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

(1986-05-20) 20 May 1986 (age 38)
Horley, Surrey, England
OccupationActor
Years active2007–present

Early life

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Emms 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

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In 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

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Film

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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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ "Robert Emms" (PDF). LAMDA. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  3. ^ "War Horse Transfer Cast Update". Theatre Tickets. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  4. ^ "War Horse — new cast announced". Indie London. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  5. ^ "Half the cast to change in War Horse!". London Theatre. 10 September 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  6. ^ Freer, Ian (17 February 2010). "Exclusive: War Horse Cast Announced". Empire. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  7. ^ "War Horse: A Man's Play". Blokely. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  8. ^ "Screen unveils 2011 Stars of Tomorrow". Screen Daily. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  9. ^ "'Kick-Ass 2' Set for Summer 2013; Robert Emms and Morris Chestnut Join Cast". 15 August 2012.
  10. ^ "Broken (2013), directed by Rufus Norris | Film review".
  11. ^ Sneider, Jeff (5 May 2011). "Lane, Emms join Relativity's Snow White". Variety. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Shia LaBeouf-starrer 'Borg/McEnroe' begins shoot".
  15. ^ Hogan, Michael (8 March 2016). "Happy Valley, review: Did Daryl's mum turn the gun on herself? Plus ten more talking points". The Telegraph.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Heminsley, Alexandra (7 July 2011). "Have you been watching ... Scott & Bailey?". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  18. ^ "BBC One: Capital". BBC Online. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  19. ^ "BBC - Cast announced for BBC One's Atlantis - Media Centre".
  20. ^ Hibbs, James (26 September 2022). "Kaya Scodelario and Alfred Enoch to star in Sky rom-com This Christmas". Radio Times.
  21. ^ "The Reckoning: BBC Jimmy Savile Drama 'Delayed Until 2024'". TV Zone. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  22. ^ 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.
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