He attended King Edward VI Five Ways school in Bartley Green, after which he trained at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Past apearances have included leading parts in Major Barbara and Saint Joan (both plays by George Bernard Shaw) and Time and the Conways by J.B. Priestley.
Of his role as Macbeth the Financial Times said: "Ready is a rare bird in that he has an actorly way with oratory, but instead of keeping us at a distance from his character, it clarifies nuances and levels and paradoxically allows us in deeper.
In 2018 he featured as Harry Goodsir, one of the lead roles in The Terror, a 10-part series based on Dan Simmons' best-selling novel, for which he was nominated for a Satellite Award.
"[10] Ready is married to actress and writer Michelle Terry, whom he met in Shakespeare's Globe 2008 production of Love's Labour's Lost.