(Photo: Getty Images)
Paul Bettany returns this week in A Very British Scandal, an Amazon miniseries about the very messy divorce between Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll (Bettany) and wife Margaret (Claire Foy), a woman who was definitely ahead of her time. To get ready for the premiere, we've rounded up 10 interesting things about the British actor who's also known for his roles in WandaVision, The Da Vinci Code, and Wimbledon.
1. He has a connection to the British Royal family.
His late father Thane Bettany was godfather to Sophie, Countess of Wessex: wife of Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son, Prince Edward.
2. Bettany's own son Stellan has an actor godfather: Charlie Condou.
Bettany and Condou appeared together in the early noughties movies Dead Babies and Euston Road. You may also recognize Condou from his longtime roles in U.K. TV favorites Coronation Street and Holby City. 

(Photo: Instagram /@paulbettany)

3. Stellan Bettany is named after another of his dad's co-stars: Stellan Skarsgård.
When Stellan graduated last year, Paul shared a touching photo of father and son on Instagram.

4. He had a pretty tough time at school.
Bettany has said he struggled as a teenager when his family moved from London to the leafy county of Hertfordshire. "It felt very rural to me and I don't think I adapted very well," he told The Independent. "My godfather was gay and it turns out – I didn't know it at the time – but my father was also gay. I refused to take part in that boys' school homophobia and consequently became incredibly bullied for being gay."
5. He was profoundly affected by the death of his younger brother.
Bettany was 16 when he lost brother Matthew in a tragic accident, and he has occasionally spoken about this terrible time. "It was a period of mourning," he told The Guardian in 2012. "My brother had died. I was very merged with my brother. It was a mixture of the loss of someone you love deeply coupled with a time when you're sort of – 16, 17 – narcissistically confident about yourself, thinking life is eternal, and the fragility of it being revealed was awful. Quite apart from my own loss. I loved him so much. The awareness of how precarious our position is." 
6. He dropped out of school around this time, and was technically homeless for a while.
During this period, Bettany slept on his sister's floor and occasionally on park benches. "At the time I never would have described myself as homeless, but since working with homeless charities, they’ve wanted me to call it that," he told The Independent. "How do I clarify this? I was without a home but I never felt homeless."
7. He originally wanted to be a singer-songwriter.
However, Bettany decided a music career wasn't for him after putting in a stint busking on the streets of London. "I realized I hated singing my songs in front of people because I felt too revealed," he told The Times.
8. He filed to become a U.S. citizen in 2017.
By this point, Bettany had already been living in New York City with wife Jennifer Connelly for 16 years. "I've decided to vote. I decided to get involved," he told Esquire at the time – and he did just that during the 2020 election.

(Photo: Instagram / @paulbettany)
9. Back in 2013, during a quiet patch for Bettany, a major Hollywood producer told him his career was over.
Bettany is far too polite to name the producer in question, but he told GQ that the producer arrived 45 minutes late for their meeting and told him in no uncertain terms that he wouldn't be casting him in an upcoming project. Bettany recalled: "I said to him, 'You should mind your manners. This is a town that has second acts, third acts and fourth acts. I'd been so tough and butch in this meeting, but secretly I was just devastated to hear this news. I went, 'He's right. My career's over. It's done.'"
10. He's admitted he took on certain roles to ensure his family was secure after the 2008 financial crisis.
Bettany told The Times that for a time he was worried he had "tarnished" his brand as an actor. "And then you have to keep your head down and wait for people to remember the good stuff," he said. "And people do generally forget the bad stuff and remember the good stuff."
Do you feel like you know Paul Bettany a bit better now?