Ruaridh Silvio James MacGillivray-Mollica (born 14 October 1998; pronounced Rur-ee Mall-ika) is a Scottish-Italian actor, writer, and director. For his performance in the film Sebastian (2024), he was nominated for a British Independent Film Award. On television, he appeared in the Channel 5 series Witness Number 3 and the BBC Three series Red Rose (both 2022).
Mollica was born in Prato, Italy to a Scottish mother and an Italian father.[2] Mollica attended Broughton High School in Edinburgh.[3] He joined the Strange Town youth theatre company, where he met his agent Ruth Hollyman.[4] Mollica graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Heriot-Watt University in 2021.[5] During his time at university, he participated in snowsports.[6] He intended to do a Masters degree in Cybersecurity at a London university, but declined the offer when he was cast in Red Rose.[2]
Career
Mollica began his career as a child actor, making his television debut aged 12 in an episode of the BBC One series Case Histories with Jason Isaacs and Mark Bonnar and his feature film debut as a background dancer in the Sunshine on Leith adaptation. He worked on-and-off for a number of years,[2] appearing in the 2015 drama Stonemouth as a young version of Christian Cooke's character[7] and the 2018 romance film Tell It to the Bees.
During his final year at university,[2] Mollica returned to acting when his Strange Town agent Ruth Hollyman got him the lead role opposite Joshua Griffin in Sean Lionadh's 2022 short film Too Rough,[8] which won a Scottish BAFTA. He then landed his first recurring television role as Patrick Hume in the BBC Three horror series Red Rose, which Mollica declined his postgraduate university place to film, and his first main role in the Channel 5 series Witness Number 3.[9] He also appeared in Wasted at the Jack Studio Theatre.[10]
Regarding his sexuality, in a February 2024 interview with Queerty, Mollica said, "it was only when I moved to London and had the ability to be myself that I realised, 'Oh actually, no, I like men as well'".[14]
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