Joey Batey | |
|---|---|
 Joey Batey in December 2019 | |
| Born | 1989 (age 35–36) [1] Newcastle upon Tyne, England [1] |
| Education | Robinson College, Cambridge L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, musician |
| Years active | 2008–present |
Joey Batey (born 1989) is an English actor, musician, singer, songwriter and author. He portrays the bard Jaskier in the fantasy series The Witcher , where he sang "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher", as well as other songs featured in the series.
Joey Batey was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. [1] He has said he grew up in a "musical family" and has always been around music. [2] He studied at Robinson College, Cambridge and L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq . [3] Whilst at Cambridge, he co-wrote and performed the comedic sketch show Good Clean Men with Alex Owen, Ben Ashenden and Simon Haines [4] [5] and he performed in a production of The Seagull alongside Haines, Lily Cole and Genevieve Gaunt. [6] [7]
Batey's film debut was in the 2013 British thriller, Murder on the Home Front , directed by Geoffrey Sax. [8] In 2014, he appeared in The Riot Club directed by Lone Scherfig. [9] In 2017, Paul McGuigan cast him as Eddie in Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool . [10] Batey also played in the British TV series Strike (2017), [11] and In The Dark (2017). [12] He appeared in the series Knightfall in 2017–2018, a 14th century period piece centered on the Knights Templar, where he played the role of Pierre, a spy after information on the Holy Grail. [13]
Batey is a vocalist and musician for the indie folk band The Amazing Devil, as well as the primary writer and composer. [14] He and collaborator Madeleine Hyland met while acting for the Royal Shakespeare Company and together they formed the band in 2015, [15] producing what Batey has described as music that “sad people can listen to at train stations.” [16] The band has released three albums including Love Run (2016), [14] and The Horror and the Wild (2020). [17] Their most recent album, Ruin, was released on 31 October 2021. [18] [19]
Since 2019, Batey has played the character of the bard, Jaskier, in Netflix's adaptation of The Witcher, based on the Polish novel series of the same name. [20] [21] Batey has performed the following songs featured in the series: [22] [23] "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher", [22] "The Fishmonger's Daughter" [24] and "Her Sweet Kiss", as well as "Burn Butcher Burn", [25] "Whoreson Prison Blues" [26] and "The Golden One". [27]
His debut novel, It's Not a Cult, a "darkly comic folk horror" is expected to be released in September 2025. [28]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Riot Club | Eager Chap | |
| 2016 | Bloody Cakes | Colin Montcrawknox | Unreleased |
| 2017 | Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool | Eddie | Uncredited |
| 2025 | The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep | Jaskier (voice) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Murder on the Home Front | Dixie | Television film |
| 2013 | The White Queen | Edward of Lancaster | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Whitechapel | Gavin Redman | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Mount Pleasant | Gopher | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | In the Dark | Shelley | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Strike | Al Rokeby | 2 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | Knightfall | Pierre | 5 episodes |
| 2018 | Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators | Callum Ballimore | Series 1, episode 4: "This Rough Magic" |
| 2018 | Stan Lee's Lucky Man | Bobby Hayes | Series 3, episode 2: "Run Rabbit Run" |
| 2019 | The War of the Worlds | Henderson | Series 1, episode 1 |
| 2019–present | The Witcher | Jaskier | Main role |
| 2022 | The Witcher: Blood Origin | Guest role | |
| 2022 | Billy The Kid | Patrick McCarty | 1 episode |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Dragon Quest Heroes 2 | Cesar | Voice |