basics

full name: raleigh neal ashbourne beckett

nicknames: lee ( used by friends) ; beck (used by close friends)

age: fifty-six

date of birth: 1st july 1970

gender: cis man

pronouns: he/him

sexual orientation: heterosexual

occupation: actor ; director ; screenwriter

birthplace: london, england

current residence: bear creek, co, usa

religion: atheist

languages spoken: english (fluent) ; german (fluent) ; italian (fluent) ; spanish (fluent)

highest education: royal academy of dramatic art (ba)

appearance

faceclaim: rufus sewell

hair colour: black, but mostly grey now

eye colour: hazel

height: 5’ 10”

build: average

piercings: none

tattoos: none

clothing style:

aesthetic:

personality

positive traits: charming, intelligent, dependable, resilient, resourceful, creative

negative traits: stubborn, grumpy, assertive, flirtatious

fears: losing rosanna again

hobbies: reading ; watching films ; going to the theatre ; playing the piano ; writing ; going for walks

habits: drinks a little too much whisky at extravagant parties ; sometimes stays up too late obsessing over his writing

element: water

astrology: cancer sun / gemini moon / sagittarius rising

mbti: isfj - the defender

enneagram: type three - the achiever

temperament: sanguine

moral alignment: neutral good

primary vice: wrath

primary virtue: diligence

health

physical ailments: none

psychological ailments: none

allergies: none

sleeping habits: wakes up between 5-6am and goes to sleep between 10-11pm

eating habits: eats breakfast almost every day, usually within half an hour of waking up; eats lunch between 12:30-1pm ; eats dinner between 6-7pm ; will also snack between meals if he’s hungry

sociability: is fairly social ; loves to attend and host parties, but also loves his alone time ; enjoys spending time with his wife most of all

relationships

father: gerard alexander beckett

mother: adriana celia ashbourne-beckett ( née ashbourne )

sibling(s): drake elias ashbourne beckett ( older brother ) ; elizabeth ava ashbourne beckett ( younger sister ) ; margaret rose asbourne beckett ( youngest sister )

wife: rosanna maldonado

ex-wife: penelope ‘nell’ dana macrae

adopted daughter: hazel alessandra beckett-maldonado

biography

raleigh was born on a warm summer’s evening in london to gerard beckett, a neurosurgeon, and his wife adriana, a history professor at the university college london. his brother, drake, is three years older than him; his sister elizabeth is four years younger and his sister margaret is seven years younger. growing up, raleigh and drake had a rivalry and not a very healthy one. however, he got along with his sisters and much preferred their company over anyone else’s, even if he did have to play pretend tea parties with them and wear a tiara.

school was a good time for raleigh. he grew to be very social and had a large group of friends. he enjoyed all of his classes, even if english, history, and drama were his favourites, and took part in several extracurricular activities such as hockey and music club. he excelled in all of his exams, but still had time to be something of a class clown.

when he decided to take drama classes in secondary school, raleigh’s life changed. he had found his calling: acting. he’d always enjoyed watching films and going to the theatre with his parents, but had never envisioned himself in front of a camera or an audience. he never had stage fright, so being the centre of attention under the spotlight was something he easily got used to. his first role was in his school’s production of macbeth, where he played the eponymous character, and really fell in love with acting. the applause from the audience was addictive and it was during curtain call of opening night that he decided he wanted to go to acting school.

so upon graduating secondary school, raleigh attended the royal academy of dramatic art in his hometown of london. he was beyond thrilled to be with like-minded people and to have the opportunity to hone his skills. it was easily the happiest time in his life up to that point, despite the tough challenges he faced. it was during his second year that raleigh had his first girlfriend- cara byrne- who went on to be an incredibly successful actress and model.

after graduating, raleigh managed to land his first job on a british-american thriller film called ‘nothing but the truth’. whilst it wasn’t a huge hit, it allowed beckett to network with other actors and learn from them. his breakout role as a temperamental prisoner aiding a prosecution case got him recognised by producer david hale, who wanted him for an upcoming film- crosswire- which turned out to be the biggest box office hit of 1993. raleigh was daunted by the role, the biggest he’d ever had so far, and almost dropped out, but it was his younger sister elizabeth who encouraged him to do it.

raleigh met rosanna maldonado on the set of a legal drama film named ‘burden of justice’ in 1997 and the two immediately hit it off. she was there covering for a colleague as a legal consultant and her change in circumstance inadvertently led to changing the trajectory of both of their lives. ‘burden of justice’ was an insanely successful box office hit and skyrocketed raleigh’s career. he was receiving job offers left, right, and centre and initially found it difficult to cope with overnight fame.

at the age of thirty-four, raleigh met architect penelope ‘nell’ macrae through mutual friends at a new year’s party. she was beautiful, intelligent, and had a wonderful sense of humour. his friends and family had always been pressurising him to marry, saying he wasn’t getting any younger, and so he did. the two were married in the following august in a lavish ceremony in the california countryside, more specifically a vineyard. raleigh had never been a wine drinker, so agreed to it for nell. he thought he loved her, but as time went on he realised it was to cover up his true love for rosanna, who he had been regularly in contact with ever since they met. soon enough, it became evident to nell that raleigh was in love with another woman- someone who she couldn’t compete with, and told him as much. he hated seeing her so upset, but finally had to admit the truth. nell’s frustration at raleigh’s emotional absence and his feelings for someone else led to their inevitable divorce and despite it coming across as amicable to everyone else, it was filled with bitterness. she had wanted children, too, and there was nothing she could have said to raleigh to persuade him to have, which had been the first nail in the coffin for her, but he didn’t want children with a woman he wasn’t wholly committed to.

when the ink was still wet on the papers, raleigh had flown out to denver to film a new tv series and he was glad of the distraction. his marriage had failed miserably and the whole world knew, but he had no solace from his newfound freedom as he couldn’t even be with the woman he loved because rosanna had gotten engaged. by pure chance, raleigh had crossed paths with her in the city and she broke the news. his heart sank. a false smile appeared on his face and the words ‘congratulations, i’m so happy for you’ came out apathetically. he wanted to be happy for her, but his world had shattered once more.

the engagement was on his mind the whole time he was in colarado, yet had to temporarily push it from his mind when he was on camera. he couldn’t let his personal life interfere with with his work no matter how much it hurt. the tv series later became a success, but raleigh didn’t feel the same pride as he felt before. he felt hollow and worthless. it was then that he decided to take a break from acting and try his hand at screenwriting, channelling his emotions into stories. it was the thing he never knew he needed and he spent three years dedicated to it before even contemplating a return to acting. one script was sold without hesitation and was made into a successful romantic short film named ‘the persistence of memory’.

for the next few years, work was steady and people were happy to see raleigh’s comeback. he felt more confident onscreen, having gone through a significant change that altered his acting style and his approach to his performances.

raleigh made his directorial debut in 2013 with an victorian era thriller named ‘down to the bone’, which he was expecting to flop, but it became a hit almost overnight. reviews raved about it and all the positivity overwhelmed him. raleigh finally felt like he had accomplished something and was so grateful for the opportunity, especially after the darkest period in his life.

at the age of forty-five, raleigh won an oscar for his role in the 2015 film ‘vow of the dead’: an historical supernatural story that was a smash-hit across the world. raleigh was surprised both at the success of the film and that the academy thought his performance worthy enough for a most prestigious award. he didn’t think he deserved it, but it has always sat proudly on a shelf in his living room for guests to admire and as a reminder that he’s better than his demons tell him he is.

when raleigh turned fifty, he felt like he had an epiphany. he had been spending so much time working, pleasing other people, sacrificing what he wanted in life, and thinking he didn’t deserve happiness. but now he realised that he wasn’t getting any younger and things wouldn’t change unless he made the change himself. he flew out to colarado, visiting rosanna in her hometown of bear creek, and finally mustered up the courage to confess that he had been in love with her for years. what he wasn’t expecting was for her to say the same thing in return.

five months later they were married and raleigh had moved in with rosanna in the affluent aspen glen neighbourhood. they have been inseparable ever since and the last six years have been the happiest the two have ever been. they even adopted a teenage girl, hoping to give a neglected child a good home and complete the family they had always wanted.

wanted connections

— tba!

headcanons

— he’s lived in los angeles for most of the time he’s been in the united states and loves it there. he spent a few years in new york too, and although he misses london, bear creek is home.

— raleigh owns a 1970 ford mustang in black with a white stripe on the hood and loves to take it on long drives, especially with his wife in by his side.

— he went by raleigh ashbourne beckett in his earlier films, but when his career took off he dropped ashbourne so it wasn’t as much of a mouthful. his mother wasn’t pleased, but she laughs about it now.

— he’s typecast pretty often as a villain- something which happened after he turned forty- but raleigh enjoys nothing more than playing the bad guy. he also loves to do voiceover work, having had roles in numerous animated films, documentaries, and animes.

— raleigh wears reading glasses, which he hates, and always ‘forgets’ them when going outside of his home. rosanna makes sure he ‘remembers’ them.

— he hosts a 1920s themed party every year just for fun. he loves dressing up in costume and seeing other people in theirs; he also loves to dance and serve the best custom cocktails to his guests.

— he’s a huge fan of western films, his favourite being high noon (1952), and also loves murder mysteries and action adventures. his favourite film of all time is heat (1995).

— raleigh buys his wife a big bouquet of roses every saturday because he knows she loves them and because he wants to show his appreciation. he has a lot to make up for.

— he taught himself spanish after falling in love with rosanna, wanting to impress her most of all, but also to get a better idea of her culture and background. he thinks it’s a beautiful language and often tells rosanna how much he loves her in her native tongue.