Ricardo P. Lloyd
Ricardo P Lloyd (born 20 November 1993) is a British actor. He began his career in theatre, appearing in productions by Shakespeare's Globe. In 2020, "The Voice" named him one of the Top 20 to watch out for. Early life and education. Ricardo P Lloyd was born on 20 November 1993 in Ipswich, England. His grandparents were a part of the Windrush generation, migrating from Jamaica to England. Lloyd moved from Ipswich to London with his mum when he was very young. He grew up in the London Borough of Brent attending Kensal Rise Primary School  now known as Ark Franklin Primary Academy. In his teenage years, he went to the secondary school Capital City Academy, Lloyd performed in the school productions of Bugsy Malone and West Side Story. He then went down a bad path, hanging around with the wrong crowds trying to fit in, which led him to get into some fights and failing most of his GCSEs. Lloyd later turned his life around, staying at the school's sixth-form to retake some GCSEs and do an A-Level in drama. However, staff continued to stereotype him. Lloyd eventually left Capital City Academy 's sixth-form to pursue a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in performing arts acting at Harrow College (2011-2013). The actor then went on to Buckinghamshire New University to study Performing Arts; Film TV & Stage at undergraduate level (2013-2016). After Lloyd received his BA Honours degree in 2016, he then did an MBA at Anglia Ruskin University (2016-2018) to enhance his skills in business. Career. Lloyd began his acting career in theatre, performing in various theatre shows. He then appeared in several short films. He made his professional stage debut in 2015 in a production of "Animal  Farm" at Oxford House (settlement). Lloyd subsequently starred in the short film "University life "(2015) where he played the (lead) protagonist Anthony. The film was a runner-up in a BIFA short film competition. In February 2016, Lloyd played Karam in the show "Fragile things" at Wycombe Swan Theatre. In the same year, he filmed a part in a short film titled "Cussin". In April 2019, Lloyd acted in "Shakespeare Walks", where he took on the role of Snug (A Midsummer Night's Dream). He also performed in Shakespeare within the Abbey, produced by Shakespeare's Globe. Lloyd worked alongside  Oscar-winning actor Mark Rylance and his wife Claire van Kampen. These shows were created to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday, brought alive by a company of different actors. '"one of the most moving celebrations of Shakespeare I've experienced'" -Michael Billington The GuardianIn November 2019, Lloyd portrayed Romeo in the critically acclaimed topical (theatre) production "Excluded", produced by Intermission Theatre. The play transplanted and re-imagined some of Shakespeare's iconic characters into a London secondary school as they prepared for their GCSEs, highlighting how the education system fails many young people. Lloyd received much praise for his characterisation and  his contributions to the overall production. On 3 November 2019, Lloyd made an appearance on BBC One, Sunday Morning Live (British TV programme) season 10, episode 20, presented by Sean Fletcher. Lloyd performed a scene from "Excluded" with fellow cast and was then interviewed by Ria Hebden. He was seen wearing an eye patch with the word 'excluded' on it, created for him by British artist Eugene Ankomah. When interviewed by Vanessa Feltz on her BBC Radio London breakfast radio show (23 October 2019) what it meant, Lloyd said it was a symbol to represent how society "only chooses to  see what they want to see concerning young people" or people who come from where he does. Lloyd also appeared on ITV News London, where he candidly spoke out on the effects of school exclusions, saying; "When you exclude a child, you are essentially saying they're not good enough for society." He added, "A lot of my peers who have been excluded ended up in prison or dead." Lloyd has a number of further credits. He worked on Creation Theatre Company's "The Time Machine: A Virtual Reality" (2020) in the West End. Lloyd performed at Lyric Theatre as  part of the Evolution festival (2020). He also starred in the documentary film "Arts hole" (2020), which he co-produced with Wendy Richardson and Tara Dominick. Lloyd appeared in Kar-go's promotional video for autonomous delivery UK launch (2020). In 2021, Lloyd wrote, acted, produced and filmed his own short film titled "Call It A Problem", to inspire youth and the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, teaming up with charities The People's FC and Teviot Rangers JFC. Lloyd starred in the short film "Con-Spiracies" (2021), produced by National Film Television School, where he played lead character Jaden . He also performed a monologue to a select audience for the virtual event "My Story, My Monologue" hosted by BlackRock with thousands of employees watching. In January 2022, it was announced that Lloyd would narrate the audiobook of the Crime novel "Silenced" by Jennie Ensor. On Saturday 9 April 2022, Lloyd played John Blanke at the National Maritime Museum part of the "Caribbean take over" celebrating black history. The event was an opportunity for visitors to discover the fusion of cultures from Africa, the Caribbean and Britain. It was the first time that the museum held an event of that  magnitude celebrating black history. Lloyd was joined by ITVChase’s Shaun Wallace as well as Leroy Logan. Recognition and industry supporters. In 2020, Lloyd was recognized as a rising actor when The Voice listed him as one of the "Top 20 ones to watch out for in business, sport, culture and politics". Additionally, Lloyd was nominated for a Blac award, an award celebration of the achievements of those of the African-Caribbean Community in the UK. Lloyd has been supported and mentored by different industry leaders, including Hollywood A-listers such as Whoopi Goldberg, David Oyelowo, Naomie Harris, and Mark  Rylance, who have encouraged him to continue to stretch himself as an artist and break through barriers in his industry. In November 2021, The Guardian published an article that focused on Lloyd and actor David Harewood, comparing the actors' lives and careers. This was part of "Black British culture matters", curated by Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder for The Guardian Saturday Culture Issue No 7. On 28 August 2022, Lloyd was awarded The Anglia Ruskin UniversityVice counsellor alumni Contribution to Culture award"." Activism and advocacy. As well as being an actor, Ricardo P Lloyd is an activist. He has continued  to use his influence to publicly raise awareness for key social issues such as class discrimination, social exclusion, racism, and diversity in the UK. Lloyd spoke boldly about the challenges many black British actors face in the industry. In 2021, he wrote an article for The Independent extensively discussing some of his own experiences of discrimination being a black British actor. Lloyd is a patron of the organisation "Inc Arts", an organization which supports the creative, contractual and economic rights of the UK's African, Asian, Caribbean and ethnically diverse arts sector workforce. Personal life. Lloyd is a practicing Christian , he has spoken openly about how importance his faith is to him on platforms like Premier Christian Radio, saying it keeps him grounded. In 2021, he told The Church Times, ""Faith has enabled me to survive in this business: faith in God through Christ Jesus. I trust in him that he has a purpose regarding my life and career, and he knows what is best for me. I also need to have faith in myself, my abilities, my value. I have business skill-sets to help me create my own work. I no longer want to just survive, but thrive . I'm also trying to help other people who come from where I come from."" Lloyd revealed his favourite actor of all time is Sidney Poitier. He wrote a tribute to Poitier after hearing of his passing in January 2022, which was published by The Voice. He also is a fan of Michael Jackson since childhood and has said that Michael Jackson's life, career, artistry (work) has greatly inspired him. In 2020, Lloyd personal life played out in the Print media early that year he was listed on The Voice "top 20 ones to watch out for "and was  working on several projects before the COVID-19 pandemic. Lloyd then found himself going through a dark period becoming homeless and going through different traumatic experiences. Lloyd spoke out about the lack of support many black men face. The stories kept on circulating on the actor; 'Police appeal after actor is attacked by unknown woman in Lambeth'. One journalist added the following, 'Because of his facial scars Ricardo will also have to step away from the camera and put his acting career on pause.'