Pace was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma,[1] to Charlotte, a schoolteacher, and James, an engineer. He has a brother and a sister.[4] As a child, Pace spent several years in Saudi Arabia, where his father worked in the oil business; the family later moved to Houston, Texas. He was raised Catholic.[5]
Pace attended Klein High School in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston, with actor Matt Bomer. Pace briefly stopped attending high school to act at Houston's Alley Theatre before returning to graduate. At the Alley, he appeared in productions of The Spider's Web and The Greeks.
After graduation, Pace starred in several off-Broadway plays, including The Credeaux Canvas and The Fourth Sister. He also starred in a production of Craig Lucas's Small Tragedy, for which he was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award as Outstanding Actor. In 2006, Pace starred in the two-character play Guardians by Peter Morris, which earned Pace his second nomination for a Lortel Award as Outstanding Actor.
Pace made his Broadway debut in Larry Kramer's play The Normal Heart, portraying Bruce Niles.[7] It opened at the Golden Theatre on April 27, 2011. The show ran for a total of 96 performances, with July 10 marking its final performance.[8]
Pace was cast as composer Vincenzo Bellini in Golden Age, which began previews November 15, 2012.[9] The play, written by Terrence McNally, began its official run at the Manhattan Theatre Club December 4, 2012.[10] The previews were originally scheduled for November 13, 2012, but two shows were cancelled as a result of Hurricane Sandy.[11]
Pace first gained recognition for his role in the 2003 film Soldier's Girl, based on real events, in which he played the central role of Calpernia Addams.
Of the role, Pace has said:
Not even my excellent training at Juilliard prepared me for my first movie role, where I played a transsexual who falls in love with a military guy in Soldier's Girl. Here I was, this 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), 190 pounds (86 kg), lanky kid from Chickasha, Oklahoma, not knowing how to begin being a woman. So I saw documentaries about transsexuals, I lost twenty-five pounds, and I put on prosthetic boobs and hips to become that character. There were times I'd look in the mirror and wonder, 'What am I doing to my life here? My dad is going to kill me!' But the reason I went into acting was to be able to play parts as complicated and important as this one. In playing a transsexual, I got the chance to help change people's perspective about other people, and that is a powerful thing. I'm playing a swashbuckling bandit in my next film, but I'll always be proud of Soldier's Girl ".[13]
In 2012, Pace starred as Garrett, the nomadic vampire, in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. Pace was admittedly aware of the reputation linked to the Twilight franchise, and revealed that he "went in to this a little like 'You know what you're getting into, just do what you can.' "[14] However, he enjoyed the experience and only had praise for the director Bill Condon.[15]Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight saga, was very satisfied with Pace's performance as Garrett, since he "stood out as someone who really was just so much fun and really looked the part."[16] The movie was met with a mixed reception by critics.[17] However, some critics, such as Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times, whose only issue was that he was introduced too late in the series: "Why, oh, why didn't they introduce him sooner?"[18] Meanwhile, Sara Stewart of the New York Post simply described him as a "standout".[19]
On July 28, 2011, it was announced that Pace had been cast in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, as the one-time New York City mayor Fernando Wood, an early Confederate supporter.[23] The events in the film take place in 1865, when Fernando Wood served in the House of Representatives. However, at the time, Wood was 53 years old, which is 20 years senior to Pace's age when he portrayed him. In a Q&A, Spielberg revealed that he decided to offer Pace the part, after he saw his performance in Ceremony.[24] Of the experience of the film, Pace said that "it was a real pinnacle of what I've done as an actor."[15] The movie was nominated for 12 Academy Awards,[25] including Best Picture, and was nominated for Best Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Award. However, Pace was not included among the Lincoln ensemble's nomination, and several bloggers were annoyed by this, including Katey Rich of Cinemablend.com and Nathaniel Rogers of The Film Experience.[26]
In 2019, Apple announced that Pace had joined the cast of its adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Foundation, which premiered in September 2021, playing the role of Brother Day, the Galactic Empire's current Emperor.[35]
Pace's sexual orientation became a topic of public discussion after he was accidentally outed as gay by Ian McKellen, who worked with him in The Hobbit films, in 2012. McKellen's "outing" of Pace was described in the press as a blunder and an accident on his part, as Pace had never addressed the subject.[38][failed verification] In an interview with W in February 2018, Pace mentioned having dated both men and women,[39] and in June 2018, he spoke about being a queer actor in an interview with The New York Times.[1][39] He is married to Matthew Foley, an executive at Thom Browne.[5]
^ abKeck, William (April 2008). "Lee Almighty". Modern Luxury. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2013. At 29, he was just named one of Entertainment Weekly's best actors under 30
^Baber, P. Ryan (August 7, 2008). "Emmy Wrap: Actor". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
