Rupert William Anthony Friend (born ()9 October 1981) is a British actor, director, screenwriter, producer and lyricist. He is known for his work in comedies and dramas, both in television and film. For his role as Peter Quinn on the Showtime series Homeland, he was nominated for an Emmy in 2013. He went on to collaborate with Armando Iannucci in the film The Death of Stalin in which he played Vasily Stalin, son of Joseph Stalin, and he played Theo Van Gogh, Vincent Van Gogh's brother, in Julian Schnabel's film At Eternity's Gate. He has also worked with Wes Anderson on The French Dispatch, and previous roles include Lieutenant Kurt Kotler in the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Prince Albert in The Young Victoria, Oliver in the film Starred Up and Agent 47 in the film Hitman: Agent 47.
Friend was born in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England and brought up in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, the son of Caroline, a solicitor, and Nicholas Friend, a cultural historian. He attended The Marlborough School in Woodstock. He moved to take A-levels at the Cherwell School and d'Overbroeck's College in Oxford. Friend received his professional acting training at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.