Richard was born in Lennoxtown, Glasgow, on January 4, 1983.  His birth name is actually Richard Harris.  He changed his name to Rankin, his mother's maiden name, to avoid any confusion with the famous Irish actor of the same name.

 

Initially his career path was set to be an IT professional, with a healthy helping of wanting to be in a boy band.  Yes, we grinned too.  A British version of Donnie Wahlberg, that can design a killer gaming system for you?  What's not to like?!  That's a complete package, and a trifecta of sorts, if you will.  However,  when he visited Los Angeles at the age of 21, his objectives changed.  He started his training as an actor the following year, at Langside College.

 

He first came to the public's attention, as an actor (we're sure he got plenty of female attention before that), in the Scottish comedy series "Burnistoun", and he toured extensively in the award winning play, "Black Watch".  Although, his very first plays were "A Clockwork Orange", at Langside College, and "Pillow Man", at Citizens Theatre.  An iconic role as Captain Thomas Gillan in "Crimson Field", led to many other equally strong roles in BBC productions such as "Silent Witness", "The Syndicate", "From Darkness" and "Thirteen".  In July of 2016, he will make his debut in "Outlander", based on a book of the same name, written by author Diana Gabaldon.  He'll be playing the role of Roger Wakefield (MacKenzie).  His most recent role, still in production, is in "The Last Kingdom".

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APB (All Points Bulletin) Stats

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Ht: 6'

Wt: 12 st

Hr: Dk Brown

Eyes: Blue

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Accents and Dialects: American-California, American-New York, American-Southern States, American-Standard, Australian, Birmingham, Central Scottish, Cockney, Edinburgh, Geordie, Glasgow, Irish-Northern, Irish-Southern, Liverpool, London, Northern, RP, Scottish-West Coast, Yorkshire

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Instruments: Drums, Guitar, Singing (Tenor)

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​​Sports: Fencing, Football, Golf, Horse-riding, Ice Hockey, Ice Skating, Pool, Stage Combat

 

• Favorite type of biscuit:  Hob Nob

• Favorite way to escape:  Climb anything (out windows, up walls or up trees); heights do not bother this man.  Please note, he wasn't trying to get a way from us.  Honest!

• Loves board games (anything that taxes the brain), and reading.

• He'll play games online all night, if allowed.

• While generally a very healthy eater, he does enjoy a good pizza now and again.

• Let him play with your turtle, to get on his good side.  He loved them as a boy.  Don't send them to him in the mail!  I'm afraid, he wouldn't like you very much by the time the package arrived.