Matthew Rhys was born and raised in the historic city of Cardiff, South Wales. He was educated in the Welsh language, which remains his first language. At seventeen, after playing the lead role of Elvis in a school musical, Rhys realised that a career in farming or in the armed forces was not for him. As a result, he applied to and was accepted at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London (RADA). Shortly thereafter, in 1993, he was awarded the Patricia Rothermere Scholarship. During his time at RADA, Rhys appeared in Back-Up, the BBC police series about the operational support units Hooli Vans, as well as in House of America. He then returned to Cardiff to act in his own language in the Welsh film Bydd yn Wrol (Be Brave), for which he won Best Actor at the Welsh BAFTAs.

In January 1998, Rhys went to New Zealand to star in Green Stone, a colonial costume drama for television. He then landed a role in Julie Taymor's critically acclaimed adaptation of Titus, starring Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange. Next he played Ray in Peter Hewitt's quirky film comedy, Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? After returning to Wales, he did two consecutive films with Jonathan Price - The Testimony of Taliesin Jones, a film about a dysfunctional single-parent family in which he played the elder son, and Sara Sugarman's extraordinary comedy Very Annie Mary, in which he played the role of Nob.

In 2000 Rhys played the lead role in Metropolis, a drama series for Granada about the lives of six twenty-somethings living in London. Next he starred in Peaches, the film of the celebrated play written and directed by Nick Grosso. Rhys opened to huge critical acclaim when he starred as Benjamin in the 2000 world premiere of the stage adaptation of The Graduate, alongside Kathleen Turner at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End.

Rhys travelled to Ireland to star in the 17th century swashbuckling adventure, The Abduction Club. He played the lead role of Darren Daniels in Tabloid, and then returned to New Zealand to shoot the epic drama Lost World for the BBC. His other film credits include the independent horror film Deathwatch in Prague and Fakers for director Richard Janes. He will next be seen opposite Brittany Murphy in the independent feature Love and Other Disasters, and in Angels and Virgins, opposite Hayden Christensen, Tim Roth and Mischa Barton.

Though widely acknowledged as one of the UK's most exciting young actors, Rhys is quite adamant that he could happily give it all up to play international rugby for his country.