Sam Riley

Samuel Peter W. Riley, better known as Sam Riley, is a prominent English actor and singer, born on 8th January 1980 in Menston, Bradford, West Yorkshire. He is recognized for his performance in the 2007 biographical film 'Control' about the life of Ian Curtis, as protagonist Sal Paradise in the 2012 adaptation of the Jack Kerouac novel 'On the Road', and as Diaval in the 2014 film 'Maleficent'. Riley furthered his career by excellently playing Fitzwilliam Darcy in the 2016 film 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'. During his early life, he gained education from Malsis School, an independent school in the village of Cross Hills in North Yorkshire, and at Uppingham School, an independent school in the market town of Uppingham, in Rutland, England. He made a breakthrough in the film industry when he acted in the film 'Control', a biopic about the lead singer of the 1970s post-punk band Joy Division. Riley won the British Independent Film Award for 'Most Promising Newcomer', a BAFTA 'Rising Star' nomination, and a Mark Kermode nod for Best Actor 2007 as a result of his impressive performance in the film. Besides acting, Sam also dipped his toes into music. For a few years, Riley was the lead singer of the Leeds band 10,000 Things. With them, he achieved moderate success. After their first release on indie label Voltage Records in 2002, they signed to major label Polydor for one self-titled album. They later disbanded in 2005.

In his personal life, Riley lives in Berlin with his wife, the Romanian-German actress Alexandra Maria Lara. The duo met during the filming of 'Control', got married in August 2009 and had their son in January 2014. Despite his fame, Sam appeared in the autumn/winter 2008 publicity campaign for the British fashion house Burberry, supervised by Christopher Bailey and shot by Mario Testino. He also represented the fall/winter 2014 Stefano Pilati-designed couture collection of Ermenegildo Zegna. Riley was voted among GQ's 50 best dressed British men in 2015.