Richard Armitage (born 22 August 1971, Leicester) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the film adaptations of "The Hobbit", the BBCs Robin Hood and Spooks, as well as his guest appearance in the finale of The Vicar of Dibley.

He started his career in theatre, appearing in various musicals including Cats and after studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company as a supporting player.

Richard Armitage has also performed a great deal of voice work such as starring as Robert Lovelace in BBC Radio 4's production of Clarissa: A History of a Young Lady in April of 2010. He has recorded audio books from those based on BBC's "Robin Hood", to Bernard Cornwel's Lords of the North, to three Georgette Heyer novels for Naxos AudioBooks: Sylvester, Venetia, and Convenient Marriage which is to be released in August of 2010. He has provided the narration for documentaries such as "Homes From Hell", "Empire's Children", "Too Poor for Posh School?", and "Forest Elephants: Rumble in the Jungle". He has also provided the voice over for several advertisements. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.