Riley was born in the rural city of Mildura and as a young boy his imagination ran rampant out in the backyard. He moved to Brisbane at the age of 15, where he discovered acting in a high school drama production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. At the beginning of 2015 he was cast in his first community theatre production and has performed consistently across stage and screen since.

In 2018 Riley’s hard work saw him accepted as an apprentice with the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble, and he was subsequently cast in their rep season of Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. 

Outside of acting Riley is a guitarist, a singer and an avid basketball player. Riley is also a pilot, having undertaken his training in 2017. He is very keen to one day get back up into the sky.