HOUSE CALL
‘Stay Close’ Actor Richard Armitage Was Named for a Monarch, Later Praised by a Royal
He grew up in an English village dating to 1058, where he was wowed by its history


Richard Armitage, 50, is an English actor who co-starred in “The Hobbit” film series and TV’s “Berlin Station.” He co-stars in Netflix’s “Stay Close,” a miniseries adaptation of Harlan Coben’s novel. He spoke with Marc Myers.

I was born on Aug. 22—the day King Richard III died in battle in 1485 at Bosworth Field in Leicestershire, the English county where we lived.

My parents later told me they had planned to name me Russell, but when I was born on Aug. 22, my dad insisted on Richard. My mother didn’t mind.


Dad has always been a Richard III fanatic. He felt the monarch was betrayed by Shakespeare and history in general. He is also fascinated by the propaganda used by the House of Tudor during the transition of power.



Richard Armitage, 50, is an English actor who co-starred in “The Hobbit” film series and TV’s “Berlin Station.” He co-stars in Netflix’s “Stay Close,” a miniseries adaptation of Harlan Coben’s novel. He spoke with Marc Myers.

I was born on Aug. 22—the day King Richard III died in battle in 1485 at Bosworth Field in Leicestershire, the English county where we lived.

My parents later told me they had planned to name me Russell, but when I was born on Aug. 22, my dad insisted on Richard. My mother didn’t mind.


Dad has always been a Richard III fanatic. He felt the monarch was betrayed by Shakespeare and history in general. He is also fascinated by the propaganda used by the House of Tudor during the transition of power.


We lived in a residential development in Huncote, on the outskirts of Leicester. Our home was a brick box with four windows and a door. All the other houses in the area looked the same.

My mother, Margaret, was a homemaker and the local postwoman. She’d get up at 4:30 a.m. to sort and deliver the mail on her bike and return in time to make breakfast.

Once my older brother, Chris, and I were in school, she decided to go back to work and took a job at the local school so she’d be home when we returned.

She was probably the biggest influence on my life, simply because of her presence at home. She always said to others, “When Richard says he’s going to do something, he does it.”

My father, John, was a nuclear engineer. In the late 1950s and early ’60s, he worked for General Electric and was on the team that designed the U.K.’s nuclear reactors.

Most of his career was then spent visiting sites to fix things and update the equipment. He was away from home quite a lot when I was little.

Every time we drove into Leicester, my dad would point out Bow Bridge, where legend falsely suggested a mob had thrown Richard III’s dug-up body into the River Soar. Once I started grade school, my dad and I would visit Bosworth Field on my birthday.

Leicester had three theaters when I grew up. For a provincial city, that was a lot. As a child, my parents often took me to the theater. I remember the feeling when the lights went down and the production began to come alive. I lived for that.

Classical music was important at home. My father had an amazing stereo that he set up in a room. He’d close the door, dim the lights and just listen to Mozart.

Early on, I associated music with a solitary experience. I loved going up to my room for a couple of hours and practicing on my school instrument.

At primary school, I took up the cello, had lessons and really enjoyed it. But in high school, lugging the cello around was an ordeal. So I picked the smallest instrument possible, the flute, because it fit inside my school bag.

Just prior to attending a sports-focused high school, my parents and I had a discussion. I said I wanted to pursue the arts. So we picked Pattison College, a performing-arts school in Coventry.

Mom went back to work, and all of her wages paid for my education. That was such a big sacrifice. It was a great school. I had been a C-minus student but emerged from Pattison with A’s and B’s.

In school, I had a brilliant history teacher, Mrs. Speake. She talked about past events in a way that felt very immediate and awakened my imagination.

Coming to acting was a slow burn for me. After high school, I became a professional musical-theater performer. But at 23, I started to realize I wasn’t interested in a production’s music, singing and dancing. What captured me was the narrative.

The school was close to Stratford-upon-Avon and we would often visit the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. I saw a particularly striking production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” As I watched the performers on stage and their connection with the audience, I realized that’s what I wanted to do. I successfully applied for a scholarship and won a place at the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art.

After school, in 2002, I got my break in a British TV series called “Sparkhouse.” My role ran through four episodes and I finally played an arc of a character. I felt I had become an actor.

Today, I divide my time between homes in New York and London. I love both cities for different reasons.

At the Royal Film Performance of “The Hobbit” in London in 2012, my family attended. Before the screening, I was allowed to take one family member to meet Prince William. I took my mother.

After the screening, as the royals left first, Prince William passed my seat, touched me on the shoulder and said, “Brilliant performance.” My mother was visibly shaking. She saw me do what I’d said I was going to do.

Richard’s Recall
What is “Stay Close” about? Three people living lives they never planned have secret pasts that resurface.


Childhood vacation? We once took a trip to Wylfa in Wales. After Dad’s visit to a reactor, he gave me his little white cap and old reactor blueprints to draw on.

Regret? Not taking up golf. If I had, I’d be able to join my father now, who, at 85, still plays twice a week.

Dad tradition? Whenever I’m home, we go for a walk and talk history. Huncote dates from 1058.

Richard Armitage in New York City in 2021. KAITLYN MIKAYLA

Mr. Armitage, left, with his brother, Chris, in 1976.
PHOTO: RICHARD ARMITAGE

Mr. Armitage and his mother, Margaret, at England’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 2001.
PHOTO: JOHN ARMITAGE

Ach... Wer weiß...

Mir gefällt auch die offensichtliche Nähe zu seinem Vater. Für Golf ist es ja eigentlich noch lange nicht zu spät, Richard!