Rhys Ifans was first seen in the children's comedy series ‘Spatz’ in 1991. In 1995, he appeared in the Episode: "Streetlife" of the British television anthology drama series ‘Screen Two.’ He went on to make his silver screen debut in the 1996 British drama film ‘August’ directed by Anthony Hopkins. The following year, he starred as ‘Anthony Hopkins’ in the Welsh dark comedy crime drama film ‘Twin Town.’ The film received a mixed response from critics and was given an approval rating of 46% on Rotten Tomatoes. He next appeared in films like ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’ (1998), ‘Heart’ (1999), ‘You're Dead’ (1999), ‘Rancid Aluminium’ (2000), ‘The Replacements’ (2000), ‘Little Nicky’ (2000), ‘Christmas Carol: The Movie’ (2001), ‘Human Nature’ (2001), ‘Once Upon a Time in the Midlands’ (2002), ‘Danny Deckchair’ (2003), ‘Vanity Fair’ (2004), ‘Chromophobia’ (2005), and ‘Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties’ (2006). In 2007, he starred as ‘Grutas’ in the psychological horror film ‘Hannibal Rising’ directed by Peter Webber. The film was panned by critics and grossed over $82.2 million on a budget of $50 million. In 2009, he was seen playing the role of ‘Roger’ in the American drama film ‘The Informers’ directed by Gregor Jordan. The film was marred by negative reviews from critics and was given a 12% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That same year, he also appeared in the British comedy film ‘The Boat That Rocked’ which received a mixed response from critics.
He portrayed ‘Xenophilius Lovegood’ in the 2010 fantasy film and the seventh installment in the Harry Potter film series, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.’ The film garnered positive reviews upon release and was a massive commercial success. The same year, he also starred in the British-American period fantasy comedy film ‘Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang’ which also received a positive response from critics. In 2011, he portrayed ‘Edward de Vere’ in the period drama film ‘Anonymous’ directed by Roland Emmerich. The film opened to a mixed reception and was a box office bomb. The year 2012 saw the release of the American superhero film ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ where Ifans was seen playing the role of ‘Dr. Curt Connors / Lizard.’ The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and did decent business at the box office, grossing over $758 million against a budget of $200–230 million.
He continued to star in films like ‘Another Me’ (2013), ‘Serena’ (2014), ‘Madame Bovary’ (2014), ‘She's Funny That Way’ (2015), ‘Len and Company’ (2015), ‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’ (2016), ‘Snowden’ (2016), ‘The Parting Glass’ (2018), ‘Official Secrets’ (2019), and ‘Misbehaviour’ (2020). Ifans was last seen in the 2021 spy action film ‘The King's Man’ directed by Matthew Vaughn. The film saw mixed reviews upon release and earned over $125.9 million on a nearly $100 million budget.