The couple met as co-stars in Kenneth Branagh’s 2017 mystery Murder on the Orient Express – fast-forward to 2024 and they have co-produced the neo-noir thriller Magpie
Hollywood power couple Daisy Ridley and Tom Bateman like to keep their relationship under wraps. So when they showed up for Miu Miu’s spring/summer 2025 show in Paris recently, they definitely turned heads.
The pair went public with their marriage in January 2023 but it is not known when exactly they tied the knot. So what do we know about Tom Bateman, the man who stole the Star Wars actress’ heart?
He comes from a theatre background
Tom Bateman is a veteran of West End theatre productions. Photo: IMDB
Bateman was born in 1989 in Oxfordshire, England. His parents worked as teachers, and he’s one of 13 siblings and half-siblings. Growing up, he joined the National Youth Theatre, before enrolling at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He performed with Kenneth Branagh’s Garrick Theatre and other West End theatres before getting his big break in film and TV.
Today, Bateman is best known for TV series like Behind Her Eyes and Based on a True Story. He collaborated with Branagh on his films Murder on the Orient Express (2017) and Death on the Nile (2022).
He has a twin
Tom Bateman starred in Death on the Nile (2022) alongside Gal Gadot. Photo: IMDB
Bateman has a twin brother named Merlin, but they are not identical. Merlin Bateman is an award-winning visual artist. He once visited the set of Murder on the Orient Express with his wife, and they actually appear in the film too. The Snatched actor revealed in an interview with Above the Line that Branagh, who directed Murder on the Orient Express, allowed them to be extras.
He has worked with his wife
Per People, Ridley and Bateman met as co-stars on the set of Murder on the Orient Express and began dating soon after. They also collaborated on the recently released neo-noir thriller Magpie, in which Ridley plays the protagonist Anette. It is Bateman’s screenwriting debut and the pair co-produced the film.
Magpie premiered at the South by Southwest festival in March, and was released in theatres on October 25. About working with her man, Ridley told the Radio Times, “I found that process wonderful because our tastes align on basically everything … I think he’s a brilliant writer.”
