“I’m a great believer in the idea that if it’s meant to be, it will be.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I’m a big fan of old, classic American musclecars like a Shelby GT or the ’69 Dodge Charger, cars that inspired me through my childhood. They used to get me real excited when I was a kid. To own one and actually be able to drive them in America is a little of a dream.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I’m more of a mimic. My accent tends to drift to where ever I am.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I have always thought beach weddings are beautiful. A sunset ceremony with a beautiful sky, white drapes and fire lanterns.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I remember ‘Rain Man’ with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman with all the Lamborghinis being lifted off the tanker. I was obsessed with this car. Absolutely obsessed with this car. It was my dream, and to finally drive one and own one was incredible.”
― Ricky Whittle
“Blood must not have blood… I don’t stand for anyone bullying bullies.”
― Ricky Whittle
“You have to have chemistry – it’s acting. I need to make people believe the rumba is about two people in love, and the tango is about passion.”
― Ricky Whittle
“No one remembers the runner-up!”
― Ricky Whittle
“I’m a huge sun baby. As soon as the sun comes out, my smile gets bigger, so I’m constantly smiling in L.A. It’s a fantastic place to be.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I must have been 15 or 16 when I left Antrim Grammar, but I do remember having my first proper kiss when I lived there.”
― Ricky Whittle
“The best food I’ve had was actually in catering at ‘Single Ladies.’ It’s insane. I can’t live in Atlanta. In fact, even if I’m offered, I’m not sure I could come back for another six months, because I’ll just be fat.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I’ve never used chat-up lines; I don’t have the gift of the gab.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I’m ambitious and I’m determined and I know where I’m going to be. It’s not where I want to be, but where I’m going to be.”
― Ricky Whittle
“With ‘Strictly,’ I am mentally and physically knackered: everything aches. I knew it would be hard, but I never thought it would be this tough.”
― Ricky Whittle
“My little sister Debbie was born at Aldergrove, and my nan is from southern Ireland, so I do try and get over quite a bit.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I was something of a late bloomer.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I’ve never liked my smile, you see. I should have had braces as a kid, but I was too proud and too vain. And I didn’t want to be bullied at school.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I’m not as stupid as some people think. I’ve got a degree in law.”
― Ricky Whittle
“We need to sort the kids out and educate them properly. After all, they are our future.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I believe it’s my position as a partner to make the other feel secure. I’m very loving and very into my partners when I am with them. I just want them to feel safe.”
― Ricky Whittle
“The Ricky that the public see, whether it be on screen as a character, in public, or on social media, is very outgoing, and I’m a bit of a class clown. Then those who are closest to me know that I can be very sensitive. I can be quite insecure about myself.”
― Ricky Whittle
“We try and give as much diversity to our show as possible. That’s something that’s very strong in our show: there are so many strong female leads in ‘The 100.’”
― Ricky Whittle
“First black Bond – that’s my aim! That’s the one!”
― Ricky Whittle
“Even in ‘Hollyoaks,’ we were known as ‘the black family’ as opposed to just ‘the new family.’ But that’s where we are in the world, I guess. It’s getting better; everything’s heading in the right direction, whether it be race, sex, gender.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I actually spoke to one of the heads of a studio, and he said I confuse middle America. Basically, when they see a black person, they see athlete, they see rapper, or they see criminal or something like that. And then when they hear a British accent, they hear posh, so they hear lawyer or doctor.”
― Ricky Whittle
“When you’re younger, you do take things personally.”
― Ricky Whittle
“Growing up, at that time, I didn’t want to be black because I was bullied, and I’d tell my mum that I wanted to be white like everyone else at school.”
― Ricky Whittle
“If things are said maliciously, and they’re meant to hurt, then that’s the sort of thing we need to try and stamp out.”
― Ricky Whittle
“Once people start to realise that colour is just that, it’s just a colour, then things got a bit smoother.”
― Ricky Whittle
“When you’re living in L.A., you really do have to raise your game – you have to be the best ‘you’ possible.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I have an acting coach, a dialect coach, and just a great team around me.”
― Ricky Whittle
“My favourite compliment now is that people are talking about my acting, my craft – not my torso.”
― Ricky Whittle
“My abs were my bread and butter in the U.K. – the calendars, the photoshoots, and all that came with it.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I think anyone is lying if they say they don’t want to win.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I’m very competitive, and I want to be known to do well.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I don’t want to embarrass myself on TV!”
― Ricky Whittle
“They say that no one walks in L.A., and it’s definitely true, and I’m embracing that.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I’m just a big kid; I get excited. That’s probably the one thing in life that I get really excited about is cars.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I really have a new-found respect for dancers.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I’m going to continue the dancing because it really was an inspiration; it changed my life.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I don’t think anything can prepare you for the ‘Strictly’ experience. It really is insane. I mean, I played football, rugby, American football. I go to the gym. I like to think I’d be quite fit, and I don’t have much fat on me to lose, and yet I still lost a stone and half and three inches off my waist.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I joined ‘Hollyoaks’ because in the long-term, I thought it’s good money, it’s good profile, and everything happens in soaps!”
― Ricky Whittle
“My character in ‘Hollyoaks’ went through absolutely everything! There’s not one emotion where I’m going to go, ‘I don’t know how to play this.’”
― Ricky Whittle
“I want to act in films and TV drama, so that’s where I’m aiming to be, and I’m not going to let anything distract me or turn my head until I get there.”
― Ricky Whittle
“As in all TV shows, and especially a show called ‘Mistresses,’ all is not going to be as it seems.”
― Ricky Whittle
“Sometimes, when you’ve got a couple of females on the cast, you’ll have a diva, or you’ll have arguments. I’ve been on shows where girls haven’t quite got on.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I’d do whatever it takes to stay in California; maybe not L.A. because it’s so crazy.”
― Ricky Whittle
“Keep watching ‘The 100.’ It’s an incredible show, and that’s my family.”
― Ricky Whittle
“No one should ever suffer in silence. Bullies thrive in silence.”
― Ricky Whittle
“My friends said I was crazy, but L.A. is the hub of the industry. It’s the epicenter of the business. If I wanted to get above the plateau that I had reached in the U.K., I had to make that move.”
― Ricky Whittle
“As actors, when you can’t be in the room with the casting director or the producers, you put yourself on tape and send it off.”
― Ricky Whittle
“I love L.A. I love America; it’s fantastic. The people are friendly, and everyone’s always smiling. The sun is always shining. My only problem is choosing what color shorts to wear.”
― Ricky Whittle
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