientology. It’s probably unfair to be suspicious of every kind act by someone just because they’re a cult member, but it definitely comes up. It’s like that “love bombing” thing that cults do as a way to make people feel welcome and surrender their cash and free will. Maybe Travolta is just a nice guy, though, and likes making friends with his co-workers. It’s better than eating in your trailer like Aniston. We’ll know what Travolta’s motivation was if Myers starts spouting off about how Scientology is 98% similar to the Bible.

John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Myers are shown on set on 12/18/08. Credit: WENN.com. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is also shown at the season 3 launch party for The Tudors on 3/30/09. Credit: Fame Pictures