Samuel Peter W. Riley (born 8 January 1980) is an English actor and singer.James Mottram: The only people for me are the mad ones. ''Independent on Sunday: The New Review'', 30 January 2011, pp 10–13 He is best known for his performance in the 2007

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

'' Control'' about the life of

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown Pleasures'' (197 ...

, as protagonist Sal Paradise in the 2012 adaptation of the

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...

novel '' On the Road'', and as Diaval in the 2014 film '' Maleficent''. Riley received renown for his portrayal of Fitzwilliam Darcy in the 2016 film '' Pride and Prejudice and Zombies''.

Early life and education

Riley was born in Menston, Bradford, West Yorkshire, the son of Amanda, a nursery school teacher, and Andrew Riley, a textile agent. He was educated at Malsis School, an independent school in the village of Cross Hills in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, and at Uppingham School, an independent school in the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

of Uppingham in

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

Career

Acting

His breakthrough performance came when he played the role of

in the film '' Control'', a biopic about the lead singer of the 1970s

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

. The film received high critical acclaim due in good part to Riley's performance, which won him a selection of awards including the British Independent Film Award for "Most Promising Newcomer" a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

"Rising Star" nomination; and a Mark Kermode nod for Best Actor 2007. Prior to his portrayal of Ian Curtis, Riley played The Fall frontman

Mark E. Smith Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistol ...

in the

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', ''Wonderland (1999 film), Wonderland'' and ''24 ...

film '' 24 Hour Party People'', which details the

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...

era and featured Sean Harris as Ian Curtis. Riley's scenes, however, were omitted from the final cut. In September 2007, Riley was cast in Gerald McMorrow's British science fiction film '' Franklyn''. He starred as the lead role in '' 13'', an English language remake of the French thriller '' 13 Tzameti'', released in the U.S. 28 October 2011. He played the role of Pinkie Brown in '' Brighton Rock'' alongside

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

, an adaption of

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

's novel, released 4 February 2011. He also starred in Walter Salles' film adaptation of

's autobiographical '' On the Road'' playing the narrator and protagonist Sal Paradise. He also has a small role in the 2011 German comedy ', in which his wife Alexandra Maria Lara plays the female lead. His role is listed as "Wagenmeister". In ''

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

'' (2012), a film directed by

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish filmmaker and writer. He first achieved recognition for his short story collection, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia,'' which won the Guardian Fiction Prize in ...

, he appears alongside Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan as Darvell. In 2012, Riley was cast as Diaval in

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's '' Maleficent'', alongside

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

. The film was released May 2014. In 2015, he played Benoit Labarie in Saul Dibb's film adaptation of Irène Némirovsky's novel '' Suite Française'', opposite

Michelle Williams Michelle Williams or Michele Williams may refer to: * Michelle Ann Williams (born circa 1965), American public health scholar * Michelle Williams (singer) (born 1979), American singer, previously a member of Destiny's Child * Michelle Williams (actr ...

Matthias Schoenaerts Matthias Schoenaerts ( , ; born 8 December 1977) is a Belgian actor. He made his film debut at the age of 13 in ''Daens (film), Daens'' (1992), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He is best known for his rol ...

, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ruth Wilson. Riley was also cast as Fitzwilliam Darcy ( Mr. Darcy) in the film, ''Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'', released in February 2016. Riley played the 'not-so welcome' returning prodigal brother David in the 2018 film '' Happy New Year, Colin Burstead'' by

Ben Wheatley Ben Wheatley (born 1972) is an English filmmaker, film editor, and animator. Beginning his career in advertising, Wheatley first gained recognition and acclaim for his commercials and short films, before transitioning into feature films and tele ...

Modelling

He featured in the autumn/winter 2008 publicity campaign for the British fashion house Burberry, supervised by Christopher Bailey and shot by

Mario Testino Mario Eduardo Testino Silva Order of the British Empire, OBE Royal Photographic Society#Distinctions and qualifications, HonFRPS (born 30 October 1954) is a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer. His work has featured internationally in ...

. He modelled the fall/winter 2014 Stefano Pilati-designed couture collection of Ermenegildo Zegna. He was named one of '' GQ''s 50 best dressed British men in 2015.

Music

For a few years Riley was the lead singer of the

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

band 10,000 Things, with whom he achieved moderate success. After their first release on indie label Voltage Records in 2002, they signed to major label

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

for one self-titled album. They disbanded in 2005.

Personal life

As of 2011, Riley lives in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

with his wife, Romanian-German actress Alexandra Maria Lara. They met while filming ''Control,'' married in August 2009 and have a son born in January 2014.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Sam Riley
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Sam 1980 births Living people English expatriates in Germany English male film actors English male singers English male television actors Male actors from Bradford National Youth Theatre members People educated at Uppingham School People from Menston 21st-century English male actors 21st-century English singers 21st-century British male singers