ITV's gripping new thriller, A Spy Among Friends, premieres on Sunday night, telling the true story of British spies and close friends Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby.
Starring in the drama alongside Damian Lewis, who plays Nicholas Elliott, is Guy Pearce as Kim Philby. The actor is known for playing Mike Young in Neighbours, as well as his various big screen roles, including in The Hurt Locker and Memento. But did you know that he is in a relationship with a famous actress?
Who is Guy Pearce?
Guy Pearce is a 55-year-old actor who was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire and raised in Geelong, Australia.
He rose to fame portraying Mike Young in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, a role he played for three years from 1986 and later reprised in 2022 for the show's final episode.
© ITVFrom there, he went on to land major film roles, portraying Andy Warhol in the 2006 drama, Factory Girl, and also starred in the 2009 post-apocalyptic film, The Road.
Some of his other film credits include Bedtime Stories, The King's Speech, Mary Queen of Scots and Iron Man 3.
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Who is Guy Pearce's partner?
Guy Pearce is in a relationship with Dutch actress Carice van Houten.
The 46-year-old is perhaps best known for playing Melisandre, also known as the Red Woman, in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones. She received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal, as well as two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
© SkyCarice has appeared in various Dutch films and TV series over the years and first gained prominence after starring in the 1999 film, Suzy Q.
Her other English-language performances include the 2010 science-fiction film starring Jude Law, Repo Men, as well as the action-horror film, Black Death, which was also released in 2010 and starred Sean Bean and Eddie Redmayne.
More recently, she appeared in the medical crime series, Temple, which stars Mark Strong. She also landed a role in the Starz period drama, Dangerous Liaisons.
© Sky UK / Ludovic RobertGuy and Carice met on the set of the psychological western film, Brimstone, which was released in 2016. In August of the same year, Carice welcomed their first child, a son named Monte Pearce.
The couple went on to star alongside each other in the 2019 crime thriller, Domino, in which Carice's Game of Thrones co-star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau also appeared.
© ShutterstockPrior to his relationship with Carice, Guy was married to psychologist Kate Mestitz from 1997 until their divorce in 2015.
What is A Spy Among Friends about?
The six-part drama is a tale of friendship and betrayal and dramatises the true story of British spies and lifelong friends, Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby.
The synopsis continues: "Philby was the most notorious British defector and Soviet double agent in history. This is a story of intimate duplicity; of loyalty, trust and treachery. Philby’s deeply personal betrayal, uncovered at the height of the Cold War, resulted in the gutting of British and American Intelligence."
Who stars in A Spy Among Friend? Meet the cast
Anna Maxwell Martin stars alongside Damian and Guy as Lily Thomas, while Stephen Kunken plays James Jesus Angleton.
© Rob YoungsonAlso included in the cast are Adrian Edmondson as Sir Roger Hollis, Lucy Akhurst as Elizabeth Elliott and Gershwyn Eustache Jnr as Robert.
Rounding off the cast are Lucy Akhurst, Anastasia Hille, Anna Andresen and Jennifer Marsala.
