Hollywood star Matthew Rhys encourages fans to travel to a small Welsh pub which needs £250,000

Hollywood star Matthew Rhys has encouraged fans to travel to a small Welsh pub to help save it after pouring his own money into a £250,000 fundraiser.

The Americans actor, 47, who was raised in Cardiff but now lives in New York, recently popped into the Glan yr Afon pub in Pennal near Machynlleth, north Wales, the area where his father grew up.

The village is where Owain Glyndŵr wrote to King Charles VI of France in the 15th century asking for assistance in his battle against the English crown.

Rhys said: ‘It was great visiting the pub recently and seeing first hand all the great work they have been doing to keep this historic pub and local community hub alive.

‘Owain Glyndŵr himself would be proud of the community fighting spirit shown so far, so I would urge people from over the world to get involved and invest in a little part of history.’

Rhys has previously spoken of his family connections in North Wales.

He said: ‘I have strong personal ties with the Pennal area and believe that this venture is hugely important in helping to safeguard the community’s future.

Hollywood star: The Americans actor, 47, who was raised in Cardiff but now lives in New York, recently popped into the Glan yr Afon pub in Pennal, north Wales (pictured centre left)

Home from home: Rhys said: ‘It was great visiting the pub recently and seeing first hand all the great work they have been doing to keep this historic pub and local community hub alive’

‘It is wonderful to see people taking responsibility and ownership for their communities in these challenging times and I wish them well in their endeavours.

‘If you can support please do so, and the spirit of Owain Glynd*r will continue to be felt in the area.’

Community group Menter y Glan want to develop the pub by helping transform it into a community hub with a shop and cafe.

Chair Meirion Roberts, said: ‘With people looking for ideas for Christmas presents at this time of year, buying shares in the venture would give loved ones ownership of a little slice of history, while being quite an unusual gift that offers the chance of future dividends.’

In the fifteenth century, Owain wrote to King Charles VI of France from the town, requesting assistance in his conflict with the English throne. 

History: The village is where Owain Glyndŵr (pictured is a statue of him) wrote to King Charles VI of France in the 15th century asking for assistance in his battle against the English crown

Locals are hoping to ‘offer community facilities such as a shop and a café’ within the taproom, as well as ‘develop the rooms upstairs to quality accommodation’.

Matthew won the Lead Actor in a Drama Series Emmy for his role in the Cold War drama and also stars as the main character in HBO’s Perry Mason.

He has been married to his wife Keri Russell since 2014. They produced and acted with each other in the 2013 drama series The Americans, which ran for six seasons.

The couple first fell in love on set but had met 10 years prior as Russell said that he had ‘very drunkenly’ hit on her.

Big plans: Community group Menter y Glan want to develop the pub by helping transform it into a community hub with shop and cafe

‘I very drunkenly asked her for her number when she was a young, single slip of a thing. So I sort of knew then, when I was 26,’ he said in a 2017 Watch What Happens Live appearance.

Russell was previously in a relationship with Shane Deary but split with him during the first season of The Americans, moving on with Rhys publicly a year later despite being linked a month after her 2013 divorce.

The pair’s new endeavor Wyrd is a project from Oscar-nominated screenwriter and producer Sheldon Turner who created 2009’s Up In The Air with George Clooney.

Turner and his Vendetta Productions partner Jennifer Klein are teaming up with Dark Horse for the intergalactic project.

Couple: He has been married to his wife Keri Russell since 2014. They produced and acted with each other in the 2013 drama series The Americans, which ran for six seasons