Ed Speleers | |
---|---|
Born | Edward John Speleers 7 April 1988 Chichester, West Sussex, England |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2006–present |
Notable work | Eragon , Downton Abbey , Outlander , You , Star Trek: Picard |
Children | 2 |
Edward John Speleers (born 7 April 1988) [1] is an English actor. He is best known for playing the title role in the 2006 film Eragon , antagonist Stephen Bonnet in the TV series Outlander and Jimmy Kent in the TV series Downton Abbey . He has also appeared as Rhys Montrose in the fourth season of You (2023) and Jack Crusher in the third season of Star Trek: Picard (2023).
Speleers was born at St Richard's Hospital, Chichester, West Sussex, England. He is of Belgian descent. [2] [3] His parents divorced when he was three, [4] with his mother residing in Spain and his father in London. [5] He has two older half brothers. [4] While still in school, Speleers performed in school productions such as A Midsummer Night's Dream and Richard III . [6] [7] In addition to acting, Speleers wrote a play, entitled Retribution, that was performed at Eastbourne College, in Sussex, where he attended. Speleers completed his education in 2006. [5]
Speleers' first professional role in 2006 was the lead in 20th Century Fox's screen version of Christopher Paolini's book Eragon . [7] His next role, in 2008, was Jimmy Penwarden on the British prime time series Echo Beach . [8] He also appeared in the comedy Moving Wallpaper and an episode of Moving Wallpaper: The Mole, which many saw as a parody of Echo Beach. [9]
In 2009 Speleers took on the role of Robin Cecil Byng in the Japanese television miniseries Jiro Shirasu: Man of Honor, which highlighted the intermediary between American and Japanese negotiators at the conclusion of World War II. [10] The next year, Speleers played Jason Grint in the fantasy-adventure television film Witchville , and starred in Aimee Powell's short film Deathless. [11] [12] In 2011, Speleers appeared in Julian Gilbey's action thriller film A Lonely Place to Die and Marion Pilowski's short film The Ride. [13] [14]
In 2012 Speleers starred as Jamie in Andy De Emmony's comedy horror film Love Bite, alongside Jessica Szohr and Timothy Spall. [15] [16] He appeared as the hunter Actaeon in the short promotional film Metamorphosis: Titian 2012 by Credit Suisse for an exhibition in the National Gallery. [17] [18] He was cast in the film A Dead Man in Deptford, based upon Anthony Burgess' novel of the same name, but the film was never completed. [19] [20] [21] That same year, Speleers was cast in the recurring role of Jimmy Kent in the award-winning ITV series Downton Abbey . [22] [23]
The short film Turncoat (2013), from Dark Matter productions, featured Speleers as Nathan Reese. [24] [25] He then starred as Sam in the 2014 thriller Plastic , which was written and directed by Julian Gilbey for Gateway Films. [26] [27] On 12 March 2014, it was reported that Speleers was among five actors being considered for a lead role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens , but was cut during the casting process. [28] [29] [30]
In 2015 Speleers had a small role in the BBC's historical drama mini-series Wolf Hall as Edward Seymour, brother of Henry VIII's third wife Jane Seymour. [31] [32] He also played a leading role in the direct-to-DVD werewolf horror film Howl , as a young train conductor overseeing the final London train. [33] That same year, Speleers guest starred in the BBC One miniseries Partners in Crime , an adaptation of two of Agatha Christie's novels, which focused on crime-solving couple Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. Speleers appeared in three episodes based on the story N or M? , in the role of Carl Denim. [34] Also that year, he portrayed Greg in director Omer Fast's psychological thriller Remainder . [35] [36]
In 2016 he played the role of Slean in ITV's epic fantasy drama television series, Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands . [6] [37] He had a supporting role in Disney's fantasy adventure sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass from director James Bobin. [23] [38] The following year he appeared in Andy Serkis' directorial debut, the biopic Breathe , which starred Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy. The film is about paraplegic Robin Cavendish, who is recognised as having helped pioneer the development of wheelchairs equipped with mechanical lungs. [39]
In 2017 Speleers was a producer on Barnaby Blackburn's short film Wale. [40] [41] The film, which centers on contemporary racial prejudices in Britain, was nominated for a British Academy Film Award in 2018 in the Short Film category. [42] In late 2017, Speleers was confirmed to appear in seasons four and five of Starz's time-travel drama series Outlander as Irish smuggler and pirate Stephen Bonnet. [43] [44] [45]
In 2018 Speleers starred in the dark comedy-horror film Zoo, which centers on a couple in crisis and attempting to reconcile during a zombie pandemic. [39] [46] He went on to feature in Lars von Trier's psychological thriller The House That Jack Built , which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. [47] On 20 August 2018, Speleers made his stage premiere in the play Rain Man, portraying the lead role of Charlie Babbitt. [48] The play, based upon the film of the same name, was directed by Jonathan O'Boyle and toured various theatres throughout the United Kingdom. [49] [50] [51]
Romantic comedy For Love or Money featured Speleers as Johnny, opposite Robert Kazinsky and Samantha Barks, in 2019. [52] [53] [54] In the same year, he produced Dad Was, the second short film with director Barnaby Blackburn, which was released in 2020. [55]
In 2020 Speleers made the final appearance in Outlander. [56] He was also the narrator of a David Copperfield audiobook published by Penguin Classics. [57]
In 2023 Speleers appeared in the fourth season of You as the main antagonist Rhys Montrose. He also appeared as Jack Crusher, a main character and a secret son of the protagonist, in the final season of Star Trek: Picard . [58] His performance earned a Saturn Award nomination as a Best Supporting Actor in a Network or Cable Television Series. [59] This was his third Saturn Award nomination overall.
In 2024 Speleers co-starred in the romantic comedy Irish Wish alongside Lindsay Lohan, [60] and was a guest star in an episode of the British television series The Famous Five . [61] He appeared in Midas Man , a biographical film on Brian Epstein who managed the Beatles. [62] He starred in two short films, Deadline directed by Amy Gardner [63] and Fudge Sundae directed by Georgia Redman. [64]
Speleers lives in Bristol, England. He is married to Asia Macey, with whom he has two children. [65] He is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur. [66]
Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | Eragon | Eragon | Stefen Fangmeier | Film debut |
2011 | A Lonely Place to Die | Ed | Julian Gilbey | |
2012 | Love Bite | Jamie | Andy De Emmony | |
2014 | Plastic | Sam | Julian Gilbey | |
2015 | Howl | Joe | Paul Hyett | |
Remainder | Greg | Omer Fast | ||
2016 | Alice Through the Looking Glass | James Harcourt | James Bobin | |
2017 | Breathe | Colin Campbell | Andy Serkis | |
2018 | The House That Jack Built | Ed (Police Officer 2) | Lars von Trier | |
Zoo | John | Antonio Tublen | UK title: Death Do Us Part [67] [68] | |
2019 | For Love or Money | Johnny | Mark Murphy | |
2022 | Against the Ice | Bessel | Peter Flinth | |
2024 | Irish Wish | James Thomas | Janeen Damian | |
Midas Man | Tex Ellington | Joe Stephenson | [62] [69] [70] |
Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | Deathless | John Ray | Aimee Powell | |
2011 | The Ride | Student | Marion Pilowsky | |
2012 | Metamorphosis: Titian 2012 | Actaeon | Remi Weekes & Luke White | |
2013 | Turncoat | Nathan Reece | Will Gilbey | |
2017 | Wale | — | Barnaby Blackburn | Producer |
2020 | Dad Was | — | Barnaby Blackburn | Producer [55] |
2023 | Pylon | — | Barnaby Blackburn | Producer [71] |
2024 | Deadline | TBA | Amy Gardner | [63] |
TBA | Fudge Sundae | Jack | Georgia Redman | Post-production [72] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Moving Wallpaper | Ed Speleers | 4 episodes |
Moving Wallpaper: The Mole | Episode: "#1.6" | ||
Echo Beach | Jimmy Penwarden | 12 episodes | |
2009 | Jirō Shirasu: Man of Honour | Robin Cecil Byng | Episode: "Kantorî jentoruman e no michi" |
2010 | Witchville | Jason Grint | Television film |
2012–2014 | Downton Abbey | James "Jimmy" Kent | 17 episodes |
2015 | Wolf Hall | Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset | 4 episodes |
Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime | Carl Denim | 3 episodes | |
2016 | Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands | Slean | 12 episodes |
2018–2020 | Outlander | Stephen Bonnet | 13 episodes |
2023 | You | Rhys Montrose | 10 episodes |
Star Trek: Picard | Jack Crusher | 10 episodes | |
2024 | Bring the Drama | Himself | Episode: "#1.5" [73] |
The Famous Five | Mr. Roland | Episode: "Peril on the Night Train" | |
TBA | Star Trek: Legacy | Jack Crusher | TBA |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | Rain Man | Charlie Babbitt | The Classic Screen to Stage Theatre Company |
Year | Title | Voice |
---|---|---|
2006 | Eragon | Eragon [74] |
2016 | Battlefield 1 | Daniel Edwards |
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Saturn Awards | Best Performance by a Younger Actor | Eragon | Nominated | [75] |
2014 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Nominated | [76] |
2015 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Won | [77] | ||
2016 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Won | [78] | ||
2019 | BAFTA Film Awards | Best British Short Film | Wale | Nominated | [41] [79] [80] |
Saturn Awards | Best Guest-Starring Performance in a Television Series | Outlander | Nominated | [81] | |
2023 | National Film Awards UK | Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series | You | Nominated | [82] |
2024 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Network or Cable Television Series | Star Trek: Picard | Nominated | [59] [83] |
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