Rufus Beck is the only child of a business-owning couple. Because his parents traveled extensively abroad, he lived in the boarding school of the Odenwald School. After graduating from high school in 1976 and completing his civilian service, Beck studied Islamic Studies, Ethnology, and Philosophy at the University of Heidelberg, but later dropped out. From 1976 onward, he appeared as a musician and acting student at the Heidelberg Municipal Theatre. The following year, he was a guest performer at the Saarland State Theatre, followed by engagements at the Tübingen State Theatre, the Frankfurt Theatre, the Cologne Theatre, the Bavarian State Theatre, the Munich Kammerspiele, and the Berliner Ensemble. He later also appeared as a guest performer at the Berlin Renaissance Theatre (2006), the Stuttgart State Theatre (2010), and the Hamburg Kammerspiele (2014).

In 1989, Beck was named "Young Actor of the Year" by the magazine Theater heute. Also in 1989, he received the Young Actor Award from the Friends of the Bavarian State Theatre.