Richard Armitage (actor)

Richard Armitage
Armitage at WonderCon 2014
Born	Richard Crispin Armitage (1971-08-22) 22 August 1971 (age 45) Huncote, Leicestershire, England
Citizenship	British
Education	London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1988–present

Richard Crispin Armitage (born 22 August 1971) is an English film, television, theatre and voice actor. He received notice in the UK with his first leading role as John Thornton in the British television programme North & South (2004). But it was his role as dwarf prince and leader Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson's film trilogy adaptation of The Hobbit that first 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, and Guy of Gisborne in the British TV drama Robin Hood.

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). But 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. 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 highly successful and critically acclaimed production of The Crucible at The Old Vic, and earned an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor.