Rhys Ifans

As Spike, the slovenly housemate in Notting Hill (1999), Rhys Ifans gives the romance a scruffier sort of company. We laughed at Spike because Ifans times the broad comedy so well that the untidiness does not have to carry the joke. Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant make the unlikely romance easy to care about, while Roger Michell keeps the affection credible.

The breakthrough had come with Twin Town (1997), before Notting Hill brought international attention and further offers to play much the same unkempt character. The attraction is understandable: Ifans brings physicality, voice and comic timing to supporting parts that could otherwise amount to a description in a casting brief. His sly glances and side comments invite us to share his amusement. That is useful, but it should not excuse a writer from giving the character something to do.

Leading roles allowed more than that: Peter Cook in Not Only But Always (2004), followed by Howard Marks in Mr Nice (2010). His warmth helps make Marks convincing, though Mr Nice has uneven pacing and too little tension. The later television role of Otto Hightower in House of the Dragon (2022–) takes him further from the assumption that he should always be there to make us laugh.

Venom: The Last Dance (2024) shows how little even his warmth can achieve without useful material. He plays Martin, a cheerful believer in aliens travelling with his family, with Alanna Ubach as his wife Nova. Kelly Marcel's film means these scenes to provide its heart, but they go nowhere; Ifans is likeable, and the detours still stop the story. We would not recommend the film for him, though the failure is hardly his alone. Start with Notting Hill, where his comic timing serves a romance worth caring about, and allow for a second half that takes too long over its obstacles.