Richard Madden (born 18 June 1986) is a Scottish actor. He was cast in his first role at age 11 and made his screen acting debut in 2000. He later began performing on stage whilst a student at the
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. 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 rose to fame with his portrayal of
Robb Stark in the fantasy drama series Game of Thrones from 2011 to 2013.
Madden was born on 18 June 1986 in
Elderslie, outside the city of
Glasgow,[1][2] where he grew up alongside his two sisters.[3][4] His mother is a primary school teacher, and his father worked as a firefighter.[5] At age 11, Madden joined
PACE Youth Theatre to help overcome his shyness.[6][7] At that same age, he was cast in his first role as young Andy in a
film adaptation of
Iain Banks' Complicity,[8] which was released in 2000.[9] Next, he played the lead role of Sebastian in the children's television series Barmy Aunt Boomerang,[10] which aired from 1999 until 2000.[11] In addition to being shy, Madden struggled with body insecurities as a child.[12] He later stated that he also experienced bullying, especially in high school, which he attributed to his role in Complicity.[8]
Madden attended
Castlehead High School.[13] He studied at the
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, in Glasgow, graduating in 2007.[10][11] He worked with
The Arches and the Glasgow Repertory Company during his studies; he also performed in
Franz Xaver Kroetz's play Tom Fool at the
Citizens Theatre. After receiving positive reviews, the Tom Fool production transferred to London, where Madden was spotted by a team from
Shakespeare's Globe.[11] In his final year at the conservatoire, he was cast as
Romeo in the play Romeo and Juliet at the modern Globe Theatre in London, followed by a tour of the production during the summer of 2007.[11][14] In her review, Susan Elkin of The Stage deemed the actor's portrayal of Romeo "gravelly
Glaswegian" and "almost childlike".[15]
Madden portrayed
Prince Kit in Cinderella, a romantic fantasy film and
live action adaptation of the
animated film of the same name.[30] While terrified of playing a classical fairy tale character, the actor found comfort in how audiences knew very little about the prince in the animated film and how he was able to create "a real young man."[31] Released in March 2015, Cinderella was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $542 million.[32][33] The following year, Madden starred as Romeo in a
West End production of Romeo and Juliet, which opened at the
Garrick Theatre on 25 May, reuniting with his Cinderella co-star
Lily James, who starred as Juliet, and director
Kenneth Branagh.[34][35]Michael Billington of The Guardian praised Madden's articulation of Romeo's "challenge to fate", while Variety's Matt Trueman criticised his speeches as "flat and regimented".[35][36] He departed the production in July after suffering an ankle injury.[37]
In 2016, Madden appeared as an American pickpocket in the thriller film Bastille Day.[38] He played the lead role of
Cosimo de' Medici, a member of the
House of Medici banking family during the
Italian Renaissance, in the first season of the Italian-British television drama series Medici, subtitled Masters of Florence, which aired that same year.[39] In 2017, he appeared in the first episode of Electric Dreams, an anthology series based on
Philip K. Dick's works. Writing for
Digital Spy, Alex Mullane found the actor "particularly dashing" and added that his performance made the twist in the story "brutally effective".[40] Madden next played a DJ in the
Netflix romantic comedy film Ibiza, embodying the part with hints of goofiness and loneliness.[41] In her review for The Daily Telegraph, Lucy Jones deemed him a "fine and believable romantic lead."[42]
Madden garnered acclaim and recognition for playing Sergeant David Budd, a war veteran and police officer with
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in the 2018 BBC thriller series Bodyguard.[43][44] He spoke to members of the armed forces who had experienced PTSD to frame a complex and intricate representation of the disorder.[43] Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the actor executed the role with self-possession, while The Atlantic's Sophie Gilbert observed that he conveyed Budd's "superb instincts, his cool head under fire, and his complex psyche" successfully.[45][46] After the series finale became the most watched UK television drama episode since the beginning of current records, Netflix released Bodyguard worldwide in October 2018.[47][48] Madden's performance earned him the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.[49]
Film success (2019–present)
In 2019, Madden portrayed music manager
John Reid in the
Elton John biopic Rocketman, which was released in May,[5] and appeared as a
World War I soldier in
Sam Mendes' war film 1917, which was released in December.[50] Both films garnered positive reviews and became box office successes.[51][52][53][54] From December 2020 to January 2021, he starred in the science fiction podcast series From Now, voicing a survivor of a spaceship that returns 35 years after vanishing.[55] Madden starred as
Ikaris in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Eternals, directed by
Chloé Zhao. Released in 2021, the film garnered mixed responses from critics and audiences.[56][57]
Madden starred alongside
Priyanka Chopra Jonas in Citadel, an action thriller series on
Amazon Prime Video. It premiered in 2023. With a production budget of US$300 million, the six-episode first season ranks as one of the most expensive television shows.[58] Madden considered working on Citadel to be "incredibly physically demanding".[59] Critics had mixed opinions on the series;[60][61] Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter found Madden "adequately intense and sometimes funny in a way the insufficiently playful show needs".[62] Madden will next star in Killer Heat, a thriller directed by
Philippe Lacôte.[63]
Public image and personal life
In 2019, Madden was featured on the
Time 100, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world compiled by Time magazine.[64] He was also recognised with the GQ Men of the Year Award for Hugo Boss Most Stylish Man that same year.[65]
In an interview with British Vogue, Madden expressed pride in coming from a working class background and said that his social conscience is sparked by inequality in education and the lack of creative opportunities for working-class children in schools.[66] As of May 2019, he splits his time between his residence in London and Los Angeles.[5][66] In July 2019, Madden received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.[67] When asked about his personal life during a New York Times interview following tabloid speculation about his relationships and sexuality, Madden stated: "I just keep my personal life personal."[22]