Ricky Whittle

Born in Oldham, England in 1981, Ricky Whittle attended Southampton University, but his aspiration to get into law was sidetracked when he became a successful model, serving as the face of Reebok in 2000. His first role as an actor on screen came in 2002 as a series regular, playing Ryan Naismith one of the players on the fictional Harchester United on the British football (soccer) drama "Dream Team" (Sky1, 1997-2007). When that show was cancelled, Whittle transferred over to another series regular role, this time on the British soap opera "Hollyoaks" (Channel 4, 1995-). His first taste of success in the US came when he landed a recurring role on season 2 of "Single Ladies" (VH1, 2011-2014; Centric, 2014-). In 2014, Whittle played major roles in two series, first in a recurring role on "Mistresses" (ABC, 2013-16), and also in a recurring role on "The 100" (The CW, 2013-). After the first season on "The 100" he became a series regular, playing Lincoln, the first "Grounder" (survivor of the nuclear holocaust) found on the exploration to see if life on Earth has again become sustainable. In 2016, it was announced that Whittle would play Shadow Moon, the main character in Starz Network's series adaptation of the Neil Gaiman book American Gods.