Introduction
The Welsh filmmaker started with a love of performance while growing up in Anglesey, then trained professionally and began taking stage and screen roles. Years later, his work expanded into screenwriting, film production and directing.
Many viewers know him as Dylan Thomas in Set Fire to the Stars. Others may remember his chilling performance as Levi Bellfield in ITV’s Manhunt.
That role brought him a BAFTA Cymru Actor award in 2019.
Now his work stretches well beyond acting.
Quick Facts About Celyn Jones
| Quick Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Celyn Jones |
| Profession | Actor, writer and director |
| Nationality | Welsh |
| Birthplace | Anglesey, North Wales |
| Education | Manchester Youth Theatre and Oxford School of Drama |
| Known For | Manhunt, Set Fire to the Stars, The Almond and the Seahorse |
| Major Award | BAFTA Cymru Actor Award, 2019 |
| Award-Winning Role | Levi Bellfield in Manhunt |
| Production Company | Mad as Birds Films |
| Recent Directing Work | Madfabulous |
| Current Film Project | Mountain |
Who Is Celyn Jones?
Celyn Jones is a Welsh actor, writer and film director.
His career covers television, movies, theatre and independent filmmaking. His professional representation, United Agents, lists him across all three main creative roles: actor, writer and director.
That range did not appear overnight.
Jones spent years acting before his writing and filmmaking work became a larger part of his career.
He has since worked with actors including Rebel Wilson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent, Eddie Izzard, Diane Keaton, Gerard Butler and Peter Mullan through different film projects.
Early Life in Anglesey
Jones grew up in Anglesey, North Wales.
Film mattered early.
In an interview published by Creative Wales, Jones said there were not many theatres or live arts opportunities around him. Movies gave him his first real idea that acting could become something more than entertainment.
His family came from a working background.
Jones said his father worked as a seaman, while his mother was a baker.
Acting was not an obvious career route.
Actually, drama was not even part of his school’s regular syllabus.
An English teacher, Helen Whibley, helped open that door. Jones wanted to perform the voice of the plant in a school production of Little Shop of Horrors.
It clicked.
The audience reaction gave him confidence. He later described that experience as a moment when acting started giving him an identity and a sense of something he could do well.
Acting Training
Jones later trained with Manchester Youth Theatre.
That experience pushed him further toward professional acting.
He then studied at the Oxford School of Drama, one of the specialist drama schools in England.
Oxford School of Drama lists Jones among its notable alumni and confirms that he graduated from its One Year Course.
It gave him formal acting training.
Then the real work started.
Early Acting Career
Jones worked across stage and screen as his career developed.
His theatre credits include productions such as:
- She Stoops to Conquer
- Ghost City
- The Almond and the Seahorse
- David Copperfield
- Toad of Toad Hall
- Twelfth Night
His television work grew too.
United Agents lists appearances in productions including Shackleton, Torchwood, Shameless, Endeavour, Marple, Da Vinci’s Demons, Catastrophe and Above Suspicion.
Those parts gave Jones years of experience before some of his best-known film and television work arrived.
Playing Dylan Thomas
A major screen role came with Set Fire to the Stars.
Jones played celebrated Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.
The film also starred Elijah Wood.
But Jones did more than appear on camera. He was involved in writing the film as well, showing how his career was already moving past acting alone.
Mad as Birds identifies Set Fire to the Stars as the company’s debut feature. The film was directed by Andy Goddard.
Playing Thomas also carried a clear Welsh connection for Jones.
It became one of the roles most closely linked with his name.
Celyn Jones in Manhunt
Then came Manhunt.
This role was very different.
Jones played convicted serial killer Levi Bellfield in the ITV crime drama.
The performance earned major recognition.
At the 2019 British Academy Cymru Awards, Jones won the Actor award for Manhunt. BAFTA’s official results list him ahead of fellow nominees Matthew Rhys, Michael Sheen and Anthony Hopkins in that year’s category.
BAFTA also confirmed that the award was specifically for his portrayal of Bellfield.
It remains one of the clearest milestones in his acting career.
Mad as Birds Films
Jones also moved into independent film production.
He co-founded Mad as Birds, a UK film and television production company.
The company has developed and produced several films involving well-known international actors.
Its first feature was Set Fire to the Stars.
That was followed by projects including:
- The Vanishing
- Poms
- Six Minutes to Midnight
- The Almond and the Seahorse
- Rabbit Trap
- Madfabulous
This side of Jones’s career matters.
He was no longer waiting only for acting jobs. He was helping make films happen from the development stage onward.
The Vanishing
The Vanishing became another Mad as Birds project.
The psychological thriller starred Gerard Butler, Peter Mullan and Connor Swindells.
Kristoffer Nyholm directed it.
Mad as Birds describes the movie as a BAFTA/BIFA-nominated psychological thriller and notes that it was released through companies including Saban and Lionsgate.
Jones worked as a writer and producer on the film.
It added another major screenwriting credit to his career.
Poms
Jones then worked as a producer on Poms.
The comedy starred Diane Keaton and Jacki Weaver, with Zara Hayes directing.
The story follows women living in a retirement community who form a cheerleading squad.
Mad as Birds says the movie received theatrical releases in both the United States and United Kingdom.
Again, Jones was working behind the camera.
Six Minutes to Midnight
His writing work continued with Six Minutes to Midnight.
The period thriller featured Judi Dench, Eddie Izzard and Jim Broadbent.
Jones worked as a writer and executive producer. He also appeared in the film as Corporal Willis, according to his professional credits.
The project gave him another chance to combine acting with filmmaking.
That pattern became common.
The Almond and the Seahorse
The Almond and the Seahorse marked a big change.
Jones moved into feature directing.
He directed the film alongside cinematographer Tom Stern and appeared as Joe.
The cast included Rebel Wilson, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Trine Dyrholm.
The film deals with people whose lives and relationships have been affected by traumatic brain injury.
It premiered at the Zurich Film Festival.
Mad as Birds reports that the movie later won the Special Jury Prize at Dinard Film Festival.
Oxford School of Drama also records festival jury recognition for the film.
For Jones, it firmly added feature-film director to an already broad CV.
Other Acting Roles
Jones has kept acting while working behind the camera.
His later film credits include Gary in Chuck Chuck Baby and Willy in Swede Caroline.
He also played Matthew in Mr Jones and Dyfan in On the Sea.
Television remained part of his career too.
His United Agents profile lists him as Cupid in The Librarians: The Next Chapter.
So acting never disappeared.
It simply became one part of a wider career.
Madfabulous
Jones returned to directing with Madfabulous.
The film is inspired by the life of Henry Cyril Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey.
Its cast includes Callum Scott Howells, Ruby Stokes, Rupert Everett and Paul Rhys.
The project has another strong connection with Anglesey.
Jones grew up there. Paget’s story is tied to the island too.
United Agents states that Madfabulous was selected as one of the BFI Great 8 films for Cannes and had its world premiere at BFI Flare 2026. The agency also records a Best Director win for Jones at the Focus Film Festival.
The film received its UK cinema release on 5 June 2026.
Mountain
Jones’s next directing project is Mountain.
It keeps him close to Wales.
The coming-of-age story is set in 1980s Wales and centres on an unlikely friendship between a young boy and a man living alone on a mountain.
The announced cast includes Peter Mullan, Iwan Rheon, Rebecca Lucy Taylor and Seth Isaac Thomas.
United Agents lists Jones as the project’s writer and director, while his acting profile also lists him as playing Gruff.
As of the latest professional listing checked in September 2026, Mountain is in post-production.
Celyn Jones Awards
Jones’s strongest individually verified acting honour is his 2019 BAFTA Cymru Actor award for Manhunt.
His directing work has gained recognition too.
The Almond and the Seahorse received the Special Jury Prize at Dinard, while his professional profile reports a Best Director award at the Focus Film Festival for Madfabulous.
Oxford School of Drama also lists Cannes Great 8 Selection 2025 in connection with On the Sea as an actor and Madfabulous as a director.
Why His Career Stands Out
Jones did not stay in one lane.
That is the clear point.
He started as an actor, spent years building screen and stage credits, then began writing, producing and directing his own film projects.
His Welsh roots also keep appearing in the work.
Anglesey shaped his early interest in film. He later played Dylan Thomas, built films through a Welsh-connected production company, returned to Anglesey-linked subject matter with Madfabulous, and set Mountain in 1980s Wales.
It feels personal.
And it keeps going.
Is Celyn Jones Married?
Reliable professional sources say very little about Jones’s private family life.
For that reason, details about his spouse, children and private relationships have not been included here as confirmed facts.
His official professional profiles focus mainly on his acting, writing, production and directing work.
Celyn Jones Net Worth
There is no reliable public financial record confirming Celyn Jones’s personal net worth.
Some profile websites may publish estimates.
Those figures should not be treated as fact.
Without credible financial documentation, giving an exact number would simply be guessing.
Where Is Celyn Jones Now?
As of September 2026, Jones remains active as an actor, writer and director.
His agency lists Mountain in post-production, while Madfabulous received its UK cinema release in June 2026. His newer acting credits also include projects such as Black Church Bay, A Visit to Grandpa’s and Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol.
He is still moving between acting and filmmaking.
That has become his normal way of working.
Final Thought
Celyn Jones started far from the centre of the British film business.
Growing up in Anglesey, movies gave him the first idea.
Acting came next.
Then writing.
Then producing and directing.
His portrayal of Levi Bellfield brought a BAFTA Cymru win, while films such as Set Fire to the Stars, The Almond and the Seahorse and Madfabulous show the other side of his career.
He keeps acting.
But he also makes the stories.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Celyn Jones?
Celyn Jones is a Welsh actor, writer and director known for Manhunt, Set Fire to the Stars and The Almond and the Seahorse.
Where is Celyn Jones from?
He grew up on the island of Anglesey in North Wales.
What award did Celyn Jones win?
He won the 2019 BAFTA Cymru Actor award for his performance as Levi Bellfield in ITV’s Manhunt.
Did Celyn Jones play Dylan Thomas?
Yes. He played Dylan Thomas in the 2014 film Set Fire to the Stars.
Where did Celyn Jones study acting?
He trained with Manchester Youth Theatre and later attended the Oxford School of Drama. The school confirms that he graduated from its One Year Course.
Does Celyn Jones direct movies?
Yes. His directing credits include The Almond and the Seahorse and Madfabulous. He is also directing Mountain.
What is Mad as Birds?
Mad as Birds is an independent UK film and television production company co-founded by Jones. Its film slate includes Set Fire to the Stars, The Vanishing, Poms, Six Minutes to Midnight, The Almond and the Seahorse and Madfabulous.
What is Celyn Jones working on now?
His professional profile lists Mountain as a current project. As of September 2026, United Agents describes the film as being in post-production.