Richard Madden

Richard Madden (born 18 June 1986) is a Scottish actor. Born and raised in Renfrewshire near Glasgow, he made his screen debut as a child actor and stage debut whilst a student at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. In 2007, he toured with Shakespeare's Globe company as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, a role he reprised in the West End in 2016.

Madden's breakthrough role came in 2011, as Robb Stark in HBO's fantasy drama Game of Thrones, for which he received the Screen International Award for Star of Tomorrow. His subsequent roles include leading the first season of the historical fiction series Medici: Masters of Florence (2016) as Cosimo de' Medici, and starring in Disney's Cinderella (2015), and portraying John Reid in the biopic Rocketman (2019).

In 2018, Madden gained critical acclaim for his leading role as a troubled war veteran in the BBC thriller series Bodyguard, the UK's most-watched television drama since current records began, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019.

Early life
Madden was born on 18 June 1986 in Elderslie, Renfrewshire, just outside the town of Paisley and the city of Glasgow, where he was brought up, with older and younger sisters. His mother, Pat, is a classroom assistant, and his father, Richard, is in the fire brigade.

1999–2010: Early work
At age 11, Madden joined PACE Youth Theatre to help overcome his shyness. He was soon cast as young Andy in the film adaptation of Iain Banks's Complicity; he was then cast in the lead role of Sebastian in the children's television series Barmy Aunt Boomerang, for which he filmed six episodes that aired from 1999 until 2000. He attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow, from where he graduated in 2007. While at RSAMD, he worked with The Arches and Glasgow Repertory Company, followed by Franz Xaver 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 Shakespeare's Globe. In his final year with RSAMD, he was cast as Romeo in a production of Romeo and Juliet at the modern Globe Theatre which, after an initial run in London, made a tour of open-air stages during the summer of 2007, this being the Globe's first tour.

He played Callum McGregor in the stage production of Malorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses in 2008. He later gained the lead role of Dean McKenzie in the 2009 BBC comedy-drama series Hope Springs, followed by his roles as Ripley in the 2010 film Chatroom, and as Theatre of Hate singer Kirk Brandon in the 2010 film Worried About The Boy.

2011–present: Breakthrough and international recognition
From 2011 to 2013, he starred as Robb Stark in the HBO series Game of Thrones, based upon the series of novels, A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R. R. Martin. Speaking in September 2018, Madden claimed that he was not paid much for his role in Game of Thrones. During this period, Madden also starred in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series Sirens,and in the BBC drama series Birdsong.

In May 2013, Madden was chosen to portray the prince in the live action Disney film Cinderella. The film was released in March 2015. Madden first obtained his Screen Actors Guild (SAG) card for the 2014 miniseries Klondike, in which he plays Bill Haskell.

Between 12 May and 13 August 2016, Madden appeared on stage in London's West End playing the part of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, where he was reunited with his Cinderella costar Lily James, who played Juliet, and director Kenneth Branagh. Richard was replaced as Romeo in July 2016, after suffering an ankle injury.

In 2016, he played the leading role of Cosimo de' Medici, the son of the founder of the Medici Bank during the Italian Renaissance, in the Italian-British television drama series, Medici: Masters of Florence. In the same year he played American pickpocket Michael Mason in the 2016 action movie Bastille Day, starring alongside Idris Elba.

In 2018, Madden garnered widespread critical acclaim and wider recognition for his role as Sergeant David Budd in the BBC thriller series Bodyguard. After achieving high levels of popularity in the UK, the show was released to a worldwide audience on Netflix in October 2018. His performance earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama. Bodyguard went on to be nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. Critics and viewers alike expressed disappointment over Madden's failure to receive an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, deeming it a snub.

In 2019, Madden portrayed music manager John Reid in the Elton John biopic Rocketman.

In July 2019, Madden received an Honorary Doctorate of Drama from his alma mater, The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow.

Upcoming projects
Madden will next star in Sam Mendes' war film 1917, which is set for a December 2019 release. He will also star as Ikaris in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film The Eternals, directed by Chloé Zhao which is scheduled for a November 2020 release.

Recognition
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". 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.



In reviewing the Globe Theatre's 2007 production of Romeo and Juliet as its first-ever tour, Susan Elkin of The Stage noted Dr. Madden's "gravelly Glaswegian, almost childlike Romeo".

In 2010, The Scotsman touted Madden as "one of the hottest young acting talents in the business". They also noted that Madden is "tipped for mainstream glory this year" due to his upcoming roles in the film Chatroom and TV series Game of Thrones. He won Most Stylish Male at the Scottish Style Awards in October 2009 and was also named in Esquire's Hottest Stars for 2010.

He was named one of Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow in 2011.

Madden has been compared to Sean Connery and following his performance in Bodyguard is rumoured to have been offered the role of James Bond to succeed Daniel Craig. He has said that he is "flattered and thankful" to be considered for the role.

In 2018, Madden won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama for his leading role as a troubled war veteran in the BBC thriller series Bodyguard, the UK's most-watched television drama since current records began. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019.