Richard Armitage is an award-winning stage, screen and voice actor best known for his leading role as Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy adaptation of The Hobbit, as well as his roles in Captain America, North & South, The Crucible and the Netflix adaptation of Harlan Coben’s The Stranger. 

On September 2, he comes to the Intelligence Squared stage to discuss one of the most powerful forces in storytelling: suspense. Drawing from his new novel The Cut, Armitage will discuss the mechanics of cultivating suspense, and its centrality to crafting compelling stories. Why is an ending no-one sees coming so rewarding? How does our desire for suspense appeal to our most curious instincts? And why are we so motivated to seek out the truth? By blending his best-selling fiction with his deep knowledge of the film industry, Armitage will answer these questions and show us how a story can probe us to question the relationship between fiction and reality. 

Join us at the Kiln Theatre for an evening of discussion, and have your questions answered in the audience Q&A.

Praise for The Cut:

‘Armitage has done it again … The Cut is a chilling, atmospheric thriller with characters you’ll never forget.’ – Harlan Coben