Rea trained at the
Abbey Theatre School in
Dublin. In the late 1970s, he acted in the
Focus Company in Dublin with
Gabriel Byrne and
Colm Meaney. During the broadcasting ban on Sinn Féin imposed by
Margaret Thatcher's government, in order to cut the 'oxygen of publicity', it was interpreted that Sinn Féin members could not be heard making statements expressing the views of Sinn Féin, so Rea was one of many actors contacted to provide an actor's voice to get around that problem. After appearing on the stage and in television and film for many years in Ireland and
Britain, Rea came to international attention when he was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actor for the film
The Crying Game. He is a frequent collaborator with Irish film maker
Neil Jordan. Rea has long been associated with some of the most important writers in
Ireland. His association with playwright
Stewart Parker (1941-1988) for example, began when they were students together at the Queen's University of Belfast.
Rea helped establish the
Field Day Theatre Company in 1980 with
Tom Paulin, Brian Friel, Seamus Heaney, and
Seamus Deane. In recognition for his contribution to theatre and performing arts, Rea was given
honorary degrees from both the Queen's University of Belfast and the
University of Ulster in 2004.
