| Robert Emms | |
| Birth Name: | Robert James MacPherson |
| Birth Date: | 1986 5, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Horley, Surrey, England |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 2007–present |
Robert Emms (born Robert James MacPherson; 20 May 1986) is a British film, stage and television actor, known for portraying Pythagoras in the BBC One fantasy-adventure series Atlantis, and Leonid Toptunov in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl.
Emms was born in Horley, Surrey, England. He went to a local secondary school, Oakwood School, Horley.[1] He studied at the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology from 2002 to 2004, and then the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) from 2004 to 2007.[2]
In March 2009 Emms played the lead role of Albert in the National Theatre's production of War Horse.[3] [4] [5] After Steven Spielberg saw him in War Horse at the New London Theatre, he was cast as David Lyons in Spielberg's film adaptation of the play.[6] [7]
In June 2011 Screen International named him as a 'Star of Tomorrow'.[8]
His other film work includes Kick-Ass 2 alongside Jim Carrey,[9] and Rick 'Broken' Buckley in Broken directed by Rufus Norris for BBC films.[10] He appeared as the Elizabethan playwright Thomas Dekker in Anonymous directed by Roland Emmerich, in[11] Tarsem Singh's version of the Brothers Grimm's Snow White, in Mirror Mirror, with Julia Roberts and in the BAFTA-nominated film The Arbor, directed by Clio Barnard.[12] [13] More recently he has portrayed Vitas Gerulaitis in the film Borg/McEnroe directed by Janus Metz Pederson (alongside Shia LaBeouf).[14]
Emms' notable television appearances include Happy Valley by Sally Wainwright,[15] The Street by Jimmy McGovern,[16] and Scott & Bailey.[17] In 2015, Emms played the part of Smitty, the artistic grandson of Petunia Howe, in the three-part BBC series Capital based on John Lanchester's novel of the same name.[18] Most recently he portrays John Gerard in the BBC series Gunpowder alongside Kit Harington and Liv Tyler. He also played Pythagoras in the series Atlantis for the BBC.[19]
Emms played Jack in (2018) and the third season of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (2021).
| Year | Title | Role | Director | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Arbor | Young David | Clio Barnard | |
| 2011 | War Horse | David Lyons | Steven Spielberg | |
| 2011 | Anonymous | Thomas Dekker | Roland Emmerich | |
| 2012 | Broken | Rick Buckley | Rufus Norris | |
| 2012 | Mirror, Mirror | Charles Renbock | Tarsem Singh | |
| 2013 | Kick-Ass 2 | Insect Man | Jeff Wadlow | |
| 2013 | The Selfish Giant | Phil | Clio Barnard | |
| 2017 | Borg/McEnroe | Vitas Gerulaitis | Janus Metz Pedersen | |
| 2017 | Apostasy | Steven | Daniel Kokotajlo | |
| 2018 | Tech Merc (Jack) | J. A. Bayona | ||
| 2022 | This is Christmas[20] | Paul | Chris Foggin | |
| 2023 | Starve Acre | Steven | Daniel Kokotajlo |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Shangri-La | Horatio | 1 episode | |
| 2008 | Waking the Dead | Steo | 1 episode | |
| 2008 | The Wrong Door | Colin/Smee | 2 episodes | |
| 2009 | The Street | Calum Miller | 1 episode | |
| 2009 | Monday Monday | Tom | 1 episode | |
| 2011 | Scott & Bailey | Luke Farrell | 1 episode | |
| 2013-2015 | Atlantis | Pythagoras | Main role, 25 episodes | |
| 2015 | Capital | Smitty | Miniseries, 3 episodes | |
| 2016 | The Living and the Dead | Peter | 1 episode | |
| 2016 | Happy Valley | Daryl Garrs | Main role, 4 episodes (Series 2) | |
| 2017 | Gunpowder | Father John Gerard | Recurring role, 3 episodes | |
| 2019 | Cleaning Up | Glynn | Main role | |
| 2019 | Chernobyl | Leonid Toptunov | Miniseries, 5 episodes | |
| 2019 | His Dark Materials | Thomas | 6 episodes | |
| 2021 | Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous | Tech Merc (Jack) | Season 3, 1 episode | |
| 2022 | Four Lives | Ricky | Miniseries, 3 episodes | |
| 2022 | Andor | Supervisor Lonni Jung | 6 episodes | |
| 2023 | The Reckoning [21] | Ray Teret[22] | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Company | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Ravens: Spassky vs. Fischer | Bobby Fischer | Annabelle Comyn | Hampstead Theatre | |
| 2009-10 | War Horse | Albert Narracott | Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris | National Theatre at New London Theatre | |
| 2009 | Billy Narracott | ||||
| 2008 | Shangri-La | Horatio | Mark Ravenhill | Roundhouse | |
| 2008 | The Glee Club | Colin | Roger Haines | Library Theatre, Manchester | |
| 2007 | The Six-Days World | Tom | Jamie Harper | Finborough Theatre | |
| 2023-24 | The Homecoming | Teddy | Matthew Dunster | Young Vic |