Richard Armitage Thorin              Full Name: Richard Crispin Armitage Birthplace: Leicester, Leicestershire, England Birth Date: 22nd August, 1971           Trivia: When he was 14 years old he attended an independent college, which specialized in performing arts Has an older brother, Chris Worked for a time as an assistant choreographer and also appeared in musical theatre shows including Cats, 42nd Street and Annie Get Your Gun Left college with A-Levels in Music and English Was at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art from 1996-98 Appeared very briefly in The Phantom Menace (1999) and spoke one line. This line was cut from the film before being released in cinemas Played the cello whilst in school and also performed in a local orchestra. He also played the flute Spent 18 months touring with the Royal Shakespeare Company where he played Angus in Macbeth Spent most of his childhood in Coventry Peter Jackson was unfamiliar with most of his work, and cast him in The Hobbit based on his audition alone North and South (2004) set in a cotton town, has special meaning for him, as his father's families side were all weavers and spinners Was educated at Huncote Community Primary School in Huncote, Leicestershire At 17, left school to travel to Budapest to work in a circus. He performed acrobatics and also worked as a clown. He did so for 6 months and obtained his Equity card At Brockington College in Enderby, he studied music His father John was an engineer and his mother Margaret was a secretary Notable Projects: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Spooks (TV Series) (2010) Robin Hood (TV Series) (2006-09) North and South (TV Series) (2004) Current Projects: Black Sky (2013) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) The Hobbit: There and Back Again (2014)   < <Back to cast biographies index