Riley is Leeton born and bred. He studied Drama at Leeton High School from Year 9 to Year 12 and starred in school productions of Legally Blonde (as Emmett Forrest) and Back to the Eighties (as Mr Cocker) under the directorship of teachers Bec Van den Huevel and Kellie Goman. He has been working in hospitality since finishing school and continues to do so whilst exploring his creative aspirations. When the opportunity came up in 2018 to work with Jake Speer on Inside Water, Riley jumped at the chance. Jake was looking for an intern –someone he could rely on and who would really respond to the environment and opportunity to learn all aspects of film production. Jake’s mum Tania was working at the high school

at the time and said to Jake ‘I’ve got someone for you’, because she recognised something in Riley, and the mentoring relationship really took off. Being involved in Henry V is a very different experience, but there are many similarities in the experience with Inside Water, especially of thinking on your feet, and how people join together to work as one. Riley and Jake’s grandmothers are long-term best of friends.