At the age of 16, Richard Armitage (52) persuaded his parents to support his decision to become an actor. He studied at Pattison College, where he learned the essential discipline for an actor: be professional, never be late, and memorize your lines.
During his adolescence, he learned to play the guitar, cello, and flute. At 17, he worked at a circus in Budapest to obtain his Equity membership, the UK's performing arts and entertainment union. He made his debut in musical theater in productions like Nine and 42nd St, eventually landing leading roles in blockbusters like Captain America and The Hobbit trilogy.
In recent weeks, he has achieved resounding success in over 190 countries with the Netflix series Fool Me Once, co-starring with Michelle Keegan (36) and British arts legend Joanna Lumley (77). He also stars in the miniseries Don't Talk to Strangers and Obsession on the same streaming platform. In these small-screen roles, Armitage demonstrates his ability to imbue his characters with all the dramatic nuances through subtle gestures, earning acclaim from critics and audiences alike.
PHOBIAS
Despite flirting with Hollywood, Richard Armitage remains the enthusiastic young man from Huncote (Leicestershire, England). To fund his studies, he worked as a warehouse packer, a laser tag store salesman, and various customer-facing roles in the theater while pursuing his drama studies.
Remaining true to the principles instilled in him during his academic training, the actor has overcome some of his personal fears for the benefit of the team. Among them is aquaphobia, particularly a fear of drowning since his stroller fell into a neighbor's pond when he was a child. With determination and proper guidance, he managed to immerse himself multiple times in the series Spooks and swim 50 laps daily to portray one of the main assassins in Captain America.
As he carved a niche in the industry, and despite the public's curiosity about actors' private lives, Armitage has always enjoyed the respect of the press. Although he came out to his family and closest friends at 19, this aspect of his private life remained undisclosed until he revealed it himself last year in Radio Times. He shared, "I was always waiting for that question to hit me in the face, and it never did. I thought, 'Are people being polite, or do they just not want to know?'" And he let it unfold. When talent is your best asset, matters of the heart fade away. During the time he contemplated making his sexuality visible, he remained consistent: "Let the work speak for itself."
The identity of the man who holds his heart remains unknown, but the media speculated for a while that he made a good pair with Lee Pace (44), the actor who portrays King Thranduil in The Hobbit trilogy and is married to Matthew Foley, an executive at the luxury American brand Thom Browne.