Nikolai Paul Rhys Constantine Levin's brother, Nikolai, is based on Tolstoy's own brother Nicolai, who died of tuberculosis in 1860. Like Levin, Tolstoy immersed himself in work on his country estate to alleviate his grief. Levin's confrontation of death through his brother's illness is one of the novel's major themes. Paul Rhys is a British film and television actor who has appeared widely in both the United States and Britain. His credits include roles in Vincent and Theo (1990) and Chaplin (1992), as well as a turn as Edgar in ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre's production of King Lear.