# Ruaridh Mollica

Ruaridh Silvio James MacGillivray-Mollica (born 14 October 1998) is a Scottish-Italian actor, writer, and director. For his performance in the film Sebastian (2024), he was nominated for a British Independent Film Award. On television, he appeared in the Channel 5 series Witness Number 3 and the BBC Three series Red Rose (both 2022).
Mollica was named one of Screen International's 2024 Rising Stars Scotland.

## Early life and education

Mollica was born in Prato, 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 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's character and the 2018 romance film Tell It to the Bees.
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 Williamson in Mikko Mäkelä's sophomore feature Sebastian, which opened at the Sundance Film Festival. For his performance, Mollica was nominated for the British Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Performance. Mollica also played a young version of Stephen Moyer'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

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2013 | Sunshine on Leith | Dancer | |
| 2018 | Tell It to the Bees | Rose Attacker | |
| 2022 | Too Rough | Nick | Short film |
| 2022 | The Doomsday Clock | The Reader | Short film; director, writer |
| 2023 | Boys on Film: Dangerous to Know | Nick | |
| 2024 | Sebastian | Max Williamson | |
| 2025 | Sukkwan Island | | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2013 | Case Histories | Freddie Marshall | Episode: "Nobody's Darling" |
| 2015 | Stonemouth | Young Stewart | Part 1 |
| 2022 | Witness Number 3 | Po | Main role |
| 2022 | Red Rose | Patrick Hume | 5 episodes |
| 2024 | Sexy Beast | Young Teddy Bass | |
| 2024 | The Jetty | Troy | 2 episodes |
| 2024 | Ridley | Ryan Stanford | 2 episodes (series 2) |
| 2024 | The Franchise | Jaz Cox | Supporting role (5 episodes) |
| 2025 | A Thousand Blows | Nicholas Graften | |
| 2026 | Vision Quest | Tucker | Filming |

### Music videos

* "Easter Road" (2020), Callum Beattie