Biografia

At 17, joined a circus in Budapest for six weeks to get his Equity card.

Was named after King Richard III, as he was born on the anniversary of the day the king was killed in battle.

Was the youngest actor to audition for the role of Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit.

He plays the cello, guitar, and flute.

Suffers from aquaphobia (specifically, fear of drowning) stemming from an incident in which his stroller fell into a neighbor's pond when he was a toddler. This has not stopped him from taking aqua aerobics classes to prepare for the role of Lee in Cold Feet, allowing himself to be water-boarded twice (In Spooks and Strike Back), swimming at least 50 laps a day to prepare for the role of Heinz Kruger in Captain America, and allowing himself to be submerged in a well for a considerable length of time while shooting an episode of Robin Hood.

I try to be quite a detailed actor. People were really picking up on that. Even if it was just a flicker of the eye or something, they got it.

You can spend a bit of yourself when you give yourself to a character. At the end of a job, you have to remind yourself who and what you are.

Live acting is a kind of adventure sport. I don't go abseiling or snowboarding, but I sometimes think that stepping out on stage can have the same kind of adrenaline rush.

I don't think actors need to go on pedestals. I don't buy it. I think it's a weird thing. It's like you become someone else, like stepping into another universe.

[on suffering an injury on the set of Spooks before his first audition for Thorin Oakenshield] I had taken so many painkillers that I hobbled into the room, sat on my hands and the whole meeting passed in a bit of a blur. If nothing else, I think, with my audition I may have succeeded in showing my ability to convey pain!