CHLOE Magazine Spring 2017 Vol 25 | Page 63

As we talk over the phone one evening , Richard is sitting in his self-bought West End Vancouver apartment . Owning his very own place is just one of the perks that ’ s come from his success as John Murphy on the CW ’ s The 100 – the character that has taken him from bad guy to hero in four seasons . His apartment is his sanctuary amongst all the craziness that comes with being an actor – and it ’ s thanks to the hit show . “ It ’ s my favourite place on Earth – just being in this apartment , other than being on set ,” he says . “ I wouldn ’ t have all of this stuff without The 100 and I owe so much to it .” So how did the Mississauga-born , Vancouver-raised thespian come to eventually land the role of John Murphy ? ( Who , according to him , is probably his favourite character he ’ s ever played .) Of course , working in film runs in the family – his mom is Cynde Harmon , producer and former actor , his dad is director Allan Harmon , and his sister Jessica Harmon is also an actress . While that may have something to do with Richard ’ s initial interest in the industry , it ’ s not what made him continue to perfect his craft . “ I can ’ t stress it enough how much they didn ’ t push [ me ] into this . Coming from inside the business , you see what it can do to younger people . It can ruin lives if you aren ’ t raised the proper way .” Once he was 10 , Richard ’ s parents decided there was no stopping him from following his dreams and encouraged him to pursue his passions . Being a shy kid , acting helped Richard come out of his shell and start realizing that he really was that good . Once the young actor got a taste of what it was like on set , he never looked back .
“ I stayed in it because it ’ s awesome and honestly the only thing that ’ s ever stressed me out enough to continue ,” he says . “ I don ’ t want to fail . In everything else I ’ m a very lazy person but in this job I can ’ t accept failing . I gotta do this till the day I die and I gotta do it well .” And that ’ s exactly what he ’ s done . Coming from miscellaneous yet high profile roles – The Age of Adeline , Bates Motel and Percy Jackson & the Olympians , to name a few – to a massively successful character in The 100 , Richard has proven that he ’ s here to stay . As luck would have it his character in the show is here to stay too . The 100 ’ s John Murphy wasn ’ t originally supposed to be around for more than a few episodes . “ It ’ s my favourite thing that ’ s ever happened to me – that they didn ’ t kill me [ off ],” Richard jokes . What started out as a villain character in many people ’ s eyes has turned into a well-loved hero for most . “ The reception of the character [ has ] blown me away . I mean , I signed on to be this bad guy and over time we ’ ve developed him into this really interesting , intricate character .”

EVERYONE FROM TEENAGE GIRLS WHO LOVE MURPHY ’ S BLUNTNESS TO 50-YEAR-OLD MEN CAN RELATE TO THE CHARACTER . A LOT OF THE CHANGES IN MURPHY ’ S STORY HAVE TO DO WITH RICHARD ’ S HANDS-ON ACTING STYLE – IT ’ S BEEN AN INCREDIBLE COLLABORATION BETWEEN HIM AND THE WRITING TEAM .