Lee Pace

Biography:

Lee Grinner Pace, born March 25, 1979, in Chickasha, Oklahoma, is an American actor known for his work in film, television, and theater. He is the son of Charlotte, a schoolteacher, and James, an engineer, and has a brother and a sister. As a child, Pace spent several years in Saudi Arabia due to his father’s work in the oil industry before the family settled in Houston, Texas. He was raised Catholic.

Pace attended Klein High School in Spring, Texas, alongside actor Matt Bomer. During high school, he briefly paused his studies to perform at Houston’s Alley Theatre, appearing in productions such as The Spider’s Web and The Greeks, before returning to graduate. In 1997, he was admitted to the Juilliard School’s Drama Division (Group 30, 1997–2001), where he trained alongside actors Anthony Mackie and Tracie Thoms. At Juilliard, he performed in plays including Romeo and Juliet (as Romeo), Richard II, and Julius Caesar (as Cassius), and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Pace began his career in off-Broadway productions, appearing in plays such as The Credeaux Canvas and The Fourth Sister. His performance in Craig Lucas’s Small Tragedy earned him a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Actor, and he received a second nomination for his work in Peter Morris’s two-character play Guardians (2006). He made his Broadway debut in Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart (2011) as Bruce Niles and later starred as composer Vincenzo Bellini in Terrence McNally’s Golden Age (2012). In 2018, he played Joe Pitt in the Broadway revival of Angels in America.

In film, Pace earned recognition with a Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor, along with a Golden Globe nomination. He starred in The Fall (2006), followed by roles in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Possession, The White Countess, Infamous, When in Rome, The Good Shepherd, and Marmaduke (2010). In 2012, he appeared as the vampire Garrett in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.

Pace portrayed Thranduil, the Elvenking, in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014), making multiple trips to New Zealand for filming. In 2011, he was cast by Steven Spielberg as former New York mayor Fernando Wood in Lincoln, a role for which he received critical praise. He also played the villain Ronan the Accuser in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and reprised the role in Captain Marvel.

On television, Pace played Aaron Tyler in Wonderfalls (2004) and Ned in Pushing Daisies (2007–2008), earning an Emmy nomination. From 2014 to 2017, he starred as Joe MacMillan in AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire, and in 2018 he appeared in Hong Kong’s Flying Tiger 2. Since 2021, he has portrayed Brother Day, the Galactic Emperor, in Apple TV+’s adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation. He also narrated the horror podcast Darkest Night and, in 2025, provided the voice of Grand Regent Thragg in Season 4 of Amazon Prime Video’s Invincible.

Pace’s sexual orientation became public in 2012 when Ian McKellen accidentally outed him. In later interviews, Pace described himself as having dated both men and women and identified as a queer actor. He is married to Matthew Foley, an executive at Thom Browne.