Richard Madden

Richard Madden was born on June 18, 1986, in Elderslie, Renfrewshire, Scotland. His early life in Elderslie, alongside his two sisters, was relatively normal, with his mother working as a classroom assistant and his father as a firefighter. Madden began acting at age 11 to overcome shyness, joining PACE Youth Theatre. His acting career started with his role as young Andy in a film adaptation of Iain Banks’ “Complicity” (2000) and later as Sebastian in the children’s television series “Barmy Aunt Boomerang” (1999–2000). He attended Castlehead High School and furthered his education at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, graduating in 2007. During his studies, he performed with The Arches and the Glasgow Repertory Company, notably in Franz Xaver Kroetz’s play “Tom Fool” at the Citizens Theatre. This stage work helped him secure the role of Romeo in a Shakespeare’s Globe production that toured in 2007.

Madden’s career saw a significant turning point with his portrayal of Robb Stark in the HBO series “Game of Thrones” from 2011 to 2013, which brought him widespread recognition. Following this breakthrough, he played Prince Kit in Disney’s live-action “Cinderella” (2015), a critical and commercial success, grossing over $542 million. He reprised the role of Romeo in a West End production in 2016, reuniting with “Cinderella” co-star Lily James and director Kenneth Branagh. Madden then starred as Cosimo de’ Medici in the first season of the historical fiction series “Medici” (2016).

In 2018, Madden received critical acclaim for his role as Sergeant David Budd in the BBC miniseries “Bodyguard.” His performance earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama. The following year, he was named one of the “100 most influential people in the world” by Time magazine and took on supporting roles as music manager John Reid in the Elton John biopic “Rocketman” (2019) and Lieutenant Joseph Blake in the war film “1917” (2019). Both films were successful at the box office. More recently, he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ikaris in “Eternals” (2021) and starred in the action-thriller series “Citadel” (2023–present) for Amazon Prime Video. His film career continues with upcoming projects such as “Killer Heat” and the TV series “Trinity.”