Tom Hopper Explained

Tom Hopper
Birth Name:Thomas Edward Hopper
Birth Date:28 January 1985
Birth Place:Coalville, Leicestershire, England
Occupation:Actor
Children:2
Years Active:2007–present

Thomas Edward Hopper (born 28 January 1985) is an English actor. He has appeared as Percival in Merlin (2010–12), Billy Bones in Black Sails (2014–17), Dickon Tarly in Game of Thrones (2017), and Luther Hargreeves in The Umbrella Academy (2019–2024).

Early life

Thomas Edward Hopper was born on 28 January 1985 in Coalville, Leicestershire. He attended Ashby School, where he first developed an interest in acting. He enrolled in a drama class and appeared in a production of the musical Return to the Forbidden Planet.[1] [2] He studied acting at Rose Bruford College.[3]

Career

Hopper was cast in As You Like It at the Watford Palace Theatre[4] [5] and has appeared in various television programmes and films including Saxon, Casualty, Kingdom and Doctors. Hopper portrayed Marcus in the comedy-horror film, Tormented about a bullied teenager who comes back from the dead to take revenge on his classmates. The film was released in May 2009.

In 2010, he was in an episode of Doctor Who. Hopper played Sir Percival in the BBC series Merlin. He joined the series in the third season in 2010, and was a regular for the next two seasons.[6] After Merlin ended in 2012, he featured in Good Cop in 2012.[7] In 2013, Hopper starred in Cold, directed and written by his Merlin co-star Eoin Macken. The film was later released in the United States as Leopard.[8] In 2014, Hopper starred as Asbjörn in .[9]

Hopper became the first actor to join the Starz series Black Sails, in which he portrayed Billy Bones. The pirate drama serves as a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.[10] Hopper deliberately chose to play Bones as a "selfless person, looking out for his crew", believing that the character would have changed dramatically in the time period between Black Sails and Treasure Island.[11] The show was filmed on location in South Africa.[12]

In 2016, Hopper appeared in the thriller Kill Ratio and an episode of Barbarians Rising.[13] [14] The following year, he joined the cast of the HBO series Game of Thrones in season 7 as Dickon Tarly, replacing Freddie Stroma who had previously appeared in the role in season 6.[15] In 2018, Hopper appeared alongside Amy Schumer in I Feel Pretty.[16] In 2019, Hopper appeared as Luther Hargreeves in The Umbrella Academy.[17] For the role, Hopper wore a muscle suit to achieve the correct look and underwent martial arts training.[18]

Hopper appeared in the 2020 film . In March 2019, he joined the cast of Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, which was released in 2021.[19] Hopper starred in the Netflix film Love in the Villa which premiered 1 September 2022.[20]

In 2021, he starred as Captain Albert Wesker, leader of S.T.A.R.S., and secondary antagonist of Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City. An adaptation of the popular Resident Evil franchise's early stories, it included elements from the mansion incident, Raccoon Police Station attack, and bombing of Raccoon City from the first Playstation games. [21] He has expressed interest in returning to the role, stating in an interview about the film's reception, "I certainly hope to go back and play Albert Wesker again. It ended in a way where I was like 'Oh, I can get used to this guy.'"[22]

Personal life

Hopper married actress Laura Higgins in 2014.[14] They have a son and daughter.[23]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2007SaxonFishmonger
2009TormentedMarcus[24]
2013ColdTomAlso known as Leopard
Knights of BadassdomGuntherCredit only
2014Asbjörn
2016Kill RatioJames Henderson
2018I Feel PrettyGrant LeClair
2019William Hadrell
2021Declan Smith
Hitman's Wife's BodyguardMagnusson
Albert Wesker
2022Love in the VillaCharlie Fletcher
2023Place of BonesBear John
2024Space CadetLogan O'Leary

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2007CasualtyHugh "Chewy" MullenEpisode: "Stitch"
2008DoctorsJosh MullenEpisode: "Don't Try This at Home"
KingdomSoldierEpisode #2.3
2010Doctor WhoJeffEpisode: "The Eleventh Hour"
2010–2012MerlinSir PercivalGuest role (series 3); recurring role (series 4–5)
2012Good CopAndy Stockwell3 episodes
2014–2017Black SailsWilliam "Billy Bones" ManderlyMain role
2016Barbarians RisingArminius2 episodes
2017Game of ThronesDickon Tarly4 episodes
2019–2024The Umbrella AcademyLuther Hargreeves / Number One36 episodes
2020Robot ChickenEddie Brock, Solid Snake, John Rolfe (voice)Episode: "Gracie Purgatory in: That's How You Get Hemorrhoids"
Raife HastingsIn production

Notes and References

  1. Web site: New Game of Thrones actor is . . . Tom from Coalville. 26 July 2017. Jarvis. Jacob. 3 March 2019. Leicester Mercury.
  2. Web site: Tom Hopper From Netflix's Umbrella Academy Shares His Superhero Workout Tips. 15 February 2019. Schrodt. Paul. 4 March 2019. Men's Health.
  3. Web site: Notable alumni. 4 March 2019. Rose Bruford College.
  4. As You Like It – Watford Palace Theatre "Main Cast List", Watford#Watford Palace Theatre, Retrieved on 13 May 2009.
  5. As You Like It – VocalEyes Introduction "Introduction Transcript", Retrieved on 13 May 2009.
  6. Web site: BBC role a dream come true for Tom Hopper. 5 November 2012. Dodd. Kate. 3 March 2019. The Toowoomba Chronicle.
  7. Web site: BBC police drama tries not to be uniform. 30 August 2012. Smith. Neil. 4 March 2019. BBC.
  8. Web site: Interview: Eoin Macken talks The Night Shift & the challenges of indie filmmaking. 15 October 2016. Fuamoli. Sosefina. 20 March 2019. The Iris.
  9. Web site: Exclusive: First look at Tom Hopper in upcoming film 'Northmen: A Viking Saga'. 6 February 2014. McCormack. Kirsty. 3 March 2019. Daily Express.
  10. News: Morgan Jeffery . 'Merlin' star Tom Hopper joins Starz pirate drama 'Black Sails'. . 11 September 2012 . 17 June 2016.
  11. Web site: Star Tom Hopper shows a different side to 'Treasure Island' character in Starz drama. 9 February 2014. Perigard. Mark. 3 March 2019. Boston Herald.
  12. Black Sails season 3: Tom Hopper talks surviving a hurricane in Scene Breakdown. 21 January 2016. Telling. Gillian. 3 March 2019. Entertainment Weekly.
  13. Web site: Ridiculous political thriller 'Kill Ratio' does Eastern Europe on the cheap. 8 December 2016. Rechtstaffen. Michael. 3 March 2019. Los Angeles Times.
  14. Web site: We had a chat with that smokin' hot pirate from Black Sails!. 26 February 2016. Zeeman. Kyle. 3 March 2019. Channel 24.
  15. News: Game of Thrones season 7: release date, cast, trailers, spoilers & more. 17 January 2017. NME. en-US. 17 January 2017.
  16. Web site: Lauren Hutton, Tom Hopper Join 'I Feel Pretty' With Amy Schumer. 30 August 2017. Busch. Anita. 3 March 2019. Deadline Hollywood.
  17. Web site: Tom Hopper, Emmy Raver-Lampman & David Castaneda: Umbrella Academy. 14 February 2019. Deckelmeier. Joe. 3 March 2019. Screen Rant.
  18. Web site: Tom Hopper's arm have their own instagram account. 19 February 2019. Dibdin. Emma. 20 March 2019. Elle.
  19. Web site: 'The Umbrella Academy's Tom Hopper Joins The Hitman's Bodyguard Sequel At Lionsgate. 26 March 2019. N'Duka. Amanda. 28 March 2019. Deadline Hollywood.
  20. Web site: Tom Hopper And Kat Graham To Star in Netflix's Love In The Villa . . Kroll. Justin. 20 September 2021. 21 September 2021.
  21. Web site: Resident Evil: Tom Hopper Says His Albert Wesker Isn't A 'Stereotypical Villain' . 30 October 2021 .
  22. Web site: Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City Sequel Chances Addressed by Star . . 20 June 2022 .
  23. Web site: GoT's Tom Hopper Welcomes a Daughter, Posts Poignant Photo Sharing Skin-to-Skin Contact with Baby. Fernandez. Alexia. People. 9 July 2018. 17 July 2018.
  24. Tormented Cast Pages. "Tom's Cast List Page", Tormented, Retrieved on 13 May 2009.