Robert Emms (born Robert James MacPherson; 20 May 1986) is a British film, stage and television actor, known for portraying Pythagoras in the BBC One fantasy-adventure series Atlantis, and Leonid Toptunov in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl.
Robert Emms | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert James MacPherson 20 May 1986 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2007–present |
Early life
editEmms was born in Horley, Surrey, England. He went to a local secondary school, Oakwood School, Horley.[1] He studied at the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology from 2002 to 2004, and then the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) from 2004 to 2007.[2]
Career
editIn March 2009 Emms played the lead role of Albert in the National Theatre's production of War Horse.[3][4][5] After Steven Spielberg saw him in War Horse at the New London Theatre, he was cast as David Lyons in Spielberg's film adaptation of the play.[6][7]
In June 2011 Screen International named him as a 'Star of Tomorrow'.[8]
His other film work includes Kick-Ass 2 alongside Jim Carrey,[9] and Rick 'Broken' Buckley in Broken directed by Rufus Norris for BBC films.[10] He appeared as the Elizabethan playwright Thomas Dekker in Anonymous directed by Roland Emmerich, in[11] Tarsem Singh's version of the Brothers Grimm's Snow White, in Mirror Mirror, with Julia Roberts and in the BAFTA-nominated film The Arbor, directed by Clio Barnard.[12][13] More recently he has portrayed Vitas Gerulaitis in the film Borg/McEnroe directed by Janus Metz Pederson (alongside Shia LaBeouf).[14]
Emms' notable television appearances include Happy Valley by Sally Wainwright,[15] The Street by Jimmy McGovern,[16] and Scott & Bailey.[17] In 2015, Emms played the part of Smitty, the artistic grandson of Petunia Howe, in the three-part BBC series Capital based on John Lanchester's novel of the same name.[18] Most recently he portrays John Gerard in the BBC series Gunpowder alongside Kit Harington and Liv Tyler. He also played Pythagoras in the series Atlantis for the BBC.[19]
Emms played Jack in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and the third season of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (2021).
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Arbor | Young David | Clio Barnard |
| 2011 | War Horse | David Lyons | Steven Spielberg |
| 2011 | Anonymous | Thomas Dekker | Roland Emmerich |
| 2012 | Broken | Rick Buckley | Rufus Norris |
| 2012 | Mirror, Mirror | Charles Renbock | Tarsem Singh |
| 2013 | Kick-Ass 2 | Insect Man | Jeff Wadlow |
| 2013 | The Selfish Giant | Phil | Clio Barnard |
| 2017 | Borg/McEnroe | Vitas Gerulaitis | Janus Metz Pedersen |
| 2017 | Apostasy | Steven | Daniel Kokotajlo |
| 2018 | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | Tech Merc (Jack) | J. A. Bayona |
| 2022 | This is Christmas[20] | Paul | Chris Foggin |
| 2023 | Starve Acre | Steven | Daniel Kokotajlo |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Shangri-La | Horatio | 1 episode |
| 2008 | Waking the Dead | Steo | 1 episode |
| 2008 | The Wrong Door | Colin/Smee | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | The Street | Calum Miller | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Monday Monday | Tom | 1 episode |
| 2011 | Scott & Bailey | Luke Farrell | 1 episode |
| 2013-2015 | Atlantis | Pythagoras | Main role, 25 episodes |
| 2015 | Capital | Smitty | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2016 | The Living and the Dead | Peter | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Happy Valley | Daryl Garrs | Main role, 4 episodes (Series 2) |
| 2017 | Gunpowder | Father John Gerard | Recurring role, 3 episodes |
| 2019 | Cleaning Up | Glynn | Main role |
| 2019 | Chernobyl | Leonid Toptunov | Miniseries, 5 episodes |
| 2019 | His Dark Materials | Thomas | 6 episodes |
| 2021 | Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous | Tech Merc (Jack) | Season 3, 1 episode |
| 2022 | Four Lives | Ricky | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2022 | Andor | Supervisor Lonni Jung | 6 episodes |
| 2023 | The Reckoning [21] | Ray Teret[22] | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Ravens: Spassky vs. Fischer | Bobby Fischer | Annabelle Comyn | Hampstead Theatre |
| 2009-10 | War Horse | Albert Narracott | Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris | National Theatre at New London Theatre |
| 2009 | Billy Narracott | |||
| 2008 | Shangri-La | Horatio | Mark Ravenhill | Roundhouse |
| 2008 | The Glee Club | Colin | Roger Haines | Library Theatre, Manchester |
| 2007 | The Six-Days World | Tom | Jamie Harper | Finborough Theatre |
| 2023-24 | The Homecoming | Teddy | Matthew Dunster | Young Vic |
References
edit- ^ "Robert Emms missed out on War Horse role first time around | Surrey Mirror". www.surreymirror.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
- ^ "Robert Emms" (PDF). LAMDA. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ "War Horse Transfer Cast Update". Theatre Tickets. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ "War Horse — new cast announced". Indie London. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ^ "Half the cast to change in War Horse!". London Theatre. 10 September 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ Freer, Ian (17 February 2010). "Exclusive: War Horse Cast Announced". Empire. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ^ "War Horse: A Man's Play". Blokely. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ "Screen unveils 2011 Stars of Tomorrow". Screen Daily. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ "'Kick-Ass 2' Set for Summer 2013; Robert Emms and Morris Chestnut Join Cast". 15 August 2012.
- ^ "Broken (2013), directed by Rufus Norris | Film review".
- ^ Sneider, Jeff (5 May 2011). "Lane, Emms join Relativity's Snow White". Variety. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ Sandhu, Sukhdev (21 October 2010). "The Arbor, review: The Arbor brilliantly explores the life and legacy of Andrea Dunbar". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ^ Newman, Nick (5 May 2011). "Nathan Lane And Robert Emms Join 'The Brothers Grimm: Snow White'". thefilmstage.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ "Shia LaBeouf-starrer 'Borg/McEnroe' begins shoot".
- ^ Hogan, Michael (8 March 2016). "Happy Valley, review: Did Daryl's mum turn the gun on herself? Plus ten more talking points". The Telegraph.
- ^ Walker, Tim (14 July 2009). "Last Night's Television — Monday Monday, ITV1; The Street, BBC1". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 July 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ^ Heminsley, Alexandra (7 July 2011). "Have you been watching ... Scott & Bailey?". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ^ "BBC One: Capital". BBC Online. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "BBC - Cast announced for BBC One's Atlantis - Media Centre".
- ^ Hibbs, James (26 September 2022). "Kaya Scodelario and Alfred Enoch to star in Sky rom-com This Christmas". Radio Times.
- ^ "The Reckoning: BBC Jimmy Savile Drama 'Delayed Until 2024'". TV Zone. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ Griffin, Louise (22 October 2021). "Steve Coogan gets into character as Jimmy Savile in new look at controversial BBC drama". Metro. Retrieved 22 October 2021.