Ruaridh Silvio James MacGillivray-Mollica (born 14 October 1999) is a Scottish-Italian actor, writer, and director. He starred in the film ''

Sebastian Sebastian may refer to: People * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film * ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film ...

'' (2024). On television, he appeared in the Channel 5 series ''Witness Number 3'' and the BBC Three series '' Red Rose'' (both 2022).

Early life and education

Mollica was born in

Prato Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 i ...

, Italy to a Scottish mother and an Italian father. Mollica attended Broughton High School in Edinburgh. He joined the Strange Town youth theatre company, where he met his agent Ruth Hollyman. Mollica graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

in 2021. During his time at university, he participated in snowsports. He intended to do a Masters degree in Cybersecurity at a London university, but declined the offer when he was cast in ''Red Rose''.

Career

Mollica began his career as a child actor, making his television debut aged 12 in an episode of the BBC One series '' Case Histories'' with Jason Isaacs and Mark Bonnar and his feature film debut as a background dancer in the '' Sunshine on Leith'' adaptation. He worked on-and-off for a number of years, appearing in the 2015 drama '' Stonemouth'' as a young version of

Christian Cooke Christian Louis Cooke (born 15 September 1987) is an English actor. He is known for playing Luke Kirkwall in '' Where the Heart Is'', Luke Rutherford in ''Demons'', Dorian Gaudain in ''Trinity'', Freddie Taylor in '' Cemetery Junction'' and Len ...

's character and the 2018 romance film ''

Tell It to the Bees ''Tell It to the Bees'' is a 2018 British romantic drama film directed by Annabel Jankel and starring Anna Paquin and Holliday Grainger. The screenplay by Henrietta and Jessica Ashworth is based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Fiona Shaw. ...

''. During his final year at university, Mollica returned to acting when his Strange Town agent Ruth Hollyman got him the lead role opposite Joshua Griffin in Sean Lionadh's 2022 short film '' Too Rough'', which won a Scottish BAFTA. He then landed his first recurring television role as Patrick Hume in the BBC Three horror series '' Red Rose'', which Mollica declined his postgraduate university place to film, and his first main role in the Channel 5 series ''Witness Number 3''. He also appeared in ''Wasted'' at the Jack Studio Theatre. In 2024, Mollica starred as the lead character Max in Mikko Mäkelä's sophomore feature ''

'', which opened at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. Mollica also played a young version of

Stephen Moyer Stephen Moyer (born Stephen John Emery; 11 October 1969) is an English film and television actor who is best known as vampire Bill Compton in the HBO series ''True Blood''. His first television role was in 1993 as Philip Masefield in the TV ad ...

's character Teddy in the Paramount+ series '' Sexy Beast''. He has an upcoming role in the film ''Sukkwan Island''.

Personal life

Regarding his sexuality, in a February 2024 interview with ''Queerty'', Mollica said, "it was only when I moved to London and had the ability to be myself that I realised, 'Oh actually, no, I like men as well'".

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

* "Easter Road" (2020), Callum Beattie

References

External links

*
Ruaridh Mollica
at Spotlight {{DEFAULTSORT:mollica, ruaridh Living people Alumni of Heriot-Watt University Italian LGBT actors Italian people of Scottish descent People educated at Broughton High School, Edinburgh People from Prato Male actors from Tuscany Scottish LGBT actors Year of birth missing (living people)