Jaye Davidson was born in 1968 in Riverside, California.   From the age of two he grew up in Britain.   He is best known for his performance as Dil in the superb “The Crying Game” in 1992 with Stephen Rea directed by Neil Jordan.   He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance.   He went to Hollywood to make “Stargate” with Kurt Russell and James Spader.   However he returned to the U.K. and abandoned his acting career and returned to his previous occupation in fashion.

TCM Overview:

Poised, photogenic performer with strikingly delicate features, of British-African ancestry. Davidson was born in California but raised in the white middle-class surroundings of Hertfordshire, England. After being discovered at a London wrap party for Derek Jarman’s “Edward II”, this androgynous, light-complexioned beauty made a big splash with a screen debut in Neil Jordan’s “The Crying Game” (1992). Though untrained in acting, Davidson was riveting and fascinating as Dil, a mysterious London singer and hairdresser who confounded many a spectator’s expectations. His remarkable achievement was acknowledged with an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Davidson next landed a starring role in the science fiction epic, “Stargate” (1994) playing the sun god Ra, a villainous force who rules a parallel universe that echoes the Egypt of Hollywood biblical movies. Though Janet Maslin of THE NEW YORK TIMES noted that the part didn’t involve much acting, she added that Davidson “makes the perfect Ra mannequin”.

The above TCM Ovewview can also be accessed online here.

  Interview with Jaye Davidson here.