Next person biography:
Ricci's mother recognized his potential at the age of ten and decided to send him to weekend classes at the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre school. This marked the beginning of his journey as a professional actor, with his first role being a murder victim on BBC's Crimewatch. By the time he was sixteen, he had already accumulated a significant number of credits, including a lead role in the Channel 4 comedy series Teenage Health Freak and his first film role alongside John Malkovich in The Object of Beauty.
His stage debut was a critical success, with Michael Arditti of the Evening Standard describing his portrayal of Ton in The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals at the Diorama Theatre as one of the most powerful performances he had ever seen on the fringe. This led to a string of theatrical performances, including lead roles in Swingers at the Latchmere Theatre, Babies at the Royal Court, and The Day I Stood Still at the National Theatre.
Ricci continued to work in television, appearing in several BBC comedies and dramas, including The Old Curiosity Shop alongside Tom Courtney and the BAFTA-winning drama The Murder of Steven Lawrence. He also appeared in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later and played the lead role in the cult British gangster film Rise Of The Footsoldier, which was sold in over thirty-eight countries.
In addition to his acting work, Ricci has also written, directed, and starred in the sequel to Rise Of The Footsoldier, Rise of the Footsoldier: Part 2, which won Best British Film at the National Film Awards in 2016. He has also received awards for his supporting role in Universal Pictures' Top Dog at the 2014 British Independent Film Festival Awards.
At the age of forty-one, with over thirty years of stage and screen experience, Ricci continues to work with emerging directors and has appeared in a number of short films, including Seven Months and Stained. He has recently formed the writing partnership Harnett and Turner and is developing several film projects, including the feature film Truancy, which he will direct in early 2017.
