My personal favorite performance of Rupert Friend will surely be Vasily in Death of Stalin, where he fit perfectly into the shoes of the prodigal, spoilt son of an autocrat and made us laugh our hearts out. That was the first time I got to experience Rupert Friend as an actor.
But pretty recently, I spotted him again in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch and decided to find out more about the actor. It seems like he has a pretty diverse filmography. Though most of his roles aren’t exactly that of the protagonist, all of them are of significant value and important to the film.
Here’s some of the best picks from his long filmography that should definitely be on your watch-list.
1Pride and Prejudice
Rupert Friend played the role of George Wickham in the 2005 romantic drama, based on Jane Austen’s classic novel of the same name. His character was a long-time friend of Mr Darcy and the son of his father’s steward.
But his role was not exactly a positive one. For starters, he spreads exaggerated lies about Mr Darcy in the society and runs off with Lydia without any intention of marrying her (until Darcy bribed him into it). Arrogant yet charming, Friend nails the role and the film itself is a must watch.
2The Death of Stalin
This one’s a personal favorite of mine – Friend plays Vasily Stalin, Josep Stalin’s incompetent son and makes us laugh our hearts out in this dark, satirical comedy.
The film itself is also a must watch, and along the rest of the cast, Friend does a great job by bringing in the correct amount of arrogance, ignorance and comic appeal to the role.
3The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
In this classic, Rupert Friend plays Lieutenant Kurt Kotler, a 19-year-old soldier in the Auschwitz concentration camp. His character is one of a typical Nazi soldier, who believes in the cause of anti-semitism and follows Hitler’s fascist ideologies.
Again, Rupert Friend seemed to have quite a flair for playing grey-shaded characters.
4At Eternity’s Gate
At Eternity’s Gate revolves around painter Vincent Van Gogh’s last few years. Rupert Friend played the role of Theo Van Gogh, Vincent’s brother and closest confidante.
Though the film is widely remembered for William Dafoe’s incredible performance, Rupert’s performance perfectly compliments his role.
5Young Victoria
Rupert Friend played Prince Albert in the film where he was cast opposite Emily Blunt. Though not one of his most popular roles, the film is decent one-time watch.
6Anatomy of a Scandal
Rupert Friend is cast as James Whitehouse, Home Office minister and close friend to the Prime Minister in this Netflix drama. The mini-series is an anthology thriller drama where Friend plays quite a major role.
7Starred Up
This one’s a prison crime drama! Rupert Friend plays Oliver, a voluntary prison therapist. His character is quite interesting and the film is based on real life experiences of therapist HM Prison Wandsworth.
8Homeland
In the political thriller series Homeland, Friend plays CIA operative Peter Quinn. He bagged an Emmy nomination for his performance in the series.
9Strange Angel
Rupert Friend plays Ernest Donovan in this series, which is based on the life of blue collar worker Jack Parsons.
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