Wrexham AFC isn't the only venture in North Wales that has been backed by Hollywood. Earlier this year, Perry Mason and the Americans star Matthew Rhys "leapt at the chance" to help save a pub in a North Wales village where his family has roots - and taking on the project was a pleasure for the acclaimed actor.
The 48 year-old said it was a "no brainer" decision to support the bid to keep the Glan yr Afon pub, also known as the Riverside, in Pennal, Gwynedd open as he recalled spending "many summers and Easters" there in his youth. Months ago, the Cardiff-born Rhys was snapped by the bar at the venue to support the team's £450,000 bid to convert the local boozer into a community-led business.
And he returned to the beloved pub on Saturday to celebrate the venue's official reopening after the venture raised enough funds to get the pub back in the community's hands. He told the BBC Radio Wales that the pub was at the centre of village life despite it being an "age-old adage and cliché" to say that at the "hub of every Welsh community is a pub and a chapel".
READ MORE: Huge search off Anglesey continues amid reports of 'person swept off rocks'
"A number of my halcyon days as a youth were spent at the Riverside. Thankfully, because of this incredible committee, it will remain so for the future," said Rhys, who won an Emmy for his role in FX-made spy drama The Americans.
"The community have now taken back control of the pub. It was either threatened with closure or being sold on or worse still, possibly becoming derelict."
The Glan yr Afon story hit headlines when the most recent owners, who took over in 2010, announced their decision to sell the pub. From there, the people of Pennal came together in a bid to save it and bring it into the ownership of the community.
The community's efforts paid off and in December 2022 the Menter y Glan group succeeded in securing the funds to purchase the village pub and restaurant. The money raised locally through a share offer was backed by funding from the Welsh Government and the European Regional Development Fund.
