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Richard Pyros is a British-Australian actor who first gained recognition on the popular Australian Channel Seven TV show Big Bite, which received two AFI (Australian Film Institute) Award nominations (now known as AACTAs). While still attending drama school, Pyros was chosen to develop a variety of characters, including the notably disheveled newsreader 'Tee Pee Moses,' and to impersonate figures such as Rob Sitch, Michael Caton, Harry Potter, and Detective Lennie Briscoe from Law & Order.
Pyros has an extensive theatre background, most recently appearing in Ivo van Hove's acclaimed Hedda Gabler at the Royal National Theatre and alongside Matt Smith in Anthony Neilson's new play Unreachable at London's Royal Court Theatre.
Between 2009 and 2012, Pyros was part of the resident acting ensemble at Sydney Theatre Company, handpicked by then Co-Artistic Directors Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton. In 2012, he portrayed Alf, Cate Blanchett's boyfriend, in the award-winning production Gross und Klein (Big and Small) by Botho Strauss, adapted by Martin Crimp and directed by Benedict Andrews. The production toured from Sydney to Paris, London, Vienna, and Recklinghausen. His performance was praised as a "scintillating, tour de force, acting match-up of heavyweight champions," matching Blanchett blow-for-blow.
He has worked with leading Australian theatre companies, including Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir, Bell Shakespeare Company, and Malthouse Theatre, as well as performing internationally in England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, France, Austria, Germany, and China. Pyros is also a skilled comedian and writer, with TV writing credits that include BackBerner, Big Bite, Fam Time, and Stand Up Australia! (Foxtel), where he wrote material for host Cameron Knight. In 2007, he toured his show Gilgamesh to the Barbican Theatre in London for the renowned 'Bite' season, as well as to The Beijing Oriental Pioneer Theatre, The Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, and the Sydney Opera House.
In 2012, Pyros earned a Green Room Award nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of Oedipus in Malthouse Theatre's On The Misconception of Oedipus, directed by Matthew Lutton, though the award went to acclaimed actor Colin Friels. He was slated to appear in Belvoir's production of Summerfolk by Maxim Gorky in November 2020.
Before drama school, Pyros was part of the comedy troupe Enter The Datsun with Charlie Pickering, Michael Chamberlin, and Charlie Clausen, writing and producing several television pilots and performing at various Melbourne International Comedy Festivals.
On television, Pyros appears in the BBC Two/Netflix drama Giri/Haji and is a regular on Hulu's historical comedy-drama series The Great, starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, as well as on The Weekly and The Yearly for ABC Australia. He also recently co-wrote the Seven Network show Fam Time and created the web series Lessons For Life with Alan Mercedes alongside Charlie Clausen.
In film, Pyros featured in Hacksaw Ridge (2016), directed by Mel Gibson, playing the significant role of Randall 'Teach' Fuller alongside Andrew Garfield, Teresa Palmer, Sam Worthington, Vince Vaughn, Hugo Weaving, and Rachel Griffiths. He attended the film's world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2016.
His other film roles include the lead in a feature film adaptation of Hamlet directed by Oscar Redding, which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival. His performance received critical acclaim, with Alison Croggon in The Australian praising him as "a brilliant Hamlet" whose portrayal was chilling and intelligent. Additional credits include No Budget by Christopher Stollery (official selection, Palm Springs International Film Festival 2012), Noise by Matthew Saville (official selection, Sundance Film Festival 2007), In Your Dreams (Tropfest) by Greg Williams, and Is God a DJ by Ben Chessell.
Pyros has directed two operas: an immersive Hänsel und Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck at the Bussey Building, Peckham (South London), and Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas at Kings Place, London. He has co-written and is set to direct the new cross-art form play Chopin's Piano, based on Paul Kildea's book, featuring concert pianist Aura Go. This production is scheduled to tour major concert halls across Australia in November 2021.
