Ricky Whittle
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| Ricky Whittle | |
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Whittle in June 2014
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| Born | Richard Whittle 23 November 1981 [1] Oldham, England, United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | University of Southampton |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Website | www |
Richard "Ricky" Whittle (born 23 November 1981) is an English actor from Oldham, England,[2] best known for his role as Calvin Valentine in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. In 2009 he competed in the BBC reality series Strictly Come Dancing coming second to Chris Hollins. In 2014 Whittle starred in the American television series Mistresses as Daniel Zamora, and also appeared in The CW's post-apocalyptic drama The 100 as Lincoln, a "Grounder". On 28 January 2016 Whittle was announced as the lead character, Shadow Moon, in the TV series American Gods.[3]
Contents
Biography
The son of a former Royal Air Force serviceman, Whittle grew up traveling with his father's career around the world, with a home base at Burghfield Common near Reading, Berkshire.[4] A keen sportsman, Whittle represented England and the United Kingdom at youth level in football, American football and athletics. After having been watched by Arsenal and Celtic, an injury brought about the pursuit of a degree in Criminology at Southampton Institute of Higher Education (now Southampton Solent University). He failed to complete his degree but enjoyed playing football and rugby for the University sides whilst he was studying. Having recovered from a broken leg, Whittle spends his spare time playing running back for the Manchester Titans American Football team.[5]
Career
Acting career
At university, Whittle began modelling, becoming the face of a Reebok campaign in 2000. This brought him to the attention of casting agents for Sky One's Dream Team who cast him as Ryan Naysmith. Whittle left university to pursue an acting career. Carrying on with his sports ambitions, in the third series, Whittle broke his leg in seven places and was forced into a long hospital stay. The writers wrote a broken leg into the Dream Team script, allowing Whittle a slower recuperation.
After playing his first gay character on BBC One's Holby City, Whittle played Calvin Valentine in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks until May 2010 when his character was killed off after Whittle decided to depart. In January 2008, Whittle appeared on a celebrity edition of The Weakest Link, reaching the final, but losing out to Crimewatch UK star, Rav Wilding.
In July 2012, Whittle appeared as Charles on season 2 of Single Ladies. He also appeared as Captain George East in Stephenie Meyer and Jerusha Hess's romantic comedy Austenland, which was completed in 2012. In March 2013, Whittle appeared in the American drama NCIS, guest-starring in the Season 10 episode, Detour. In 2014, he began a recurring role in The 100 as a "Grounder" named Lincoln, and was upgraded to regular status for season 2.
Strictly Come Dancing
In August 2009, Whittle was announced as a contestant on the BBC One reality series Strictly Come Dancing, paired with Australian professional dancer Natalie Lowe.[6] A fellow contestant on the programme, Ali Bastian, also starred with him in Hollyoaks. Whittle made it through to the final of the competition (beating Rav Wilding, to whom he had lost The Weakest Link in 2008), and competed against television presenter Chris Hollins and his dance partner Ola Jordan for the Strictly Come Dancing glitterball trophy. However, Whittle lost the battle and ended up taking second place, despite winning the judges' scores 190–186.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Losing Sam | Samuel | Short film |
| 2013 | Austenland | Captain East |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Holby City | David Richards | Episode: "You Can Choose Your Friends..." |
| 2002–2007 | Dream Team | Ryan Naysmith | Main Cast; 77 episodes |
| 2006–2011 | Hollyoaks | Calvin Valentine | Main Cast; 238 episodes TRIC Award for Best TV Soap Personality (2010) Nominated – British Soap Award for Sexiest Male (2007–2010) |
| 2011 | Candy Cabs | Eddie Shannon | Episode: "Episode Two" |
| 2012 | Single Ladies | Charles | 8 episodes |
| 2013 | NCIS | Lincoln | Episode: "Detour" |
| 2014–2016 | The 100 | Lincoln | Recurring (season 1) Main Cast (season 2–3) |
| 2014 | Mistresses | Daniel Zamora | 10 episodes |
| 2016 | American Gods | Shadow | Pre-production |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated Work | Result | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | British Soap Awards | Sexiest Male | Hollyoaks | Nominated | |
| 2008 | Nominated | ||||
| 2009 | Nominated | ||||
| 2010 | Nominated | ||||
| TRIC Award | TV Soap Personality | Won |
References
- ↑ Ricky Whittle at the Internet Movie Database
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External links
- Official website
- Ricky Whittle at the Internet Movie Database
- Ricky's Charity
- Ricky Whittle interview
| Preceded by | Strictly Come Dancing runner up (with partner Natalie Lowe) Series 7 (2009) |
Succeeded by Matt Baker and Aliona Vilani |
- Use dmy dates from May 2012
- Use British English from May 2012
- Pages with broken file links
- Pages using infobox person with unknown parameters
- Infobox person using numbered parameter
- Articles with hCards
- Official website not in Wikidata
- 1981 births
- Living people
- Military brats
- People from Oldham
- People from Burghfield
- Alumni of the University of Southampton
- Black English male actors
- English male models
- English male television actors
- Strictly Come Dancing participants
- Male actors from Greater Manchester
- 21st-century English male actors
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