Rupert Friend

Rupert William Anthony Friend (born 1 October 1981) is an English actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his roles as Mr. Wickham in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice, Lieutenant Kurt Kotler in the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Prince Albert in the 2009 film The Young Victoria, and Peter Quinn on the Showtime series Homeland.

Early life and education

Friend was born and raised in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, the son of Caroline, a solicitor, and Nicholas Friend, a cultural historian. He attended Marlborough School in Woodstock. He moved to take A-levels at the Cherwell School and d'Overbroeck's College in Oxford. Friend trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He calls himself a late starter: "I was about to set off sailing around the world when I heard I'd got into drama school. Everyone else there had grown up singing and dancing, whereas I was the opposite."

Career

Friend made his acting debut as Billy Downs in the 2005 film The Libertine, for which he was named "outstanding new talent" at the 2005 Satellite Awards. In 2005, he also had his first starring role in the film Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont. The same year, he portrayed Wickham in Joe Wright's version of Pride and Prejudice. In 2008, Friend and Tom Mison wrote and starred in the short film The Continuing and Lamentable Saga of the Suicide Brothers. In 2010, he wrote, directed, and produced another short film entitled Steve. Steve was later included in the 2012 compilation Stars in Shorts. He also starred in the film Chéri and played Albert, Prince Consort in Young Victoria.

In 2010, Friend made his stage debut as Mitchell in the UK premiere of The Little Dog Laughed. He stars in the films The Kid, based on the novel by Kevin Lewis, and Lullaby for Pi. In February 2015, Friend will be starring as Agent 47 in the film Hitman: Agent 47. He currently plays a major role as Peter Quinn in the multiple award winning political drama series Homeland.

Personal life

He began dating Aimee Mullins in 2013, and they became engaged in December 2014. Previously, Friend dated actress Keira Knightley from 2005 to 2010.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

References

External links

• Media related to Rupert Friend at Wikimedia Commons
• Rupert Friend at the Internet Movie Database
• Times feature