--- name: "Paul Ritter" canonical: "https://film.one/person/paul-ritter" roles: ["Actor"] born: "20 December 1966" died: "5 April 2021" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 81 average_as: "actor" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-09-17T15:15:27.514103+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Paul Ritter Actor. Born 20 December 1966 in Gravesend, Kent, England, UK. Died 5 April 2021. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 20 December 1966, Gravesend, Kent, England, UK - **Died:** 5 April 2021 - **Active:** 2011–2019 - **Also known as:** Simon Paul Adams, 폴 리터, 保羅·里特 - **Average Fi1m score:** 81, as actor, over 3 titles - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 2 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 3, Crime 1, Mystery 1 - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ritter, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7153247, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728795/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/52888 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*Chernobyl*](https://film.one/tv/chernobyl.md) (86) - **Apple TV:** [*Vera*](https://film.one/tv/vera.md) (72) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Paul Ritter > Paul Ritter was superb at playing men who are difficult to be around. In *Chernobyl*, he makes a deputy chief engineer’s denial frighteningly plausible, showing the fear behind the orders without excusing the harm. In the control room in *Chernobyl* (2019), Paul Ritter’s Anatoly Dyatlov hears the building come apart and insists that a tank has burst. He orders water pumped into a core that no longer exists, then sends men to inspect the damage. Ritter plays each instruction as something Dyatlov needs to believe, because acknowledging the disaster would threaten the career on which his authority rests. We were angry watching him send those men, because he makes a terrible order seem like an ordinary part of the working day. This is an excellent performance of a man treating a threat to his career as the most urgent problem he faces. Ritter had worked extensively with the RSC and National Theatre before screen parts began accumulating in the early 2000s. Eldred Worple in *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* (2009) brought him to a large audience, but television gave him the recurring role of Martin Goodman in *Friday Night Dinner* (2011–2020). Alongside Tamsin Greig, he played the eccentric, often shirtless father, a rather different prospect from Dyatlov in the control room. It is tempting to make the distance between the two parts the whole story. We are more interested in his willingness to play uncomfortable company without making the character easier to like. In Craig Mazin and Johan Renck’s *Chernobyl*, that willingness gives a plainly culpable man enough vulnerability to remain human, without reducing his responsibility for the orders he gives. Ritter does not need to shout to make the authority felt; the certainty of those instructions is what makes them frightening. The series explains itself once too often towards the end, and his work in the first hour makes that extra explanation seem less necessary still. He has already shown us why this man keeps rejecting what is happening in front of him. Start with *Chernobyl*, and do not expect a restful evening. ## Biography Paul Ritter (born Simon Paul Adams) was an English stage and screen actor. He trained at St John's College, Cambridge, and began his career in theatre, appearing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. He received Olivier and Tony Award nominations for his stage work. On screen, Ritter was known for his role as Anatoly Dyatlov in the miniseries *Chernobyl* (2019) and as Dr Billy Cartwright in the crime drama *Vera* (2011–2013). He also starred as Martin Goodman in the sitcom *Friday Night Dinner* (2011–2020). His film credits include *Quantum of Solace* (2008), *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* (2009), *The Eagle* (2011) and the posthumously released *Operation Mincemeat* (2022). Ritter died of a brain tumour on 5 April 2021, aged 54. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, theguardian.com.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *Chernobyl* (2019), Fi1m 86, as Anatoly Dyatlov — [page](https://film.one/tv/chernobyl.md) - *Wolf Hall* (2015), Fi1m 86, as Sir John Seymour — [page](https://film.one/tv/wolf-hall.md) - *Vera* (2011), Fi1m 72, as Dr Billy Cartwright — [page](https://film.one/tv/vera.md) ## Complete filmography (62) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Operation Mincemeat* (2022), as Bentley Purchase - *Belgravia* (2020), series, as Turton - *The Trial of Christine Keeler* (2019), series, as Jeremy Hutchinson - *Catherine the Great* (2019), series, as Alexander Suvorov - *Greed* (2019), as Lewis - *The Capture* (2019), series, as Marcus Levy - *Chernobyl* (2019), series, as Anatoly Dyatlov — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/chernobyl.md) - *Resistance* (2019), series, as General Ormonde Winter - *Hang Ups* (2018), series, as Werner Lienhard - *Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams* (2017), series, as Franklyn - *Their Finest* (2017), as Raymond Parfitt - *Urban Myths* (2017), series, as Dave - *NW* (2016), Acting - *The Limehouse Golem* (2016), as Augustus Rowley - *Inferno* (2016), as CRC Tech Arbogast - *Neil Gaiman's Likely Stories* (2016), series, as Dr Jeremy Benham, Mr Allman, Martyn, TV Presenter - *Houdini & Doyle* (2016), series, as Bram Stoker - *We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story* (2015), as Jimmy Perry - *The Last Kingdom* (2015), series, as King Peredur - *No Offence* (2015), series, as Randolph Miller - *Suite Française* (2015), as Monsieur Dubois - *Wolf Hall* (2015), series, as Sir John Seymour — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/wolf-hall.md) - *Mapp and Lucia* (2014), series, as Rev. Kenneth 'Padre' Bartlett - *The Game* (2014), series, as Bobby Waterhouse - *Lovesick* (2014), series, as Peter - *Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This* (2014), as Eric Sykes - *National Theatre Live: The Audience* (2013), as John Major - *Plebs* (2013), series, as Angelo - *Wodehouse In Exile* (2013), as Mackintosh - *Complicit* (2013), as Thomas - *The Bletchley Circle* (2012), series, as Masters - *National Theatre Live: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time* (2012), as Ed - *The Hollow Crown* (2012), series, as Pistol - *Dirk Gently* (2012), series, as Oliver Reynolds - *Great Expectations* (2011), series, as Wemmick - *Without You* (2011), series, as Inspector Ramsay - *Hidden* (2011), series, Acting - *Vera* (2011), series, as Dr Billy Cartwright — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/vera.md) - *The Night Watch* (2011), as Mr Pearce - *Eliminate: Archie Cookson* (2011), as Ennis Miller - *Friday Night Dinner* (2011), series, as Martin Goodman - *The Eagle* (2011), as Galba - *No Pressure* (2010), as Manager - *Money* (2010), series, as Terry Linex - *Nowhere Boy* (2009), as Pobjoy, headmaster - *Land Girls* (2009), series, as Frank Tucker - *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* (2009), as Eldred Worple - *Quantum of Solace* (2008), as Guy Haines - *Love You More* (2008), as Record Shop Owner - *Instinct* (2007), series, as D.C. Daniel Yelland - *Son of Rambow* (2007), as Geography Teacher - *Viva Blackpool* (2006), as Piano Man - *Nostradamus* (2006), as Cosimo Ruggieri - *On a Clear Day* (2005), as Mad Bob - *The Girl in the Café* (2005), as Robert - *The Libertine* (2004), as Chiffinch - *Fields of Gold* (2002), as Chris Oatier - *Waking the Dead* (2001), series, as Alan Pierce - *Esther Kahn* (2000), as Alman, the photographer - *The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz* (2000), as Dave - *G:MT Greenwich Mean Time* (1999), as Drug Buyer - *Midsomer Murders* (1997), series, as Harry Fleetwood ## Gallery - ![Paul Ritter](https://film.one/media/person/492269/gallery-c3df218bfc37.jpg) Paul Ritter — Image via TMDB - ![Paul Ritter](https://film.one/media/person/492269/gallery-a4b9cf1c6337.jpg) Paul Ritter — Image via TMDB - ![Paul Ritter](https://film.one/media/person/492269/gallery-8c0d435031cf.jpg) Paul Ritter — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Other awards — 1 won, 1 nominated - Theatre World Special Award 2009: Theatre World Special Award (won) - Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play 2009: Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play (nominated) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/paul-ritter