Paul Ritter

Early life

Ritter was born Simon Paul Adams on 20 December 1966 in Gravesend, Kent. His father Ken Adams, a turner and fitter, worked at various CEGB power stations; his mother Joan ( Mooney) was a school secretary. His family were Catholic and he had four older sisters. Adams attended Gravesend Grammar School and went on to study German and French at St John's College, Cambridge.

After graduating, he went to the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, Germany. Upon returning to the UK, he took the stage name Ritter, of German origin. He took this name because another Simon Adams was registered with the acting trade union, Equity, and he admired a German actor with the surname Ritter.

Ritter studied alongside the actor Stephen Mangan and they later acted together in a 2009 revival of the play The Norman Conquests.

Career

Ritter's screen work included roles in Nowhere Boy, the 2007 television serial Instinct, the comedy drama Pulling and the role of Pistol in Henry IV, Part II and Henry V in BBC Two's cycle of William Shakespeare's history plays, The Hollow Crown; The Daily Telegraph described Ritter as "an actor who is surely destined for greatness very soon. His Pistol conveyed perfectly the shock of a man who reluctantly had left behind the rowdy cheer of Eastcheap, and found himself in middle age contemplating the melancholy of a medieval autumn." Ritter also played comic actor Eric Sykes in Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This and took a lead role in BBC One's 2014 serialised Cold War spy drama, The Game.

From 2005 to 2006, Ritter played Otis Gardiner in the original Royal National Theatre production of Helen Edmundson's Coram Boy, for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award. He was nominated for a Tony Award in 2009 for his role in The Norman Conquests. In 2012, he appeared as the protagonist's father in the stage version of Mark Haddon's novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the National Theatre and in 2013 as John Major in the premiere of Peter Morgan's The Audience.

He appeared in the first three series (2011-13) of British crime drama Vera, as pathologist Dr. Billy Cartwright. He also appeared in a main role as Anatoly Dyatlov, the deputy chief engineer, in the HBO and Sky Max miniseries Chernobyl. Ritter's performance in the latter was critically acclaimed.

From 2011 to 2020, Ritter starred as Martin Goodman in the Channel 4 comedy series, Friday Night Dinner. For this role, he received a posthumous nomination at the 2021 British Academy Television Awards for the Best Male Comedy Performance.

Ritter's final performance was in the movie Operation Mincemeat as Bentley Purchase. The film was released posthumously and was dedicated to his memory.

Personal life and death

In 1996, Ritter married Polly Radcliffe, a research fellow at King's College London. He lived in Faversham, Kent.{{cite web |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/tributes-pour-in-for-popular-kent-actor-245088/ |last=Dyson |first=Jack

Ritter died of a brain tumour on 5 April 2021, aged 54, in his home, surrounded by his family. Long-time friend Stephen Mangan tweeted: "Trying to find a way to talk about Paul Ritter and struggling. My friend since we were students together. So much talent and it shone from him even as a teenager. I was so lucky to know him and lucky too to work with him many times over the years. Wonderful man." Fellow Friday Night Dinner cast members also paid tribute. A tenth anniversary retrospective of Friday Night Dinner aired on 28 May 2021.

Acting credits

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Dan French. (15 October 2009). "McKee, Blethyn sign for new ITV1 thriller". [[Digital Spy]].
2. (24 November 2011). "Cast confirmed for BBC Two's cycle of Shakespeare films". BBC Drama Publicity.
3. (26 Nov 2015). "The Last Kingdom: Episode 6, Series 1".
4. (6 April 2021). "'Chernobyl' and 'Harry Potter' actor Paul Ritter dies at 54".
5. Catriona Wightman. "National Theatre : Company Members : Paul Ritter". [[Royal National Theatre.
6. Lawrence, Ben. (22 July 2012). "The Hollow Crown: Henry V, BBC Two, review". The Daily Telegraph.
7. (2 March 2017). "Tommy Cooper: Not Like That Like This".
8. (17 September 2014). "''The Game'' Begins November 5 at 10:00pm as part of BBC America's Dramaville". BBC Media Centre.
9. "Paul Ritter | National Theatre | South Bank, London".
10. "Olivier Awards 2006 – Official London Theatre".
11. Andrew Gans. (5 May 2009). "Nominations for 2009 Tony Awards Announced; Billy Elliot Earns 15 Nominations". [[Playbill]].
12. Geoghegan, Kev. (6 August 2012). "National Theatre adapts Mark Haddon's Curious Incident". BBC News.
13. Benedict, David. (6 March 2013). "Legit Review: Mirren Commands Respect in 'The Audience'". Variety.
14. Catriona Wightman. (13 February 2010). "Greig, Bird for new Channel 4 comedy". [[Digital Spy]].
15. (28 April 2021). "BAFTA TV 2021: The Winners and Nominations for the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and British Academy Television Craft Awards". [[BAFTA]].
16. Lewis, Isobel. (6 April 2021). "Stephen Mangan and Nicola Coughlan lead tributes to Friday Night Dinner star Paul Ritter".
17. Moses, Toby. (6 April 2021). "Friday Night Dinner star Paul Ritter dies of brain tumour at 54". [[The Guardian]].
18. "Paul Ritter". [[British Film Institute]].
19. "Paul Ritter List of Movies and TV Shows". [[TV Guide]].
20. "Waking the Dead: Mask of Sanity (Part 1 of 2): Series 6, episode 7". digiguide.tv.
21. "Love You More (2008)".
22. Gans, Andrew. (6 April 2021). "Tony and Olivier Nominee Paul Ritter Dies at 54". [[Playbill]].
23. Cole, Tom. "Inbetweener joins galaxy of stars for Channel 4's The Function Room". [[Radio Times]].
24. (24 November 2011). "Cast confirmed for BBC Two's cycle of Shakespeare films". BBC Drama Publicity.
25. "Chasing Shadows". [[BritBox]].
26. (6 April 2021). "Paul Ritter: Friday Night Dinner star dies at 54".
27. Bley Griffiths, Eleanor. (8 October 2019). "Meet the cast of BBC conspiracy thriller The Capture". [[Radio Times]].
28. Carr, Flora. (15 March 2020). "Meet the cast of ITV's Belgravia". [[Radio Times]].
29. Harp, Justin. (14 January 2021). "Friday Night Dinner will return for 10th anniversary special, but there's a twist: No more Milson quite yet.". [[Digital Spy]].
30. Ramachandran, Naman. (6 April 2021). "Paul Ritter, 'Chernobyl' and 'Friday Night Dinner' Star, Dies at 54". [[Variety (magazine).
31. "Olivier Winners 2006 – Official London Theatre".
32. "Paul Ritter Tony Awards Info".
33. "Olivier Winners 2009 – Official London Theatre".
34. Cox, Gordon. (2009-05-18). "'Billy' dominates Drama Desk Awards".
35. Cox, Gordon. (2009-05-11). "'Billy,' 'Shrek' tops Outer Critics Circle".
36. "Theatre World Awards - Theatre World Awards".
37. "23rd Annual TV Awards (2018–19) – Online Film & Television Association".
38. (28 April 2021). "BAFTA TV 2021: The Winners and Nominations for the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and British Academy Television Craft Awards". [[BAFTA]].
39. Coveney, Michael. (7 April 2021). "Paul Ritter obituary".
40. (7 April 2021). "Paul Ritter obituary".
41. Greig, Tamsin. (7 April 2021). "Tamsin Greig: 'Without Paul Ritter, the world is a less brilliant place'". [[The Guardian]].
42. Earp, Catherine. (8 April 2021). "Friday Night Dinner star Simon Bird pays tribute to co-star Paul Ritter after sad death".
43. (7 April 2021). "Paul Ritter: Tom Rosenthal pays tribute to Friday Night Dinner co-star".