‘You’ Season 4: Why Rhys Motrose Looks so Familiar
Season 4 of You takes place in a new country, meaning new faces. Rhys Motrose (Ed Speleers) is one of them and had a unique interaction with Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley). Here is why some fans might recognize his face.
Who is Rhys Motrose in ‘You’ Season 4?
Joe goes to a party with Malcolm (Stephen Hagan) in the first episode of season 4 at an exclusive club. Lady Phoebe Borehall-Blaxworth (Tilly Keeper) is the center of a friend group that includes Nigerian princess Blessing Bosede (Ozioma Whenu), artist Simon Soo (Aidan Cheng), and influencer Sophie Soo (Niccy Lin).
Of course, Joe hates all of them. But there was one person who he surprisingly had a good time with.
Rhys (Ed Speleers) was reading a book, and Joe recognized him. “The book is about how he was born into poverty, raised by an unstable single mom, uncomfortably relatable,” Joe narrated. “And he was a mess, then found out he’s the son of a duke. Cleaned up, went to Oxford, and became the author of honestly one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read.”
Rhys realized Joe also had a bad childhood since he didn’t find the memoir “sordid.” The author called him a “brother in arms.” They agreed that people who always had money were “another species.” He revealed he was running for mayor to Joe before leaving the party.
Who is Ed Speleers who plays Rhys Motrose?
The English actor is in multiple movies and shows taking place in the U.K. He played the flirty Jimmy Kent in two seasons of Downtown Abbey. He was a footman and got promoted to Robert Crawley’s (Hugh Bonneville) first footman.
He also played Stephen Bonnet in season 4 of The Outlander. The smuggler was a fugitive who asked Jamie (Sam Heughan) to get him out of town in 1767. He later ambushes Jamie and Claire’s (Caitríona Balfe) ship.
His other recent credits include Star Trek: Picard and Against the Ice. One of his biggest movie roles was James Harcourt in Alice Through the Looking Glass.
Speleers says Rhys and Joe are kindred spirits
The actor talked about his character with The Upcoming. He talked about what Rhys and Joe have in common.
“I think Rhys spots a kindred spirit in Joe,” he said. “I think he spots someone quite early on. I feel one of Rhys’s positive characteristics is that he is someone who watches and takes in other people, and I think he’s very much into the study of others.”
“And I think that comes down to his background,” Speleers continued. “He’s sort of had to tread the line between different or social classes, social past, and I think that’s made him quite open to others. As a result, he’s not quick to judge others.”
Where will Rhys and Joe’s relationship go? How would a mayoral run go for Rhys, as he’s befriending a serial killer? Fans will have to keep watching You to see how things play out.
