Charles Edwards (actor)
{{Short description|English actor (born 1969)}}
{{other people|Charles Edwards}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Charles Edwards
| birth_name = Charles Peter Keep Edwards
| image = Charles Edwards at World Premiere London, The Rings of Power 2022.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Edwards in 2022
| education = Winchester College
| alma mater = Guildhall School of Music and Drama
| known_for = The Rings of Power
The Crown
Downton Abbey
Holy Flying Circus
The Halcyon
Henry IX
| occupation = Actor
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1969|10|1|df=y}}
| birth_place = Haslemere, Surrey, England, UK
| yearsactive = 1993–present
}}
Charles Peter Keep Edwards (born 1 October 1969) is an English actor with a career in theatre, TV, and film. His roles include Michael Gregson in Downton Abbey (2012–2013), Alexander McDonald in The Terror (2018), Sir Martin Charteris in The Crown (2019–2020), and Celebrimbor in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022–2024).
Early life
Edwards was born 1 October 1969,Winchester College: A Register. Edited by P.S.W.K. McClure and R.P. Stevens, on behalf of the Wardens and Fellows of Winchester College. 7th edition, 2014. Published by Winchester College, Hampshire. in the town of Haslemere in Surrey, England,{{cite web|url=https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/whats-on/theatre/haslemere-actor-follows-colin-firths-4812178|title=Haslemere actor follows in Colin Firth's footsteps |publisher=getsurrey.co.uk |date=18 January 2012|accessdate=25 July 2021}} and grew up in Grayshott, Hampshire.{{cite web|url=http://www.ciaranbrown.com/edwards.html|title=Charles Edwards|publisher=ciaranbrown.com |access-date=3 September 2022}}
He is the youngest of four sons of stockbroker (senior partner in the family firm of R. Edwards Chandler & Co.) (Ronald) Derek Keep Edwards (1934-2024)https://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/marketplace/advert/edwards-notices_59097https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/births-marriages-and-deaths-october-7-2024-vjl0n9d6d- also a justice of the peace, vice-chairman of the Greater London Fund for the Blind, and a governor of Amesbury School-http://www.liverycompanies.info/fellowship-of-clerks/sheriff-matters/election-addresses/1989-edwards.pdf and his first wife, Sally Anne Lake, daughter of rubber company executive Patrick Boyle Lake Coghlan, sometime chairman of Anglo-Asian Rubber Plantations Ltd.World Who's Who in Commerce and Industry, 15th edition, 1968, p. 263People of Today, Debrett's Ltd, 2006, p. 490
Education
From an early age, Edwards attended Amesbury School in Hindhead, Surrey. Edwards was further educated at Winchester College, Hampshire, from 1983 to 1987, where he boarded in Moberly's house. His father also attended the College from 1948—1953 as did his older brother, Simon, who attended from 1974—1978. Both father and sons boarded at the same House.
Edwards went on to pursue acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama,{{cite web|url=https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/people/3851 |publisher= nationaltheatre.org.uk|title=Charles Edwards |access-date=7 May 2022}} from which he graduated in 1992.{{cite news |author=Joe Tropia | title=Charles Edwards (Fresh Face Interview) |url=http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=559296 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080118203331/http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=559296 |archive-date=2008-01-18 | work=Broadway.com | date=17 January 2008 | access-date=2008-07-12}}
Career
=Theatre=
Edwards debut in acting was on stage as a gingerbread man in a play of Hansel and Gretel. Edwards' first professional theatre engagement was in Blithe Spirit at age 24. Since then he has appeared in many shows such as The Duchess of Malfi, Hay Fever, Private Lives and The Apple Cart.{{cite web |title=Charles Edwards |url=https://royalcourttheatre.com/cast/charles-edwards/ |publisher=royalcourttheatre.com |access-date=3 September 2022}}
Edwards received acclaim for his Broadway debut performance as Richard Hannay in the 2005 play of The 39 Steps, in the first London production in 2006,{{cite news | author=Dominic Cavendish | title=Irreverent romp down the nostalgia track | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/08/18/btsteps18.xml | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205120804/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/08/18/btsteps18.xml | url-status=dead | archive-date=5 December 2008 | work=Telegraph | date=18 August 2006 | access-date=2008-04-07 | location=London}} and in the first US productions in 2007 (Boston){{cite news | author=Louise Kennedy | title=Hitch a ride | url=http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2007/09/21/hitch_a_ride/ | work=Boston Globe | date=21 September 2007 | access-date=2008-04-07}} and 2008 (New York City).{{cite news | author=Ben Brantley | title=Spies, Blonde and a Guy Go North by Northwest | url=http://theater2.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/theater/reviews/16steps.html | work=The New York Times | date=16 January 2008 | access-date=2008-04-07}} He is the only actor from the London production to transfer to the US productions. Edwards concluded his run in the play on 6 July 2008.{{cite news|author-link1=Robert Simonson |author=Robert Simonson |title=Charles in Charge |url=http://www.playbill.com/features/article/118353.html |work=Playbill |date=4 June 2008 |access-date=2008-06-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608071343/http://www.playbill.com/features/article/118353.html |archive-date=8 June 2008 |df=dmy }}{{cite news | author=Kenneth Jones | title=Sam Robards Is the Next Pursued Man of Broadway's 39 Steps | url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/118367.html | work=Playbill | date=4 June 2008 | access-date=2008-06-14 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080607232159/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/118367.html | archive-date=7 June 2008 | df=dmy-all }}
He has made appearances in a number of Shakespeare plays, including Peter Hall's production of Twelfth Night at the Royal National Theatre (Cottesloe auditorium) as Sir Andrew Aguecheek; as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare's Globe;{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/may/27/much-ado-about-nothing-globe | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Michael | last=Billington | title=Much Ado About Nothing – review | date=28 May 2011}} The Merchant of Venice; and A Midsummer Night's Dream, playing Oberon to Judi Dench's Titania. For his performance in Much Ado About Nothing, Edwards was shortlisted for Best Actor at the 2011 Evening Standard Theatre Awards.{{cite web|title= Evening Standard Theatre Awards – Nominees 2011 |url= https://www.westendtheatre.com/15570/news/awards/evening-standard-theatre-awards-nominees-2011/ |work=westendtheatre.com |date=28 October 2011 |access-date=3 September 2022}} He also received a WhatsOnStage Award nomination, in 2012, for his performance in Twelfth Night.{{Cite web |title=Full List: 2012 Whatsonstage.com Award winners {{!}} WhatsOnStage |url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/full-list-2012-whatsonstagecom-award-winners_5341.html |access-date=2022-03-10 |website=www.whatsonstage.com |language=en-GB}}
In 2012, Edwards played the lead role of George VI in the original stage play of The King's Speech on a nationwide tour and also the West End, gaining positive feedback from critics across the board. Drama critic Michael Billington wrote of his performance, "Edwards, who has been edging towards stardom for several seasons, has now unequivocally arrived."{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/feb/10/the-kings-speech-yvonne-arnaud-guildford | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Michael | last=Billington | title=The King's Speech on stage – review | date=10 Feb 2012}} Later in 2012, he took on the role of Conservative Whip Jack Weatherill in James Graham's This House at the National Theatre. Towards the end of the year, he was shortlisted again for Best Actor at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for his performance in both plays.{{cite web|title= Evening Standard Theatre Awards – Nominees 2012 |url= https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/evening-standard-theatre-awards-adrian-lester-and-his-writer-wife-lolita-chakrabarti-shortlisted-8306478.html |publisher= standard.co.uk |date=25 November 2012|access-date=4 September 2022}}
In 2013, Edwards starred as Charles Marsden in a Simon Godwin adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer prize winning play Strange Interlude at the National's Lyttleton Theatre.{{cite web|url= https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatre-news/interviews/charles-edwards |publisher= londontheatre.co.uk|title=Interviews: Charles Edwards|date=1 September 2013}} In 2014, Edwards co-starred in Michael Blakemore's adaptation of Coward's Blithe Spirit, opposite Dame Angela Lansbury. He played Richard II in Simon Godwin's production at Shakespeare's Globe, and Henry Trebell in Harley Granville Barker's play Waste at the National Theatre, both in 2015.
In March 2017, he starred as Henry Higgins in the Brisbane and Melbourne seasons of Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady, presented by Opera Australia and John Frost and directed by Dame Julie Andrews.{{cite web|url=https://www.aussietheatre.com.au/news/donwton-abbey-star-joins-fair-lady-cast-2017|publisher= aussietheatre.com.au|title=Downton Abbey star Charles Edwards joins My Fair Lady cast, 2017|date=3 October 2016}}
Edwards worked with playwright James Graham again in 2021, playing Gore Vidal in Best of Enemies at the Young Vic. He received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor the following year.{{Cite web|date=2022-03-08 |title= Nominations for Olivier Awards 2022 |url= https://variety.com/2022/theater/news/olivier-awards-nominations-2022-1235199067/ |access-date=2022-03-10 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}{{cite web|url=https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatre-news/news/2022-olivier-awards-winners|title=2022 Olivier Awards: Full list of winners|publisher=londontheatre.co.uk|date=18 July 2022|access-date=3 September 2022}}
=TV and film=
In 2002, he played David, also known as King Edward VIII, in the feature-length TV drama Bertie and Elizabeth for ITV.
In 2011, he played Michael Palin in Holy Flying Circus, a dramatisation of the controversy surrounding Monty Python's Life of Brian.{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13856561 |work=BBC News |title=BBC to dramatise Life Of Brian controversy in new film |date=21 June 2011}} In October 2012, Edwards appeared in the third season of the television series Downton Abbey as Michael Gregson. Edwards appeared in the 2013 film, Diana, charting the final few years of Diana, Princess of Wales, where he played Diana's private secretary Patrick Jephson. He made an appearance in BBC series Sherlock, as David Welsborough, on the first episode of the fourth series which aired 1 January 2017 titled 'The Six Thatchers'. Also in 2017, he took on the lead role of the fictional King Henry IX in the TV series Henry IX for Sky channel GOLD.
Edwards' other film and television credits include Batman Begins, An Ideal Husband, Monarch of the Glen, The Halcyon, Mansfield Park, Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes, The Shell Seekers, Colditz and Midsomer Murders.
In 2019 and 2020, he appeared in the third and fourth seasons of the widely acclaimed Netflix series The Crown as Martin Charteris, Queen Elizabeth II's private secretary, taking over the role from Harry Hadden-Paton, who played a younger Charteris in the first two seasons. In 2021, Edwards worked on a New Zealand TV mini series Under The Vines, filmed in Central Otago wine region of the South Island and released on 19 January 2022.{{cite web |title=Under the Vines: season 1: release date, cast, interview, plot, trailer and all about the comedy drama set on a New Zealand vineyard |url=https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/under-the-vines-season-1-release-date-cast-interview-plot-trailer-and-all-about-the-comedy-drama-set-on-a-new-zealand-vineyard|publisher=whattowatch.com |date=9 January 2022}}
In 2022, Edwards played the key role of Celebrimbor, the elven smith responsible for forging the Rings of Power in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.{{cite web |title= Who Created the Rings of Power? The History of Celebrimbor, Explained |url=https://collider.com/the-rings-of-power-celebrimbor-explained/|publisher=collider.com |date=31 August 2022}} Edwards was named an honorable mention for TVLine{{'s}} "Performer of the Week" for the week of September 23, 2024, for his performance.{{Cite web |last=Mason |first=Charlie |date=September 28, 2024 |title=Performer of the Week: Nicholas Alexander Chavez |url=https://tvline.com/lists/nicholas-alexander-chavez-performance-monsters-netflix-lyle-menendez/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240928160223/https://tvline.com/lists/nicholas-alexander-chavez-performance-monsters-netflix-lyle-menendez/ |archive-date=September 28, 2024 |access-date=October 7, 2024 |website=TVLine}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role |
|---|
| rowspan="2" | 1999
| Jack |
| Mansfield Park
| Yates |
| 2000
| Phillip Bateman-Tobias |
| 2001 |
| rowspan="2" | 2002
| David |
| Monarch of the Glen
| David Fraser |
| rowspan="2" | 2005
| Colditz | Ellways, MI9 Officer |
| Batman Begins
| Wayne Enterprises Executive |
| 2007
| Marcus Craigie-Halkett |
| 2008
| Edward “Ned” Fitzroy |
| 2011 |
| 2012–2013
| Michael Gregson |
| rowspan="3" | 2013 |
| Philomena
| David |
| Diana
| Patrick Jephson |
| 2015
| Alfred Wood |
| rowspan="3" | 2017
| Sherlock | David Welsborough |
| The Halcyon
| Lucian D'Abberville |
| Henry IX
| King Henry IX |
| 2018 |
| 2019–2020 |
| rowspan="2" | 2020
| Mr. Jenkins |
| The Duke |
| 2021
| Elliott Stanton |
| 2021–2024
| Louis Oakley |
| 2022–2024
| The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power | Lord Celebrimbor |
Awards and nominations
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0249876|name=Charles Edwards}}
- {{IBDB name|470703}}
- [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/london/9131878/Charles-Edwardss-London.html Charles Edwards' London]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Charles}}
Category:20th-century English male actors
Category:21st-century English male actors
Category:Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Category:English male film actors
Category:English male stage actors
Category:English male television actors
Category:Male actors from Surrey
Category:People educated at Winchester College