Jaye Davidson

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title: "Jaye Davidson" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1968-births", "20th-century-american-lgbtq-people", "20th-century-english-lgbtq-people", "21st-century-american-lgbtq-people", "21st-century-english-lgbtq-people", "african-american-lgbtq-people", "african-american-male-actors", "african-american-male-models", "american-emigrants-to-england", "american-gay-actors", "american-male-film-actors", "american-people-of-english-descent", "american-people-of-ghanaian-descent", "black-british-lgbtq-people", "black-british-male-actors", "english-gay-actors", "english-lgbtq-models", "english-male-film-actors", "english-male-models", "english-people-of-ghanaian-descent", "gay-models", "lgbtq-people-from-california", "living-people", "male-actors-from-riverside,-california", "male-models-from-california", "models-from-hertfordshire", "people-from-borehamwood"] description: "English American model and actor (born 1968)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaye_Davidson" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary English American model and actor (born 1968) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Jaye Davidson
birth_name	Alfred Amey
years_active	1992–1995
spouse
birth_place	Riverside, California, U.S.
occupation	Actor, model
::

| name = Jaye Davidson | image = | birth_name = Alfred Amey | birth_date = | years_active = 1992–1995 | spouse = | birth_place = Riverside, California, U.S. | occupation = Actor, model Jaye Davidson (born Alfred Amey) is an English model, fashion stylist, and retired actor. He made his acting debut as Dil in the thriller film The Crying Game (1992), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Following his breakthrough, he portrayed the villainous Ra in the commercially successful science fiction film Stargate (1994). Davidson retired from acting afterwards, disliking the fame that it brought him.

Life

Davidson was born in Riverside, California, in the United States. He was raised in Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, England. His father is from Ghana and his mother is from England. Davidson is gay. During his acting career, he said that his androgynous look alienated him within the gay community. He stated that gay men "love very masculine men. And I'm not a very masculine person. I'm reasonably thin. I have long hair, which isn't very popular with gay men".

In 2017, Davidson married Thomas Clarke.

Career

Davidson made his acting debut in the thriller film The Crying Game (1992). The film's funders wanted director Neil Jordan to cast a woman to play the transvestite character Dil, believing that it would be impossible to find an androgynous male actor who could pass as female. Nevertheless, Davidson--who had no prior professional acting experience--was invited to audition for The Crying Game after being discovered at a wrap party for Derek Jarman's Edward II. He was cast in the role of Dil. The film was a critical and commercial success. It is known for a surprise plot twist: A love scene in which Dil undresses and main character Fergus (played by Stephen Rea) is surprised to find that Dil is male. The scene required full-frontal nudity on Davidson's part. Rea later said: "If Jaye hadn't been a completely convincing woman, my character would have looked stupid." When the film was released, Miramax requested that reviewers keep Davidson's gender a secret.

For his work in The Crying Game, Davidson was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1993. Davidson also received nominations for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor and the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress in 1993.

Davidson starred as Ra, an alien impersonating a god, in the 1994 science fiction adventure film Stargate. He was surprised when his request to be paid $1 million was accepted.

Davidson later retired from acting, stating that he "genuinely hated the fame" he was receiving. He became more involved in modelling and has since worked on several high-profile photo shoots, in addition to working as a fashion stylist in Paris.

Filmography

::data[format=table title="Film work by Jaye Davidson"]

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes	The Crying Game	Stargate	Jiggery Pokery	Catwalk	The Borghilde Project
1992	Dil	Neil Jordan	National Board of Review Award for Most Auspicious Debut
Nominated – National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated – Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor
Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress
1994	Ra	Roland Emmerich
1994	Jo	Sophie Muller	Television film
1995	Himself	Robert Leacock	Documentary
2009	Nazi photographer	Myles Grimsdale
::

References

References

1. "Jaye Davidson". TV Guide.
2. [http://www.topix.com/uk/elstree/2016/10/celebrities-with-a-connection-to-borehamwood-and-elstree Celebrities with a connection to Borehamwood and Elstree - Borehamwood and Elstree Times - Discussion on Topix] {{Webarchive. link. (30 October 2016 Retrieved 30 October 2016.)
3. Giles, Jeff. (22 March 1993). "The Open Secret -- In A Rare Interview, Jaye Davidson Leaves Nothing To The Imagination When Discussing The Oscar-Nominated Film, 'The Crying Game'". [[The Seattle Times]].
4. (29 November 2021). "A Closer Look at Jaye Davidson's Life — From His Bio and Career to His Marriage and Where He Is Now".
5. Maslin, Janet. (17 December 1992). "INTO THE LIMELIGHT WITH: Jaye Davidson; A Star to Match A Mystery Role". [[The New York Times]].
6. Jack Watkins. (21 February 2017). "How we made The Crying Game". The Guardian.
7. (1 April 1993). "Jaye Davidson: Oscar's Big Surprise".
8. Brady, Tara. (1 August 2017). "'The Crying Game': 'They wanted me to cast a woman that was pretending to be a man'". [[The Irish Times]].
9. Harris, Mark. (5 February 2014). "Neil Jordan's surprise hit".
10. Vineyard, Jennifer. (5 December 2014). "Stephen Rea on The Crying Game's Surprise Penis". [[Vulture.com.
11. . (7 March 1993). ["The 6th Academy Awards 1993"](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1993). *[[65th Academy Awards]]*.
12. . (7 March 2015). ["1992 Academy Awards® Winners and History"](http://www.filmsite.org/aa92.html). *AMC FilmSite*.
13. . (4 January 1993). ["Actor in a Supporting Role in 1993"](http://awards.bafta.org/award/1993/film/actor-in-a-supporting-role). *[[46th British Academy Film Awards*.
14. (7 March 1993). "Actor in a Supporting Role in 1993". [[The Chicago Tribune]].
15. Dolgoff, Stephanie. (28 October 1994). "EGYPTOLOGIST GUIDES 'STARGATE' CAST IN HIEROGLYPHICS-SPEAK".
16. Hinson, Hal. (28 October 1994). "'StarGate' (PG-13)". [[The Washington Post]].
17. LeVasseur, Andrea. (2012). "Jaye Davidson". [[The New York Times]].
18. Colby, Adam. (29 May 2020). "Whatever happened to... Jaye Davidson?".
19. Vincent, Alice. (15 February 2016). "Oscars flashback: whatever happened to Gilbert Grape's mama?". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
20. Polowy, Kevin. (5 March 2019). "Whatever happened to 'Crying Game' star Jaye Davidson?". [[Yahoo]].
21. Cohn, Lawrence. (24 February 1993). "No-shows beset Griffith Awards". [[Variety (magazine).
22. Fox, David J.. (4 January 1993). "'Unforgiven' Tops National Critics' List: Awards: Clint Eastwood film is picked as best movie of '92, Eastwood as best director, David Webb Peoples' tale as best screenplay". [[Los Angeles Times]].

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