Ricky Whittle Biography

Richard "Ricky" Whittle (born 23 November 1981) is an English actor from Oldham, England, who first came to prominence as a model for Reebok in the early 2000s. He is best known in the United Kingdom for his role as Calvin Valentine in the Channel 4 teen soap opera Hollyoaks. In 2009, he competed in the BBC reality series Strictly Come Dancing coming second to sports presenter Chris Hollins.

In 2014 Whittle starred in the American television series Mistresses as Daniel Zamora, and also appeared in The CW's post-apocalyptic drama The 100 as Lincoln, a "Grounder". He also had a recurring role on Single Ladies.

On 28 January 2016 Whittle was announced as the lead character, Shadow Moon, in the TV series American Gods.

Biography

The son of a former Royal Air Force serviceman of West Indian descent, Whittle grew up travelling with his father's career around the world, with a home base at Burghfield Common near Reading, Berkshire. A keen sportsman, Whittle represented England and the United Kingdom at youth level in football, American football and athletics. After having been watched by Arsenal and Celtic, an injury brought about the pursuit of a degree in Criminology at Southampton Institute of Higher Education (now Southampton Solent University). He failed to complete his degree but enjoyed playing football and rugby for the University sides whilst he was studying. Having recovered from a broken leg, Whittle spends his spare time playing running back for the Manchester Titans American Football team.

Career

Acting career

At university, Whittle began modelling, becoming the face of a Reebok campaign in 2000. This brought him to the attention of casting agents for Sky One's Dream Team who cast him as Ryan Naysmith. Whittle left university to pursue an acting career. Carrying on with his sports ambitions, in the third series, Whittle broke his leg in seven places and was forced into a long hospital stay. The writers wrote a broken leg into the Dream Team script, allowing Whittle a slower recuperation.

After playing his first gay character on BBC One's Holby City, Whittle played Calvin Valentine in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks until May 2010 when his character was killed off after Whittle decided to depart. In January 2008, Whittle appeared on a celebrity edition of The Weakest Link, reaching the final, but losing out to Crimewatch UK star, Rav Wilding.

In July 2012, Whittle appeared as Charles on season 2 of Single Ladies. He also appeared as Captain George East in Stephenie Meyer and Jerusha Hess's romantic comedy Austenland, which was completed in 2012. In March 2013, Whittle appeared in the American drama NCIS, guest-starring in the Season 10 episode, Detour. In 2014, he began a recurring role in The 100 as a "Grounder" named Lincoln, and was upgraded to regular status for season 2.

Strictly Come Dancing

In August 2009, Whittle was announced as a contestant on the BBC One reality series Strictly Come Dancing, paired with Australian professional dancer Natalie Lowe. A fellow contestant on the programme, Ali Bastian, also starred with him in Hollyoaks. Whittle made it through to the final of the competition (beating Rav Wilding, to whom he had lost The Weakest Link in 2008), and competed against television presenter Chris Hollins and his dance partner Ola Jordan for the Strictly Come Dancing glitterball trophy. However, Whittle lost the battle and ended up taking second place, despite winning the judges' scores 190-186.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Losing Sam	Samuel	Short film
2013	Austenland	Captain East

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Holby City	David Richards	Episode: "You Can Choose Your Friends..."
2002-2007	Dream Team	Ryan Naysmith	Series Regular; 77 episodes
2006-2011	Hollyoaks	Calvin Valentine	Series Regular; 238 episodes
2009	Strictly Come Dancing	Himself	Series 7 runner-up; partnered with Natalie Lowe
2011	Candy Cabs	Eddie Shannon	Episode: "Episode Two"
2012	Single Ladies	Charles	8 episodes
2013	NCIS	Lincoln	Episode: "Detour"
2014-2016	The 100	Lincoln	28 episodes; Recurring (season 1) Series Regular (season 2-3)
2014	Mistresses	Daniel Zamora	10 episodes
2017	American Gods	Shadow	Lead Role; Filming

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated Work	Result	Source(s)
2007	British Soap Awards	Sexiest Male	Hollyoaks
2008
2009
2010
	TRIC Award	TV Soap Personality