Richie Merritt

Last updated

Richie Merritt [1] (born 2001) [2] is an American actor. He portrayed Richard Wershe Jr. in the 2018 film White Boy Rick . [3] [4] [5] [6] He also played Malachi in the film Lola. [7]

Contents

He is from Baltimore County, Maryland. [8] He attended Dundalk High School. [9] [10] [11] [12] He was reportedly waiting outside the principal's office when discovered by filmmakers. [13]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2018 White Boy Rick Richard Wershe Jr.
2021 Clean Mikey
2024 Lola Malachi

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2022 Euphoria Bruce Jr.2 episodes

Related Research Articles

<i>Dazed and Confused</i> (film) 1993 film by Richard Linklater

Dazed and Confused is a 1993 American coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by Richard Linklater. The film follows a variety of teenagers on the last day of school in Austin, Texas, in 1976. The film has no single protagonist or central conflict, rather following interconnected plot threads among different social groups and characters, such as rising ninth graders undergoing hazing rituals, a football star's refusal to sign a clean living pledge for his coach, and various characters hanging out at a pool hall. The film features a large ensemble cast of actors who would later become stars, including Jason London, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Cole Hauser, Parker Posey, Adam Goldberg, Matthew McConaughey, Nicky Katt, Joey Lauren Adams, and Rory Cochrane.

<i>Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D</i> 2005 American film

Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D is a 2005 IMAX 3D documentary film about the first humans on the Moon, the twelve astronauts in the Apollo program.

<i>Magic Mike</i> 2012 film by Steven Soderbergh

Magic Mike is a 2012 American comedy-drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, and Matthew McConaughey. The plot revolves around Adam, a 19-year-old college dropout who enters the world of male stripping, guided by Mike Lane, who has been in the business for six years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dundalk High School</span> Public secondary school in Dundalk, Maryland, United States

Dundalk High School (DHS) is a four-year public high school in the United States, located in Baltimore County, Maryland. The school opened in 1959. Starting in 2010, DHS was rebuilt and combined with Sollers Point Technical High School. The new building opened in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bel Powley</span> British actress (born 1992)

Isobel Dorothy Powley is an English actress. Born and raised in London, Powley was educated at Holland Park School. She began acting as a teenager on television, starring on the CBBC action television series M.I. High (2007–2008).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew McConaughey</span> American actor (born 1969)

Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first success as a leading man came in the legal drama A Time to Kill (1996). His career progressed with lead roles in the science fiction film Contact (1997), the historical drama Amistad (1997), and the war film U-571 (2000).

<i>The Lincoln Lawyer</i> (film) 2011 U.S. film by Brad Furman

The Lincoln Lawyer is a 2011 American legal thriller film adapted from the 2005 novel of the same title by Michael Connelly. The film is directed by Brad Furman, with the screenplay written by John Romano, and stars Matthew McConaughey as the titular lawyer, Mickey Haller. The film also stars Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei, Josh Lucas, William H. Macy, and Bryan Cranston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Lowes</span> American actress and theater director (born 1982)

Katie Quinn Lowes is an American actress and theater director. She is best known for her role as Quinn Perkins in the ABC political drama series Scandal (2012–2018) and her portrayal of Rachel DeLoache Williams in the Netflix drama series Inventing Anna (2022).

<i>Dallas Buyers Club</i> 2013 American biographical drama film

Dallas Buyers Club is a 2013 American biographical drama film written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack, and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. The film tells the story of Ron Woodroof, a cowboy diagnosed with AIDS in the mid-1980s, a time when both the etiology and the treatment of HIV/AIDS are poorly understood and its sufferers subject to stigmatization. As part of an ongoing experimental AIDS treatment movement, Woodroof smuggles unapproved pharmaceutical drugs into Texas to treat his symptoms. Here, he distributes them to fellow people with AIDS by establishing the "Dallas Buyers Club", all the while facing opposition from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Two fictional supporting characters, Dr. Eve Saks, and Rayon, were composite roles created from interviews with transgender AIDS patients, activists, and doctors. Presidential biographer and PEN-USA winner Bill Minutaglio wrote the first magazine profile of the Dallas Buyers Club in 1992. The article, which featured interviews with Woodroof and also recreated his dramatic international exploits, attracted widespread attention from filmmakers and journalists.

<i>True Detective</i> American anthology crime drama television series

True Detective is an American anthology crime drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the series is structured as a self-contained narrative, employing new cast ensembles, and following various sets of characters and settings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew McConaughey filmography</span>

Matthew McConaughey is an American actor who made his breakthrough by starring in the Richard Linklater-directed coming of age comedy Dazed and Confused in 1993. His first lead role was in the 1996 film adaptation of the John Grisham novel A Time to Kill. The following year, McConaughey played the lawyer Roger Sherman Baldwin opposite Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins in the Steven Spielberg-directed historical drama Amistad, and also starred opposite Jodie Foster in the Robert Zemeckis-directed science fiction drama Contact. In 1998, he appeared in the Linklater-directed comedy-drama The Newton Boys. During the 2000s, McConaughey was typecast as a romantic comedy lead in the films The Wedding Planner (2001), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Failure to Launch (2006), and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tye Sheridan</span> American actor (born 1996)

Tye Kayle Sheridan is an American actor. He is known for playing the young Scott Summers / Cyclops in the X-Men film series (2016–2019) and for his starring role in the science fiction film Ready Player One (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lola Kirke</span> English-born American actress and singer-songwriter

Lola Clementine Kirke is a British-American actress and singer-songwriter. She starred in the 2015 film Mistress America and the Amazon Studios television series Mozart in the Jungle. She appeared in Gone Girl (2014), Gemini (2017), and Lost Girls (2020) among other films. Recent work includes HBO's Winning Time (2022) and upcoming Starz limited series Three Women.

<i>Gold</i> (2016 film) 2016 film by Stephen Gaghan

Gold is a 2016 American crime drama film directed by Stephen Gaghan and written by Patrick Massett and John Zinman. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Édgar Ramírez, Bryce Dallas Howard, Corey Stoll, Toby Kebbell, Craig T. Nelson, Stacy Keach and Bruce Greenwood. The film is loosely based on the true story of the 1997 Bre-X mining scandal, when a massive gold deposit was supposedly discovered in the jungles of Indonesia; however, for legal reasons and to enhance the appeal of the film, character names and story details were changed.

<i>White Boy Rick</i> 2018 film by Yann Demange

White Boy Rick is a 2018 American crime drama film directed by Yann Demange and written by Andy Weiss, Logan Miller, and Noah Miller. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Richie Merritt in his film debut, Bel Powley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brian Tyree Henry, Rory Cochrane, RJ Cyler, Jonathan Majors, Eddie Marsan, Bruce Dern, and Piper Laurie in her final film role. The film is loosely based on the story of Richard Wershe Jr., who in the 1980s became the youngest FBI informant ever at the age of 14.

Ishmael 262 Ali is an American rapper, hip hop artist, and actor from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has released 2 EPs and 3 LPs. His most recent project, the mixtape Slow Down, KID, was released in November 2018 and was distributed by EMPIRE. IshDARR is also an actor who had a role in the 2018 film, White Boy Rick and was managed between 2013 and 2017 by Enrique "Mag" Rodriguez.

<i>Serenity</i> (2019 film) 2019 film directed by Steven Knight

Serenity is a 2019 American mystery thriller film written, produced and directed by Steven Knight. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Diane Lane, Jason Clarke, Djimon Hounsou, and Jeremy Strong, and follows a fishing boat captain who is approached by his ex-wife to murder her abusive new husband. First announced in January 2017, principal photography on the film began on Mauritius that July.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Wershe Jr.</span> Former drug trafficker and FBI informant

Richard Wershe Jr., known as "White Boy Rick", is an American former drug trafficker and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant. The youngest known informant in the history of the FBI, Wershe became a confidential informant when he was 14 to 16 years old. When he was 15, Wershe told the FBI that a major drug dealer had spoken of paying a bribe to Detroit detective inspector and subsequent city council president and mayoral candidate Gil Hill in order to quash the investigation into a 13-year-old boy's murder. At the age of 17, Wershe was arrested for possession of 8 kg of cocaine and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2017, justice campaigners publicized Wershe's case and he was subsequently paroled, but directly to a prison in Florida to serve another five years for an auto theft conviction from 2008. Campaigners for Wershe have suggested to reporters that the length of his incarceration may have been connected to him having provided the FBI with information leading to the arrest of family members and associates of former Detroit mayor Coleman A. Young, as well as the allegation about Young's political ally Hill. In 2016, a notorious former Detroit hitman alleged Hill had once tried to commission the murder of Wershe.

<i>The Beach Bum</i> 2019 film directed by Harmony Korine

The Beach Bum is a 2019 American stoner comedy film written and directed by Harmony Korine and starring Matthew McConaughey, Snoop Dogg, Isla Fisher, Jimmy Buffett, with Zac Efron, Martin Lawrence, and Jonah Hill. The plot follows the adventures of stoner poet Moondog (McConaughey) in and around the Florida Keys as he tries to finish his new novel and fight for the respect of his daughter and his share of his wife's estate after she dies in a car accident.

<i>Unbroken: Path to Redemption</i> 2018 sequel film directed by Harold Cronk

Unbroken: Path to Redemption is a 2018 American Christian drama film directed by Harold Cronk, and is the sequel to the 2014 film Unbroken. Because of the much lower budget, none of the original cast or crew returned, except the producer Matthew Baer and actors Vincenzo Amato and Maddalena Ischiale. The film chronicles the rest of Louis Zamperini's story, following his return from World War II. The film features a role from evangelist Will Graham, who portrays his grandfather, Billy Graham.

References

  1. Busch, Anita (March 3, 2017). "'White Boy Rick' Coveted Lead Role Goes To Unknown 15-Year-Old Baltimore Kid With No Acting Experience". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  2. Alexander, Bryan (September 7, 2018). "'White Boy Rick' breakout Richie Merritt never heard of his co-star Matthew McConaughey". The Herald-Mail. Retrieved June 20, 2023. ...Merritt, now 17 and a high-school senior.
  3. Walsh, S.M. (November 4, 2022). "Richie Merritt: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  4. Kroll, Justin (March 3, 2017). "Newcomer Richie Merritt Lands Title Role in 'White Boy Rick' Opposite Matthew McConaughey". Variety. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  5. Goldberg, Matt (September 15, 2018). "'White Boy Rick': Richie Merritt and Bel Powley on Researching Their Real-Life Characters". Collider. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  6. Alexander, Bryan (September 7, 2018). "'White Boy Rick' breakout Richie Merritt had never heard of his co-star: Matthew McConaughey". USA Today. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  7. Grobar, Matt (April 1, 2021). "Richie Merritt, Trevor Long, Raven Goodwin & Luke David Blumm Board Indie Drama 'Lola James'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  8. Shapiro, Bee (November 16, 2018). "Young Star of 'White Boy Rick' Was Discovered in the Principal's Office". The New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  9. Williams IV, John-John (September 13, 2018). "Dundalk High School student Richie Merritt has starring role in new Matthew McConaughey film 'White Boy Rick'". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  10. Kaltenbach, Chris (September 14, 2018). "What they're saying about Dundalk teen Richie Merritt and 'White Boy Rick'". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  11. ""White Boy Rick" star takes in debut in hometown of Dundalk". WMAR-TV. September 14, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  12. Shapiro, Bee (November 16, 2018). "Young Star of 'White Boy Rick' Was Discovered in the Principal's Office". WRAL-TV. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  13. Alexander, Bryan (September 7, 2018). "White Boy Rick's young star won role without recognizing co-star, Matthew McConaughey". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 20, 2023.