Alrick Riley

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Alrick Riley
Born1964 (age 59–60)
London, England
Other namesAlrich Riley
Occupation(s)Television director, writer, former child actor
Years active1975–present

Alrick Riley (born 1964) is a BAFTA TV award-winning English television director and writer, and former child actor.

He is known for his work on the British series Spooks (known as MI-5 in some countries) and Hustle; along with his more recent work on the American fairytale drama Once Upon a Time.

Life and career[edit]

Riley was born in London, England. As a shy young child, his Jamaican parents "made" him go to an acting club to force him "out of himself". He began his acting career at eleven years old as a featured extra on the BBC TV comedy Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, followed by appearances in series, such as: Johnny Jarvis and Me and My Girl, and the 1979 film Scum.[1]

After leaving high school, Riley knew he no longer wanted to act, but "definitely wanted to stay in the business." He and a friend bought an 8 mm camera, and Riley discovered a passion for direction. His mother was initially against his pursuit of directing: she favoured the theatre arts and was concerned he would not be a success pioneering to be a black television director. He attended West Midlands University [citation needed], before attending the National Film & Television School. Two short films he directed while at the school, Money Talk and Concrete Garden, went on to be screened at multiple international film festivals[citation needed]. Riley credits Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola as notable inspirations, but accredits his love of film to Charles Burnett.[2]

Riley has directed episodes of Playing the Field, Stanton Blues, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Hotel Babylon, Silent Witness, Boy Meets Girl, Ashes to Ashes, Bedlam, Spooks, Hustle, Hunted, Death in Paradise, Perception, Castle, NCIS, Legends, NCIS: New Orleans, The Walking Dead, Person of Interest, Tyrant and Once Upon a Time.[3]

Riley was one of the writers on the British sitcom Desmond's.[4]

Along with Eric Coulter and Harry Bradbeer, in 1999 Riley won a BAFTA TV Award award for their work on the UK series The Cops. His winning of the prestigious honour marked the first time in the history of the assembly that a black man was recognised [citation needed].

Select filmography[edit]

Direction[edit]

Year Show Season Episode title Episode Credit
1998–2001 Stanton Blues 1 N/A 4 Director
5
6
2 4
5
9
10
3 3
4
2009 Boy Meets Girl 1 1
2
3
4
2011 Bedlam 1 "Inmates" 3
"Committed" 5
"Burning Man" 6
2004–2011 Spooks 3 N/A 9
10
4 3
4
6 9
10
8 1
2
5
8
10 1
2
2005–2012 Hustle 2 "The Lesson" 3
"Missions" 4
4 "Big Daddy Calling" 6
8 "Gold Finger" 1
"Ding Dong That's My Song" 5
"The Con is Off" 6
2014 Perception 3 "Bolero" 7
"Prologue" 8
Intelligence 1 "The Rescue" 5
"Size Matters" 7
Graceland 2 "The Ends" 8
Castle 7 "Montreal" 2
"Once Upon a Time in the West" 7
2014–2016 Once Upon a Time 4 "Breaking Glass" 5
5 "The Broken Kingdom" 4
"Devil's Due" 14
6 "Strange Case" 4
2015 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 15 "Under My Skin" 17
Revenge 4 "Retaliation" 16
Legends 2 "The Legends of Curtis Ballard" 3
"The Legend of Ilyana Zakayeva" 4
2015–2020 NCIS 12 "Check" 11
13 "Loose Cannons" 16
14 "Home of the Brave" 7
"Pandora's Box, Part 1" 14
15 "Double Down" 15
"Handle with Care" 16
16 "A Thousand Words" 7
"Mona Lisa" 18
17 "Schooled" 18
2015–2016 NCIS: New Orleans 1 "You'll Do" 21
2 "Means to an End" 19
Person of Interest 4 "Terra Incognita" 20
5 "A More Perfect Union" 6
2016 Wayward Pines 2 "Sound the Alarm"
Dead of Summer 1 "Home Sweet Home" 9
Tyrant 3 "Ask for the Earth" 8
2016–2017 The Walking Dead 6 "Twice as Far" 14
7 "The Cell" 3
"Bury Me Here" 13
2017–2018 Lucifer 2 "A Good Day to Die" 13
"Let Pinhead Sing!" 17
2018 Bull 2 "A Redemption" 19
The Crossing 1 "Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream" 7
2019 How to Get Away with Murder 5 "Be the Martyr" 11
6 "I Want to Be Free" 8
The Good Doctor 2 "Believe" 16
3 "SFAD" 7
2019–2022 S.W.A.T. 2 "Day of Dread" 21
3 "Funny Money" 48
5 "Family" 102
2019 Blood & Treasure 1 "The Curse of Cleopatra, Parts I & II" 1-2
"Code of the Hawaladar" 3
2020 Unsaid Stories 1 "Generational" 10
Bridgerton 1 "Oceans Apart" 7
"After The Rain" 8
2021 Stephen 1 "Episode 1" 1
"Episode 2" 2
"Episode 3" 3

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Alrick Riley". The British Blacklist. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Alrick Riley Director of Spooks, Hustle, and the new Walter Tull movie". YouTube. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Alrick Riley". TV.com. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  4. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Alrick Riley". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

External links[edit]