Born in Wales Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Narrowing the list down to manageable proportions took a while as Wales has produced so many famous names, but I've kept them down to fifteen.

We'll start with the actors. Michael Sheen was born in Newport in South Wales and has appeared in numerous films, mostly as a supporting actor. They include 'The Queen' (2006) as Tony Blair and the 2015 version of 'Far From the Madding Crowd'. Michael also has numerous television credits to his name.

Desmond Llewelyn was also born in Newport, although rather earlier in 1914. He is best known for portraying the quartermaster Q in many of the earlier James Bond films, although he has many other film and television credits.

Richard Burton was born in Pontrhydyfen, a small village near Neath. He was a prolific actor but hit the headlines regularly due to his on/off/on again marriage to Elizabeth Taylor. Among his many films are 'Where Eagles Dare' (1968) and 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' (1984), which was released posthumously. His real surname was the far more Welsh name of Jenkins.

Celebrated for their own endeavours are two sportsmen - Geraint Thomas and Colin Jackson, both of whom were born in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Geraint made his name as a cyclist, winning the prestigious Tour de France in 2018. He also won gold medals at two separate Olympics, in 2008 and 2012, in the men's team pursuit event. Colin Jackson performed on the athletics track, mainly as a 110m hurdler. He won a silver medal at the Olympics and two golds at World Championships. After retiring, he took up commentating primarily on athletics events.

Wales is called the 'land of song', so we have four singers included. From the world of opera is Bryn Terfel, born in Pont Glas in Caernarfonshire (north-west Wales). His rich bass-baritone voice has graced many stages with opera roles including Figaro and Falstaff. From one outstanding Welsh voice to another in Dame Shirley Bassey, who was born in Cardiff's Tiger Bay area. Her recordings date from the 1950s to the 2020s and she is well known for having recorded three Bond film theme songs. They are 'Goldfinger' (1964), 'Diamonds are Forever' (1971), and 'Moonraker' (1979).

Cerys Matthews is of a different era and genre, as she is the lead singer of Catatonia. The band had hits such as 1998's 'Mulder and Scully'. Cerys is another Cardiff born Welsh person in the quiz as is Charlotte Church, another singer in the quiz. Charlotte came to fame as a child, performing 'Pie Jesu' when she was only eleven. She has continued to perform both classical music and pop tunes throughout her career.

Dylan Thomas is, of course, a famous Welshman, born in Swansea, the second city of Wales. He was a poet, with 'Under Milk Wood', a drama first performed on radio, among his best known works. Thomas also regularly made headlines for his rather rackety lifestyle. His poem 'Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night' is often recited, including by Michael Sheen, the first Welshman mentioned in this information section.

Also from Swansea is Russell T Davies, a screenwriter and producer of television dramas. He is well known for his work on the long-running series 'Doctor Who' as well as the spin-offs 'Torchwood' and 'The Sarah Jane Adventures'. Davies has many other credits to his name, but it's 'The Doctor' who is most associated with him.

The final four can loosely be grouped as comedians. Rob Brydon, born in a village called Baglan in Glamorgan, is often described as an actor and comedian. Since many of his roles are in comedies, I decided he fits better here. He began hosting the comic panel game 'Would I Lie to You?' in 2009, and is also well known for playing 'Uncle Bryn' in 'Gavin & Stacey', more of which later. Max Boyce could also be called a singer as well as a comedian, but most of his songs involve comedy so he's in this group. He was born in Glynneath, near Port Talbot, and came to fame for his self-penned songs, often with a sporting theme. Boyce was particularly known for poking fun at English rugby when the Welsh team was at its peak in the 1970s.

Ruth Jones, along with James Corden, is the creator of the comedy series 'Gavin & Stacey' in which she appeared as 'Nessa' with Corden playing 'Smithy'. The series was set primarily in Barry, in South Wales, although Ruth was born further west, in Bridgend. Our final Welshman is Harry Secombe, born in Swansea, one of the Goons alongside Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers. Secombe also had a fine tenor voice and even had hit records, reaching number two with 'This is My Song' in 1967 and number eighteen with 'If I Ruled the World' in 1963, both on the UK Singles Charts. He moved into musicals, playing Mr. Bumble in the 1968 film 'Oliver!'.

The wrong answers were chosen as they have Welsh sounding names. Robbie Williams is a singer, as is Ray Davies of The Kinks. Grace Jones is an actress, model, and singer, Rob Thomas is the singer from Matchbox Twenty while Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, both of whose surnames are of Welsh origin, is an interior designer, often appearing on television. He, Williams and Davies are all English, Jones is Jamaican, and Thomas is American.