*Richard Armitage
(45 years old)
22 August 1971
Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK
6' 2½" (1,89 m)
(45 years old)
22 August 1971
Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK
6' 2½" (1,89 m)
After two guest-roles in Cold Feet(1997) in 2003 and Between the Sheets (2003), he landed a role as Steven in Frozen(2005), which eventually led him to play the lead role in the big hit BBC drama North & South (2004). Other than appearing on screen, he has also appeared on stage--in, for example, Macbeth and Hamlet.
Richard Crispin Armitage was born and raised in Leicester, England, to Margaret (Hendey), a secretary, and John Armitage, an engineer. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Jen
Trade Mark*
His baritone voice
Blue-grey eyes
Trivia*
He plays the cello, guitar, and flute.
His parents are John, an engineer, and Margaret, a secretary. Coincidentally, he played the character John Thornton in 'North & South', and his love interest was Margaret Hale.
At 17, joined a circus in Budapest for six weeks to get his Equity card.
Previous jobs include packing boxes in a warehouse, worked at a laser gun place and took front-of-house jobs in the theatre but continued to go to drama classes.
Started acting career in musical theatre.
At age 14, he persuaded his parents to send him to a vocational school in Coventry where he could develop his musical talents.
Joined the Royal Shakespeare Company at age 28 for 18 months.
His older brother's name is Chris.
Was named after King Richard III, as he was born on the anniversary of the day the King was killed in battle.
Completed filming a two-part series called "Malice Aforethought" set in 1920s, where he played misogynist Bill Chatford. [November 2004]
Shot the second series of Robin Hood, reprising his role as Guy of Gisbourne. [April 2007]
Completed filming a detective fiction,"Gently's Last Case", in which he played the character of Ricky, a Geordie biker. [December 2006]
Shot the 7th series of Spooks in London. [March 2008]
Shot "Marie Lloyd" in the role of her first husband Percy Courtenay. [February 2007]
Filmed new Jimmy McGovern's project "Moving On" (working title) in Liverpool. [December 2008]
Shot Sky1 6-part series "Strike Back" in South Africa. [August 2009]
Filmed the Hobbit - 1 and 2 in New Zealand. [March 2011]
Filmed the BBC Drama, Robin Hood, in Hungary, where he played Guy of Gisborne, the Sheriff of Nottingham's evil henchman. [May 2006]
Filmed series 8 of "Spooks" in London. [April 2009]
Shot Miss Marple and then returned to shooting Guy of Gisbourne in the second series of Robin Hood. [February 2007]
Shot the third series of Robin Hood in Hungary. [July 2008]
Filmed some scenes of Spooks Series 7 in Moscow. [August 2008]
Shot series 8 of Spooks (MI5). [July 2009]
Shot series 9 of Spooks (MI5). [February 2010]
Shot the BBC comedy, The Vicar of Dibley Christmas Special 2006 as Harry, Geraldine's love interest. These were the last two episodes of this popular series. [October 2006]
Shot the 7th series of Spooks in London. [February 2008]
Was the youngest actor to audition for the role of Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit.
Is a fan of Daños y perjuicios (2007).
Nominated for WhatsOnStage Best Actor in a Play Award - for his role in The Crucible.
Nominated for an Olivier Best Actor Award for his role in The Crucible.
Suffers from aquaphobia (specifically, fear of drowning) stemming from an incident in which his stroller fell into a neighbor's pond when he was a toddler. This has not stopped him from taking aqua aerobics classes to prepare for the role of Lee in Cold Feet, allowing himself to be water-boarded twice (In Spooks and Strike Back), swimming at least 50 laps a day to prepare for the role of Heinz Kruger in Captain America, and allowing himself to be submerged in a well for a considerable length of time while shooting an episode of Robin Hood.
His role in Hannibal: The Great Red Dragon (2015) is almost entirely silent.
Personal Quotes*
I try to be quite a detailed actor. People were really picking up on that. Even if it was just a flicker of the eye or something, they got it.
You can spend a bit of yourself when you give yourself to a character. At the end of a job, you have to remind yourself who and what you are.
Live acting is a kind of adventure sport. I don't go abseiling or snowboarding, but I sometimes think that stepping out on stage can have the same kind of adrenaline rush.
I don't think actors need to go on pedestals. I don't buy it. I think it's a weird thing. It's like you become someone else, like stepping into another universe.
[on suffering an injury on the set of Spooks before his first audition for Thorin Oakenshield] I had taken so many painkillers that I hobbled into the room, sat on my hands and the whole meeting passed in a bit of a blur. If nothing else, I think, with my audition I may have succeeded in showing my ability to convey pain!
[on his professional quandary, as a six-foot-two actor, in playing Thorin, the Dwarf King] I think the biggest challenge for me is that when I walk into a room they think the wrong guy has come to the audition. It's a compliment, but on a business level it's difficult because it's hard to convince people it was really me playing the role.
