Richard Mylan was born on 24 November 1972 in Swansea, Wales. He attended Birchgrove Junior School, where he played rugby, before his life took an unusual turn at the age of twelve: he left Swansea to train as a dancer at the Urdang Academy in London. He had already made his stage debut at six years old, in a production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' at the Swansea Grand Theatre, and his first professional job followed at twelve, in the original London production of the roller-skating musical 'Starlight Express' at the Apollo Victoria Theatre.
Mylan built a long career on British television, becoming a familiar face through roles in 'The Bill', the BBC prison drama 'Bad Girls', and 'Grownups', in which he played Chris. His other credits include 'The Demon Headmaster', 'Silent Witness', 'Border Café', 'Always and Everyone', 'Wild West' alongside Dawn French, 'Coupling' and the school drama 'Waterloo Road'.
Away from acting, Mylan's son Jaco, born in 2005 with his former partner, actress Catrin Powell, has a form of autism known as Pervasive Developmental Disorder. In April 2017 Mylan presented a BBC documentary, 'Richard and Jaco: Life with Autism', exploring his son's diagnosis and their family's experience, bringing a personal and public-spirited dimension to his career.
Mylan remains closely associated with his home city, having returned to perform at the Swansea Grand Theatre — the same stage where he made his debut as a six-year-old — many times since, and continues to work across British television.