Owain Sebastian Yeoman is a Welsh actor, best known for playing CBI Agent Wayne Rigsby in the CBS series The Mentalist. His additional credits include The Nine, Kitchen Confidential, Turn (as Benedict Arnold), Generation Kill, and Emergence.

Owain Yeoman
Born
Owain Sebastian Yeoman

(1978-07-02) 2 July 1978 (age 46)
Chepstow, Wales
Alma materBrasenose College, Oxford
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
OccupationActor
Years active2004 – present
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Spouses
(m. 2006; div. 2011)
Gigi Yallouz
(m. 2013)
Children2

Early life

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Yeoman was born and raised in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales, where his parents, Michael and Hilary, still live.[1] He attended Wantage CofE Primary School before attending school at Wyedean School in Sedbury, Gloucestershire, where he showed a keen interest in English language, English literature and was involved in the school's amateur dramatics productions.

He studied English literature at Oxford University as a member of Brasenose College, and graduated BA, which matured into an MA. In those years he was a member of the OUDS and Oxford Revue. He had planned to continue doctoral studies but was not able to secure a grant.[2] Instead he worked for a time at a bank in Canary Wharf, London before enrolling at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art to study acting.[3][4]

Career

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Yeoman made his film debut as Lysander in the Oscar nominated film Troy. He also had a small part in Broken Lizard's film, Beerfest, and made a guest appearance on an episode of Midsomer Murders entitled "Dead in the Water". He played Sgt. Eric Kocher in the HBO miniseries, Generation Kill (2008). He played the major villain, a T-888 model cyborg Terminator named "Cromartie", in the pilot episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The role was taken over by Garret Dillahunt in the rest of the series.

Yeoman played Wayne Rigsby in The Mentalist.[5] He starred in every episode to the sixth season, alongside Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Amanda Righetti and Tim Kang. He also starred in ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 2.[6] In 2013, it was confirmed that Yeoman and Righetti were leaving The Mentalist after the sixth season.[7] He guest-starred in episodes 10 and 11 of Extant in 2014.

Yeoman also had a small role in the American drama American Sniper, his first major breakthrough on the big screen. From 2015 to 2017, he portrayed General Benedict Arnold in seasons 2-4 of the TV series Turn: Washington's Spies. Yeoman portrayed Vartox on the pilot of DC Comics TV series Supergirl.[8]

Personal life

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Yeoman was married to actress Lucy Davis from December 2006 to October 2011. His first wedding took place at St Paul's Cathedral, London. Davis and Yeoman were permitted to marry there as her father, Robert (better known by his stage name Jasper Carrott), had been awarded an OBE in the New Year's Honours in 2002.[9][10] On 7 September 2013, Yeoman married jewellery designer Gigi Yallouz at a private estate in Malibu, California.[11][12] They have two daughters named Ever Belle and Phoenix.

Yeoman is a vegetarian and was photographed for PETA's vegetarianism campaign.[13]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2004 Troy Lysander
2006 Beerfest Aussie Sailor #1
2007 A Recipe for Comedy Himself Video Documentary Short
2009 The Mentalist: Evidence of a Hit Series Video Short
2011 Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2 King
2012 AbsolutSin Man Short
2014 American Sniper Ranger One
2016 The Belko Experiment Terry Winter
2020 Brahms: The Boy II Sean
2021 SAS: Red Notice Olly
2022 Save the Cinema David Evans

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2004 Midsomer Murders Henry Charlton 1 episode
Commando Nanny Miles Ross N/A
2005–2006 Kitchen Confidential Steven Daedalus Main role, 13 episodes
2006–2007 The Nine Lucas Dalton
2007 Traveling in Packs Ken Television movie
2008 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Cromartie (T-888) Episode: "Pilot"
Generation Kill Sgt. Eric Kocher 7 episodes
2008–2015 The Mentalist Wayne Rigsby Main role, 132 episodes
2008–2009; 2013 Entertainment Tonight Himself 4 episodes
2009 Britannia Awards Television special
Loose Women 1 episode
2010 Live from Studio Five 1 episode
24th Annual Genesis Awards Television special
2011 25th Annual Genesis Awards
The Cleveland Show Narrator (Voice) 1 episode
2012 26th Annual Genesis Awards Himself Television special
2013 Hell's Kitchen 1 episode
2014 Extant Dr. Mason 3 episodes
2015 Supergirl Vartox Episode: "Pilot"
2015–2017 Turn: Washington Spies Benedict Arnold Main role, 29 episodes
2016 Elementary Julius Kent 1 episode
2017 The Blacklist Greyson Blaise 1 episode
2019–2020 Emergence Benny Gallagher Main role, 13 episodes
2023 True Lies Pieter Voss Episode: "Separate Pairs"
2024 CSI: Vegas Truman Thomas Episode: "It Was Automation"

References

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  1. ^ "Owain Yeoman's American tale". Western Mail. 16 May 2009.
  2. ^ "The Mentalist star Owain Yeoman: I once got locked in a fridge naked". Metro. 20 June 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  3. ^ RADA Profile Archived 11 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Fame is all in the name for Owain". BBC. 18 June 2009.
  5. ^ "Owain Yeoman". BBC Radio Wales. 17 June 2009.
  6. ^ "Owain Yeoman Signs Up for ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 2 - Dread Central". dreadcentral.com. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  7. ^ "'The Mentalist' Season 6: Amanda Righetti and Owain Yeoman set to leave - Zap2it | News & Features". blog.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  8. ^ Supergirl's new trailer shows Owain Yeoman's nasty side as he becomes villain Vartox at WalesOnline, 21 July 2015
  9. ^ "BBC NEWS - Entertainment - Office star marries at St Paul's". bbc.co.uk. 9 December 2006.
  10. ^ "WalesOnline: News, sport, weather and events from across Wales". walesonline.
  11. ^ "Owain Yeoman Gets Married". 5 October 2013.
  12. ^ Rizzo, Monica. "Owain yeoman Marries Gigi Yallouz". People Magazine. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  13. ^ walesonline Administrator (31 May 2009). "Actor Owain Yeoman in vegetarian campaign". walesonline.
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