| Richard Madden | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1986 Elderslie, Renfrewshire, Scotland |
| Occupation | Stage actor Film actor Television actor |
| Years active | 1999-present |
Richard Madden (born 1986) is a Scottish stage, film, and television actor, known for his work in theatre and for his roles in both film and television.[1][2]
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Madden grew up in Elderslie, Scotland. His father is in the fire service and his mother is a classroom assistant.[3] At the age of 11, he joined Paisley Arts Centre's youth theatre programme to help overcome his shyness.[3] He was soon cast as young Andy in the film adaptation of Iain Banks's Complicity, followed by his being cast in a lead role as Sebastian in the television series Barmy Aunt Boomerang,[1][2] for which he filmed 6 episodes that aired from 1999 through 2000. He graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2007.[1][2]
While at RSAMD he worked with the Arches and Glasgow Repertory Company, followed by Franz Xavier Kroetz's play Tom Fool at the Citizens' Theatre, which was so well received that it transferred to London, where Madden was spotted by a team from the Globe Theatre.[2] In his final year with RSAMD, he was cast as Romeo in a production of Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theatre which, after a run in London, toured in open-air stages during the Summer of 2007,[2][4] being the Globe's first-ever tour.[5] He also played Callum McGregor in the stage production of Malorie Blackman's 'Noughts and Crosses' in 2008.
He later gained the lead role of Dean McKenzie in the 2009 BBC series Hope Springs,[1] followed by his roles as Ripley in the 2010 film Chatroom,[6] and as Theatre of Hate singer Kirk Brandon in the 2010 film Worried About The Boy.[7] Since 2011, he has starred as Robb Stark in the HBO series Game of Thrones, based upon George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels,[8][9][10] and in the Channel 4 series Sirens.
Of Madden's performance as Mark McNulty in the National Theatre of Scotland's production of Be Near Me, Warwick Thompson of Bloomberg noted his performance to be "especially good".[11] Susan Mansfield of The Scotsman reported that Madden has caught the eye of critics for his work and reported additional positive reviews of his work by The Daily Telegraph, and The Observer.[1]
In reviewing the Globe Theatre's 2007 production of Romeo and Juliet as its first-ever tour, Susan Elkin of The Stage noted that "Ellie Piercy’s Juliet has just the right blend of wide-eyed, high-voice, pubescent passion degenerating into fear, fury and, finally, dignified determination. Piercy’s facial expressions are exceptionally wide ranging and powerful. And she’s well counterpointed against Richard Madden’s gravelly Glaswegian, almost childlike Romeo."[5]
The Scotsman reports that Madden "is one of the hottest young acting talents in the business but making it on to the Eligibles list is not the only accolade Richard has got recently. He won Most Stylish Male at the Scottish Style Awards in October and has also been named in Esquire's Hottest Stars for 2010 list." They also note that Madden is "tipped for mainstream glory this year, and will be starring in the new film Chatroom and TV series Game of Thrones".[10]
He was named one of Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow in 2011[12].
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | Barmy Aunt Boomerang | Sebastian Simpkins | (6 episodes, 1999–2000) |
| 2000 | Complicity | Young Adam | |
| 2009 | Hope Springs | Dean McKenzie | (8 episodes, 2009) |
| 2010 | Chatroom | Ripley | |
| 2010 | Worried About The Boy | Kirk Brandon | BBC TV Drama centred around the life of Boy George in the early 1980s |
| 2011 | Strays (Short Film) | Elliot | Main role[13] |
| 2011 - present | Game of Thrones | Robb Stark | Main role Nominated—Scream Award for Best Ensemble Pending—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series |
| 2011 | Sirens | Ashley | Channel 4 series 1 |