Richard Brake

Biography:

Brake was born in Ystrad Mynach, Wales, and in 1967, his family moved to the United States, initially settling in Atlanta. He grew up across North Carolina, Tennessee, and Ohio, attending Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, and later Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He trained in acting under Sam Kogan at the Academy of the Science of Acting and Directing in London and with Beatrice Straight at the Michael Chekhov Studio in New York City. Despite his upbringing in the U.S., Brake identifies as Welsh.

He made his screen debut in 1993 as a reporter on the British comedy series Jeeves and Wooster. In 1994, he appeared alongside Rachel Weisz in their film debuts with the sci-fi horror Death Machine, starring Brad Dourif. After several minor roles in low-budget films, including Subterfuge, Brake did not appear in another film until six years later, when he played a Union forager in Anthony Minghella’s Cold Mountain (2003), which was critically acclaimed and nominated for seven Academy Awards.

Brake gained broader recognition in 2005 with Batman Begins, portraying Joe Chill, the man who killed Bruce Wayne’s parents. That year, he also appeared in Doom as Dean Portman, Munich as a hostile American, and provided voice work for the video game Juiced. In 2006, he featured in Muse’s Knights of Cydonia music video and played Bobby DeWitt in Brian De Palma’s The Black Dahlia. He had a supporting role in Hannibal Rising (2007) as Enrikas Dortlich.

Brake continued his career with roles in Outpost (2008), Perkins’ 14 (2009), Rob Zombie’s Halloween II (2009) as Gary Scott, and a cameo in Cuckoo. In 2010, he co-starred with Idris Elba in Legacy and, in 2011, appeared in Water for Elephants with Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson. He played Harry Green in the horror film The Incident, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In 2013, Brake had supporting roles in The Numbers Station and Ridley Scott’s The Counselor, and appeared in Thor: The Dark World, which became his highest-grossing film. He also recurred as mobster Terry Mandel on Mob City and guest-starred in Crossing Lines and Transporter: The Series. From 2014 to 2015, he portrayed the Night King on Game of Thrones, most notably in the Emmy-nominated episode “Hardhome.” He also appeared in Kingsman: The Secret Service and Set Fire to the Stars (2014).

In 2015, he played Baron Edwin Pryce in The Bastard Executioner, but could not return as the Night King in season six due to scheduling conflicts. That year, he guest-starred on Grimm and appeared as Solsa Dudaev in Spy. In 2016, Brake made appearances on Hawaii Five-0, Peaky Blinders, and Ray Donovan, and starred as Doom-Head in Rob Zombie’s 31, earning a Fangoria Chainsaw Award nomination.

In 2017, he appeared in Bitter Harvest and The Death of Stalin, and had a recurring role in Absentia as Conrad Harlow. In 2018, he played his first lead role as Bob Reid in Perfect Skin, receiving critical acclaim and Best Actor awards at the First Glance and Vancouver Badass Film Festivals. That year, he also co-starred in Mandy and The Sisters Brothers.

In 2019, Brake appeared in 3 from Hell, and in 2020, he co-starred in The Rhythm Section and played Valin Hess in The Mandalorian (season two, episode seven).

Brake has two children from a previous marriage.