Richard Armitage

Returning to the UK, he pursued a career in musical theatre – working as an assistant choreographer to Kenn Oldfield and performing in various productions, including the ensembles of 42nd Street, My One and Only, Nine, Annie Get Your Gun and as Admetus and Macavity in Cats.

Armitage was also pursuing acting in dramatic theatre productions, including The Real Thing, Six Degrees of Separation and Death of a Salesman.

Richard Crispin Armitage (born 22 August 1971) is an English actor and author.

After completing the programme at Pattison College in 1988, Armitage joined the Nachtcircus in Budapest for six months to obtain his Equity Card, a requirement at the time for entertainment professionals to work in the UK.

By 1992, he began to doubt if musical theatre was the right career path, so he enrolled at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) in 1993 to further study acting.

"I needed to do something a bit more truthful than musical theatre. For me it was a bit too theatrical and all about standing on stage and showing off. I was looking for something else, so that's why I went back to drama school."

After completing LAMDA's three-year programme, he returned to the stage as a supporting player with the Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of Macbeth and The Duchess of Malfi, as well as Hamlet and Four Alice Bakers with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre while taking a series of small roles in television and films.

In 2002 he starred in the Charm Offensive's production of Use Me As Your Cardigan.

That same year, Armitage appeared in his first major television role, as John Standring in the BBC drama Sparkhouse (2002).

"It was the first time I went to an audition in character. It was a minor role but it was something I really got my teeth into... I couldn't go back. I knew I had to approach everything the same way."

After this he took supporting roles in the TV productions of Between the Sheets, Cold Feet (series 5), and Ultimate Force (series 2).

He received recognition in the UK with his first leading role as John Thornton in the British television programme North & South (2004).

His role as dwarf king and leader Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson's film trilogy adaptation of The Hobbit brought him international recognition.

Other notable roles include John Proctor in Yaël Farber's stage production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Francis Dolarhyde in the American TV series Hannibal, Lucas North in the British TV drama Spooks, John Porter in the British TV drama Strike Back, Daniel Miller in the EPIX spy series Berlin Station and Guy of Gisborne in the British TV drama Robin Hood.

He voiced Trevor Belmont in the Netflix adaptation of Castlevania.

In 2004, Armitage landed his first leading role as textile mill owner John Thornton in the BBC adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South.

The director and producers took a chance casting a little-known actor for their leading man.

He was the first actor to audition for the role and the last person cast.

North & South was an unexpected success.

The BBC message boards crashed shortly after the telecast as a result of chatter about him and he was hailed as the new "Mr. Darcy" (referring to Colin Firth's "Mr Darcy" whom many regard as the definitive romantic leading man).

Armitage did not perceive John Thornton as the ideal romantic leading man role and was surprised by the response.

Instead, he said that he felt personally drawn to the role, as his father's family had been weavers.

He cited Thornton's dualism as drawing him to the character.

"The dichotomy between the powerful, almost monstrous, entrepreneur and this kind of vulnerable boy is exciting for me to look at."

One of Armitage's trademarks is his baritone voice, which he has employed as a voice actor since 2006.

While working on the TV series Robin Hood, he was asked to record audiobooks for the first season of that series.

Armitage has recorded several audiobooks and has worked as a narrator on TV, radio shows, and adverts.

In 2022, he ventured into video games for the first time, providing the voice of the Daemon Prince Be'lakor in Total War: Warhammer III.

Armitage was born in Leicester, England, the younger son of Margaret, a secretary, and John Armitage, an engineer.

He has an older brother named Chris.

He attended Huncote Community Primary School in Huncote, Blaby District, Leicestershire, and began secondary school at the local comprehensive school, Brockington College in Enderby.

At Brockington, Armitage pursued his interest in music – playing the cello in school and local orchestras, and learning how to play the flute.

By the age of 14, having secured a grant from the Leicestershire Authority, he successfully persuaded his mother to allow him to transfer to Pattison College in Coventry, an independent boarding school specialising in the performing arts, so that he could focus on drama and dance.

Armitage has expressed gratitude for the lessons and opportunities Pattison College provided, saying "It... instilled me with a discipline that has stood me in good stead – never to be late, to know your lines and to be professional."

By the time he finished school, he had achieved A Levels in music and English, and acting experience in local amateur and professional productions such as Showboat, Half a Sixpence, Orpheus and the Underworld (as Bacchus), and The Hobbit (as an elf) at the New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham.

After twelve years away and having earned that name recognition, Armitage returned to the stage in 2014, taking his first leading role in a major production.

He played John Proctor in the successful and critically acclaimed production of The Crucible at The Old Vic, and earned an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor.

In 2020, he played the lead role in the Netflix miniseries The Stranger.

After graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), Armitage initially sought theatre work and was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).

He turned to film and television roles when he noticed that leading stage roles went to actors with name recognition who could bring in patrons to fill venues.