English actor Richard Crispin Armitage received worldwide recognition from the role of Thorin in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, The Hobbit.

But, little did he know, the movie would set fire to gay rumors. He got linked with his Hobbit co-star, Lee Pace.

Richard Armitage Studied Acting

Actor Richard Armitage was born on August 22, 1971, in Leicester, Leicestershire, England. His mother is Margaret Armitage, a secretary, and his father is John Armitage, an engineer. He has an older brother named Chris Armitage.

Richard went to Huncote Community Primary School. Then, finding his passion for arts, he first studied Music at the Brockington High School.

At the age of 14, he persuaded his parents to send him to a vocational school, Pattison Theatre Arts, in Coventry. He studied acting and completed O and A-levels in the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.

Gained Massive Fans From The Hobbit

After his educational endeavors, Richard initiated his career, to be exact from 1992. He started working in cinema with some small parts in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Cleopatra, and This Year’s Love since 1999.

He earned quite a name by portraying John Thornton’s role in the TV mini-series North and South in 2004.

His fame reached the next level when he started portraying the character Thorin in The Hobbit trilogy from 2012. So much so, The Stranger actor won the Saturn Awards for the Best supporting actor for The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies in June 2015.

Gay Rumors Rose Along With Success from The Hobbit

Richard got into the limelight for his acting instincts on The Hobbit. But his real-life relationship with his co-star Lee Pace from the same series also became the talk of the town.

The duo was rumored to be an item. Together, they were seen hanging out and attending the red carpet events.

Although it is common for co-actors to hang out and attend red carpets together, rumors of Richard and Lee being a gay couple circulated after a very suspicious picture of them surfaced on the internet. The image where Richard and Lee were seen very close to each other fueled the gay rumors.

Moreover, the couple was spotted on casual meetings. For instance, they were pictured together in Washington Square Park in April 2014. Also, they had dinner together along with their family.

Although their union ignited rumors on their sexuality, neither Lee nor Richard commented anything on their relationship.

Relationship Status After Failed Engagement

Richard lives quite an ambiguous life regarding his relationship status. For now, there’s no evidence to support if he is dating, single, engaged, or married.

The Uncle Vanya star has kept his dating information within himself since his engagement with Samantha Colley reached a dead end. On the contrary, his ex-fiancée, Samantha Colley, moved on and married.

Long before Samantha, Richard had a long-term relationship with English actress Annabel Capper. He was so indulged in the relationship that he had disclosed his want to start a family with his girlfriend. But because of undisclosed reasons, they broke up and parted ways.

New TV shows and Movies

He also starred in the hit TV series, The Stranger, and the animation series, Castlevania. In 2020, he got cast in Harlan Coben’s adaptation of the novel ‘Stay Close.’