Richard Madden

Some Lesser Known Facts About Richard Madden

• Richard Madden grew up in a working-class family in Elderslie, Scotland.

• At the age of 11, Madden joined the PACE Youth Theatre in Scotland to become more confident. He got his first acting role as young Andy in the film ‘Complicity’ (2000) at the same age.

• Madden dealt with shyness and body insecurities as a child. In high school, he faced bullying, which influenced his role in the film ‘Complicity’ (2000).

  

• Madden was bullied for his weight in high school. He once even tried to fight a classmate, but his mother unexpectedly showed up and stopped him just before it happened. After that, everyone thought his mother would come if they bullied him, so they left him alone.

• While studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, he worked with The Arches and the Glasgow Repertory Company.

• During his days at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Madden acted in plays like Tom Fool at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow. The play was later performed in London at the Bush Theatre, where Madden’s performance caught the eye of Shakespeare’s Globe team.

  

• Madden was in his final year when he played the role of Romeo in the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at the Shakespeare’s Globe in London. He has appeared in many other plays like ‘Noughts and Crosses’ (2008) and ‘Be Near Me’ (2009).

  

• In 2010, he lent his voice to a character named ‘Curley’ in the radio play/drama ‘Of Mice and Men.’ It was aired on BBC Radio 4.

  

• In 2011, he appeared as ‘Elliot’ in a short film titled ‘Strays.’

  

• From 2011 to 2013, Madden played the role of ‘Robb Stark’ in a fantasy drama series titled ‘Game of Thrones,’ which aired on HBO.
  

• Madden was paid very little for the role of ‘Robb Stark’ because he was not so popular then. He could not even afford cabs and had to take the bus on weekends. In an interview, he said,
  

  People think I am (loaded) because of Game Of Thrones, but you know, when I signed up for that I was 22, with f**k all on my CV, so I was paid f**k all.”

• Madden has worked in some other television series like BBC One’s ‘Birdsong’ (2012) (British), ‘Bodyguard’ (2018) (British), and Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Citadel’ (2023) (American).

• The intense role of PS David Budd in the film ‘Bodyguard’ left Madden so emotionally drained to the point that he once considered quitting acting.

• Richard Madden and actress Jenna Coleman had an on-and-off relationship for about three years from 2012 to 2015.

  

• Madden has lent his voice to characters like ‘Trevor Belmont/Alucard’ in the video games ‘Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate’ (2013) and ‘Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2’ (2014).

  

• He has also worked as a narrator for documentaries like ‘Scotland’s Home Movies’ (2015-2016) and ‘Harry Birrell Presents Films of Love and War’ (2019).

  

• In 2015, Richard and Cara Delevingne, an English actor and model, engaged in a heated exchange after Richard criticised Cara for her relaxed approach in an interview. In response to his comments, Cara took to Twitter (now X) and questioned his remarks. Madden, however, later said that his comments were misquoted and expressed respect for her. ^[3]PopSugar

• He began dating Laura Whitmore, an Irish media personality and model, in March 2016 after meeting through mutual connections in the Game of Thrones cast, particularly actor Kit Harington. They, however, broke up in August 2016 due to their busy schedules.

• In December 2016, Madden was rumoured to be dating Suki Waterhouse, an English singer-songwriter, actor, and model. They, however, never confirmed it.

• Madden has appeared in films like ‘Bastille Day’ (released as The Take) (2016), ‘Ibiza’ (2018), and ‘Eternals’ (2021).

• He dated actor Ellie Bamber from 2017 to 2019. They ended their relationship because they argued often. They even considered couple therapy but decided to break up as they could not fix their problems.

  

• In April 2019, Richard and openly gay actor Brandon Flynn were seen together in Los Angeles, which led to speculation about their relationship. They had previously been roommates. Flynn, however, later denied any romantic involvement between them.

  

• Madden lent his voice to the character ‘Edward Fitz’ in QCode’s podcast series ‘From Now’ (2020-2021).

  

• He consumes alcohol occasionally.

  

• He often smokes cigarettes.

  

• Richard Madden has a small white patch of hair at the front of his scalp, known as a mallen streak. This is due to poliosis, where hair lacks pigmentation and turns white. For his acting roles, Madden generally dyes his white streak brown.

  

• He is an avid traveller and often shares his travelling experiences on social media.

  

• He is a fitness enthusiast and often goes for a job to keep himself fit.

  

• Richard dislikes singing and considers it one of its worst nightmares.

• Richard does not like interviews and thinks he is bad at them. He often feels nervous and worried that he is not interesting enough.

• He is paranoid about public attention and often feels like people stare at him wherever he goes.

• He initially used to fear photographers spying on him so much that he set up WhatsApp groups with his friends to track paparazzi outside his flat.

• After finishing projects, Madden avoids saying goodbye and opts for ‘See you tomorrow’ instead as farewells are emotionally challenging for him.

Richard Madden as PS David Budd in the film ‘Bodyguard’ (2018)

Richard Madden as ‘Leo West’ in the film ‘Ibiza’ (2018)