# Blake Ritson
**Blake Ritson** (full name Blake Adam Ritson) is an English actor, director, and screenwriter, born in 1978 in London, known for playing Count Girolamo Riario in *Da Vinci's Demons*, Brainiac in *Krypton*, and Oscar van Rhijn in HBO's *The Gilded Age*, and for extensive voice work in radio drama and video games.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728682/bio/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/blake-ritson/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978, London, England[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728682/bio/) |
| Training | Academic scholarship to St Paul's School; Jesus College, Cambridge (English and Medieval Italian), graduating in 2000; physical theater at Ecole Philippe Gaulier in Paris[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728682/bio/) |
| Signature villain roles | Count Girolamo Riario, *Da Vinci's Demons* (Starz, three seasons); Brainiac, *Krypton* (14 episodes, 2018 to 2019)[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33636/blake-ritson) |
| Current major role | Oscar van Rhijn on *The Gilded Age* (HBO), credited for 25 episodes through the season 3 finale of August 10, 2025[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33636/blake-ritson) |
| Recent lead | Philippe Danglars in *The Count of Monte Cristo* miniseries[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33636/blake-ritson) |
| Video game voice work | Credited on 25 games, including Hawkwood the Deserter in *Dark Souls III* and Aymeric in *Final Fantasy XIV Online*[4](https://www.mobygames.com/person/232214/blake-ritson/) |
| Writing and directing | Co-directed and co-wrote four prize-winning short films with his brother Dylan[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728682/bio/) |
## Training and early career
Ritson began acting at 13, debuting in *White Chameleon* at the [Royal National Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-national-theatre) in a production directed by Sir Richard Eyre, and worked with Eyre again two years later on *Macbeth*. He then appeared in the original West End run of [Tom Stoppard](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-stoppard)'s *Arcadia*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728682/bio/) He won an academic scholarship to St Paul's School in London and attended [Jesus College, Cambridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/jesus-college-cambridge), where he studied English and Medieval Italian, graduating in 2000; after university he studied physical theater at Ecole Philippe Gaulier in Paris.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728682/bio/) At Cambridge he and his partner, the actress Hattie Morahan, were members of the Cambridge Footlights comedy group, alongside contemporaries including Richard Ayoade and John Oliver.[5](https://squaremile.com/property/blake-ritson-interview/)
His early screen work came in British television. He played [Christopher Morcom](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-morcom) in *Breaking the Code* and Nick in *Shooting the Past*, appeared in the films *Different for Girls* (1996) and *Titus* (1999), and played Justin Smart in the second series of *The League of Gentlemen*.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/blake-ritson/) • [6](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/blake_ritson/) He also appeared in *RocknRolla* (2008) and the TV movie *God on Trial* (2008).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/blake-ritson/) Later British credits include Mr Elton in the 2009 miniseries *Emma*, Edmund Bertram in the 2007 television film *Mansfield Park*, the [Duke of Kent](https://www.edgepedia.org/duke-of-kent) in *Upstairs Downstairs* (2010), and King Edward III in the miniseries *World Without End* (2012).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/blake-ritson/) • [7](https://cinegraph.org/people/blake-ritson)
## Villain roles in American series
**Riario and Brainiac.** In *Da Vinci's Demons*, the Starz series created by [David S. Goyer](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-s-goyer), Ritson played Count Girolamo Riario, the illegitimate son of [Pope Sixtus IV](https://www.edgepedia.org/pope-sixtus-iv) and Captain General of the Holy Roman Church, who leads Rome's forces against Florence as [Leonardo da Vinci](https://www.edgepedia.org/leonardo-da-vinci)'s primary antagonist.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728682/bio/) • [8](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/lara-pulver-and-blake-ritson-interview-da-vincis-demons-medieval-theology-sherlock-fandom/) In interview, Ritson said Goyer had told him that in Riario's own mind he considers himself the hero, a soldier of God driven by pure belief, who uses cruelty as a tool rather than as an end in itself.[8](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/lara-pulver-and-blake-ritson-interview-da-vincis-demons-medieval-theology-sherlock-fandom/) In *Indian Summers* (2015 to 2016) he played Charlie Havistock, a character he described as outwardly charming, a man who sings, dances, and plays the banjulele, but inwardly corrosive, calculating, and a physical and psychological threat to other characters.[9](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/blake-ritson-interview-indian-summers)
He was then cast by Warner Brothers as Brainiac, described in his biography as one of Superman's most famous nemeses, in the Syfy series *Krypton*; the credit database TVmaze lists him as a series regular for 14 episodes between 2018 and 2019.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728682/bio/) • [3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33636/blake-ritson) Later genre and drama credits include Sunmaster-18 in *Foundation* and Andrew Gailey in *The Crown*.[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33636/blake-ritson)
## The Gilded Age
Since 2022 Ritson has played Oscar van Rhijn on *The Gilded Age*, Julian Fellowes' HBO period drama set in 1880s New York. Oscar is the playboy son of the society widow Agnes van Rhijn, played by [Christine Baranski](https://www.edgepedia.org/christine-baranski).[10](https://time.com/6140300/gilded-age-review-hbo/) A 2025 roundtable interview described Oscar as Agnes van Rhijn's charismatic son who does not return her adulation.[11](https://www.inkl.com/news/when-greed-has-no-bounds) TVmaze credits him with 25 episodes through the season 3 finale broadcast on August 10, 2025.[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33636/blake-ritson)
The role's central thread is Oscar's sexuality. A review in the Spanish newspaper *El País* describes Oscar as a gay man who hides his condition from everyone, including his family, while searching for a way to fit into the society of his time.[12](https://elpais.com/television/2025-08-17/la-edad-dorada-se-confirma-como-la-serie-mas-adictiva-del-verano.html) In season 3 his secret lover [John Adams](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-adams) (Claybourne Elder) dies in a horse-and-carriage accident, ending an episode with what one review called a jaw-dropping shock.[13](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/the-gilded-age-new-episode-ends-with-a-shocking-death/) The same season has Oscar swindled out of the family fortune, shifting household power from Agnes to her sister Ada ([Cynthia Nixon](https://www.edgepedia.org/cynthia-nixon)).[14](https://time.com/7295183/gilded-age-season-3-review/)
## Voice and video game work
Ritson works extensively as a voice actor. His biography records dozens of BBC radio plays and audio books, a series of children's books, and leading roles in some of the biggest-selling computer games, with five award nominations for that work.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728682/bio/) The MobyGames database credits him on 25 games, including Aymeric in *Final Fantasy XIV Online: Heavensward* and *Stormblood*, Hawkwood the Deserter in *Dark Souls III*, Griggs of Vinheim in *Dark Souls: Remastered*, Alvis in *Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition*, Enoch in *El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron HD Remaster*, and the voice cast of *Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined* (2026).[4](https://www.mobygames.com/person/232214/blake-ritson/) His agency lists radio work including *The Diary of Samuel Pepys*, *Richard II*, and *Money*, and a role in Audible's audio drama adaptation of [Neil Gaiman](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-gaiman)'s *The Sandman*.[15](https://www.sueterryvoices.com/artist/blake-ritson) He also voiced Dante the Poet in Stephen Wyatt's BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Dante's *Divine Comedy*, first broadcast in April 2014, opposite [Hattie Morahan](https://www.edgepedia.org/hattie-morahan) as Beatrice and [John Hurt](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-hurt) as the older Dante.[16](https://www.radio-lists.org.uk/x4/R4x_2026_0214-0220_3columns_6pt_11pages.pdf)
## Writing and directing
With his brother Dylan Ritson, a Cambridge graduate and former [Footlights](https://www.edgepedia.org/footlights) member, he has co-directed and co-written four prize-winning short films.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728682/bio/) The brothers' short films have featured actors including Mark Gatiss, Ben Whishaw, and Jessica Hynes, and the brothers performed plays together at the Edinburgh Fringe while at Cambridge.[5](https://squaremile.com/property/blake-ritson-interview/) Their high-concept science fiction feature *P.O.V.* appeared on the 2025 Brit List of unproduced screenplays.[17](https://www.idcrawl.com/blake-ritson)
## Personal life
Ritson lives between North London and New York and is the son of antique dealers.[5](https://squaremile.com/property/blake-ritson-interview/) His biography records him as engaged to the stage and screen actress Hattie Morahan, with a child, Amity Ritson, and credits him with playing the banjolele on Douglas Hodge's album *Cowley Road*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728682/bio/) TV Insider lists Morahan as his partner, while the Square Mile interview describes her as his wife.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/blake-ritson/) • [5](https://squaremile.com/property/blake-ritson-interview/) He speaks three languages and counts the banjolele, a hybrid of the banjo and ukulele, as his favorite instrument.[5](https://squaremile.com/property/blake-ritson-interview/)
## References
1. [Blake Ritson - Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728682/bio/)
2. [Blake Ritson - Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/blake-ritson/)
3. [Blake Ritson - TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33636/blake-ritson)
4. [Blake Ritson - MobyGames](https://www.mobygames.com/person/232214/blake-ritson/)
5. [Blake Ritson: "My home is very eclectic", Square Mile](https://squaremile.com/property/blake-ritson-interview/)
6. [Blake Ritson - British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/blake_ritson/)
7. [Blake Ritson - Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/people/blake-ritson)
8. [Lara Pulver and Blake Ritson interview: Da Vinci's Demons, Den of Geek](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/lara-pulver-and-blake-ritson-interview-da-vincis-demons-medieval-theology-sherlock-fandom/)
9. [Blake Ritson Interview for Indian Summers, Channel 4 Press](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/blake-ritson-interview-indian-summers)
10. [The Gilded Age Review: Julian Fellowes Does Edith Wharton, Time](https://time.com/6140300/gilded-age-review-hbo/)
11. [When greed has no bounds, Bangkok Post via inkl](https://www.inkl.com/news/when-greed-has-no-bounds)
12. ['La edad dorada' se confirma como la serie más adictiva del verano, El País](https://elpais.com/television/2025-08-17/la-edad-dorada-se-confirma-como-la-serie-mas-adictiva-del-verano.html)
13. [A Shocking Death Rocks 'The Gilded Age', The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/the-gilded-age-new-episode-ends-with-a-shocking-death/)
14. ['The Gilded Age' Is Just Too British to Love the American Dream, Time](https://time.com/7295183/gilded-age-season-3-review/)
15. [Blake Ritson - Sue Terry Voices](https://www.sueterryvoices.com/artist/blake-ritson)
16. [Radio 4 Extra Listings for 14-20 February 2026](https://www.radio-lists.org.uk/x4/R4x_2026_0214-0220_3columns_6pt_11pages.pdf)
17. [Blake Ritson's Instagram, Twitter & Facebook on IDCrawl (news aggregation)](https://www.idcrawl.com/blake-ritson)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Q to Se*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license