Jacob Basil Anderson (born 18 June 1990) is a British actor and musician. As an actor, he is known for his roles as

Grey Worm George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others beyon ...

in ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

'' and Louis de Pointe du Lac in '' Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire'', and his recurring appearances in the first seasons of '' Episodes'' and '' Broadchurch'', and the thirteenth series of the revival of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. As a musician, he uses the alias Raleigh Ritchie (named after his favourite characters from '' The Royal Tenenbaums''); his debut album, ''

You're a Man Now, Boy ''You're a Man Now, Boy'' is the debut studio album by British R&B singer and songwriter Raleigh Ritchie, released 26 February 2016 on Columbia Records. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number 32. Composition In an interview with '' Billbo ...

'', was a soul and trip hop album released in 2016 to positive reviews. Anderson's second studio album, '' Andy'', was released in 2020.

Early life

Anderson was born and raised in

Bristol, England Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in S ...

. His father is of

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...

descent. At the age of 17, Anderson moved to London in order to launch his music career.

Acting career

Anderson played Angelo in the film '' 4.3.2.1.'' He starred in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

drama series '' Injustice'' as Simon, a teenager in a youth offender institution. He also had a one-episode guest role on '' Outnumbered''. He also appeared in an episode of '' Skins'', and appeared in the feature film '' Comedown'', co-starring '' Adulthood''s

Adam Deacon Adam Steven Deacon (born 4 March 1983) is an English actor, rapper, writer and director. He is known for his lead role in the films ''Kidulthood'', sequel ''Adulthood'' and for his directorial debut, '' Anuvahood''. Career Deacon was brought up ...

and directed by '' Kidulthood'' director Menhaj Huda. Anderson featured in various plays, including '' Dunsinane'' for the RSC, '' King Lear'' (with Pete Postlethwaite) at the Young Vic Theatre, and '' War Horse'' at the National Theatre. He was seen in the teen slasher film '' Demons Never Die'', playing Ricky, and appeared in the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

comedy '' Episodes'', alongside Matt LeBlanc and Stephen Mangan. In 2012, Anderson was cast for the third season of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

's television series ''

'' as Grey Worm, the leader of Daenerys Targaryen's Unsullied army. Anderson continued to portray this role through season 4, season 5, season 6, season 7 and season 8. He played Dean Thomas, the boyfriend of Chloe Latimer, on the ITV drama '' Broadchurch'' in 2013. In July 2021, he was revealed to be joining the cast of ''

'' for the 13th series. In August 2021, Anderson was cast as Louis de Pointe du Lac in the AMC television series '' Interview with the Vampire''.

Music career

2005–2009: Early career

In 2006, Anderson was featured as a vocalist on Typesun's " The PL". They released another track in 2007, titled "Let Me Know." Anderson recorded a song with Plan B, which was featured on the '' Adulthood'' soundtrack, titled " Plan B". Jacob Anderson (48427303962)

2010–2017: ''You're a Man Now, Boy''

In 2013, Anderson signed to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, and released a free three-track EP, ''The Middle Child'', under the stage name Raleigh Ritchie. A second EP, ''Black and Blue'', followed in 2014. Anderson's musical influences include Erykah Badu, David Bowie, Jill Scott, The Smiths, and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

. In March 2014, his track " Stronger Than Ever" from ''Black and Blue'' was remixed by UK garage producer MJ Cole and released as a standalone single. "Stronger Than Ever" has been used in television adverts promoting the launch of ITV Encore, as well as in montage videos during Sky Sports' coverage of

Professional Darts Corporation The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World ...

events. The song reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart in June 2014. Anderson supported George Ezra on his February 2015 UK tour. His debut album, ''

'', was released on 26 February 2016; it charted at number 32 on the UK Albums Chart. He also featured on Stormzy's debut album ''

Gang Signs & Prayer ''Gang Signs & Prayer'' is the debut studio album by British rapper Stormzy. It was released on 24 February 2017 independently through #Merky Records while being distributed by ADA of Warner Music Group. It is Stormzy's first major commercial rel ...

'' track 13 – "Don't Cry For Me" which was released on 24 February 2017.

2020–present: ''Andy''

On 6 May 2020, Anderson released a new single called "Aristocrats". It was the second single to promote Anderson's second studio album '' Andy'', after a 2018 single "Time In A Tree" also included on the record. In June, "Aristocrats" was followed by the songs "Party Fear" and "Squares". ''Andy'' was released on 26 June 2020 via Alacran Records. On 30 July 2021, Anderson released the single "Say What You Mean". Robin Murray for ''Clash'' called it a "defiant return". Anderson commented, “I write songs for myself, to get things off my chest and process my emotions, but then I release them and I don’t own them anymore ��I hope there is someone who listens to it and ��I hope that makes them feel less lonely.” "Say What You Mean" was followed by the release of the single "Lucky".

Personal life

Anderson has two younger sisters. In December 2018, Anderson married actress

Aisling Loftus Aisling Sinead Katie Loftus (born 1 September 1990) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress and gained prominence through her roles in the BBC dramas ''Five Daughters'' (2010) and '' Dive'' (2010), the play '' Spur of the M ...

. He and Loftus are parents of a daughter, born in 2020.

Discography

* ''

'' (2016) * '' Andy'' (2020)

Acting credits

Film

Television

Web

Stage

Radio

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Jacob 1990 births 21st-century British male actors 21st-century Black British male singers Black British male actors British contemporary R&B singers British male film actors British male television actors English people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Columbia Records artists Living people Male actors from Bristol Musicians from Bristol