Richard Crispin Armitage
,
Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK
Birthday
1971-08-22
Occupation
Actor
Spouse(s)
Years Active
1988–present
Biography
Richard Crispin Armitage (born 22 August 1971) is an English film, television, theatre and voice actor. He became an overnight sensation in his native England 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.
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. Since then, Armitage has recorded many notable audiobooks and has worked as a narrator on many TV and radio shows and adverts. His flair for speaking in a multitude of dialects, accents and voices has garnered Armitage numerous accolades for his narration skills, including the Best Audiobook of the Year Award of 2014 from Audible.com for his recording of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel.
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