Julian Richings was born and raised in Oxford, England, and is one of three boys. All pursued careers in professional theatre: his older brother is a set designer, and his younger brother is a lighting designer. After graduating from the University of Exeter Drama Department in 1977, he performed extensively in theatres throughout the UK. In 1980 he toured internationally in a highly acclaimed adaptation of James Joyce's Ulysses with resident spells in New York, Chicago, Toronto and Grotowski's Teatr Laboritorium in
