Charles Edwards (actor)

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For other people named Charles Edwards, see Charles Edwards (disambiguation).

Charles Edwards
Born
Charles Peter Keep Edwards

(1969-10-01) 1 October 1969 (age 52)
Haslemere, Surrey, England, UK
EducationWinchester College, Hampshire
(independent boarding school)
Alma materGuildhall School of Music and Drama
OccupationActor
Years active1993–present
Known forDownton Abbey
Holy Flying Circus
The Halcyon
Henry IX

Charles Peter Keep Edwards (born 1 October 1969),[1] is an English actor[2] known for his work in theatre and film.

Early life[]

Edwards was born in 1969, in the town of Haslemere in Surrey, in the South East of England.

He is the youngest of four sons of Sally Anne Lake Coghlan and Ronald Derek Keep Edwards.[1]

Education[]

From 1983 and 1987,[1] Edwards was educated at Winchester College,[3] in Hampshire where he boarded at in Moberly's house.[1] His father, Ronald Edwards, 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.[1]

Edwards then attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, from which he graduated in 1992.

Career[]

Theatre[]

Edwards' first professional theatre engagement was in Blithe Spirit at age 24.[2] Since then he has appeared in many shows such as The Duchess of Malfi, Hay Fever, Private Lives and The Apple Cart.

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,[4] and in the first US productions in 2007 (Boston)[5] and 2008 (New York City).[6] 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.[7][8]

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;[9] 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. He also received a WhatsOnStage Award nomination, in 2012, for his performance in Twelfth Night.[10]

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."[11] 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.

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.

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.

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.[12]

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.[13]

In October 2012, Edwards appeared in the third season of the widely acclaimed television series Downton Abbey as Michael Gregson, a wealthy London editor and publisher who wins the heart of Lady Edith Crawley. He returned for the show's fourth season, appearing in only the first half, as his character mysteriously went missing mid-season. During the fifth season, it was confirmed that Gregson had been met with a violent death.

Edwards appeared in the 2013 film, Diana, charting the final few years of Diana, Princess of Wales. Edwards played her 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, which first aired in April 2017.

From 2019-2020, 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.

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.

Edwards worked in New Zealand in 2021 on a New Zealand TV mini series Under The Vines, released in NZ on January 19, 2022.

Filmography[]

Year Title Role
1999 An Ideal Husband Jack
Mansfield Park Yates
2000 Relative Values Phillip Bateman-Tobias
2001 Murder Rooms Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
2002 Bertie and Elizabeth David
Monarch of the Glen David Fraser
2005 Colditz Ellways, MI9 Officer
Batman Begins Wayne Enterprises Executive
2007 The All Together Marcus Craigie-Halkett
2008 Midsomer Murders Edward “Ned” Fitzroy
2011 Holy Flying Circus Michael Palin
2012–2013 Downton Abbey Michael Gregson
2013 National Theatre Live: This House Jack Weatherill
Philomena David
Diana Patrick Jephson
2015 Arthur & George Alfred Wood
2017 Sherlock David Welsborough
The Halcyon Lucian D'Abberville
Henry IX King Henry IX
2018 The Terror Dr. Alexander McDonald
2019–2020 The Crown Sir Martin Charteris
2020 The Witches Mr. Jenkins
The Duke Joseph Simpson
2021 The Girlfriend Experience Elliott Stanton
Louis Oakley
2022 The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Celebrimbor[14]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e 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.
  2. ^ a b Joe Tropia (17 January 2008). "Charles Edwards (Fresh Face Interview)". Broadway.com. Retrieved 12 July 2008.
  3. ^ "Haslemere actor follows in Colin Firth's footsteps". Surrey Live. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  4. ^ Dominic Cavendish (18 August 2006). "Irreverent romp down the nostalgia track". Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  5. ^ Louise Kennedy (21 September 2007). "Hitch a ride". Boston Globe. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  6. ^ Ben Brantley (16 January 2008). "Spies, Blonde and a Guy Go North by Northwest". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  7. ^ Robert Simonson (4 June 2008). "Charles in Charge". Playbill. Archived from the original on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  8. ^ Kenneth Jones (4 June 2008). "Sam Robards Is the Next Pursued Man of Broadway's 39 Steps". Playbill. Archived from the original on 7 June 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  9. ^ Billington, Michael (28 May 2011). "Much Ado About Nothing – review". The Guardian. London.
  10. ^ "Full List: 2012 Whatsonstage.com Award winners | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  11. ^ Billington, Michael (10 February 2012). "The King's Speech on stage – review". The Guardian. London.
  12. ^ Yossman, K. J. (8 March 2022). "Eddie Redmayne, Jessie Buckley and Emma Corrin Nominated for Olivier Awards 2022". Variety. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  13. ^ "BBC to dramatise Life Of Brian controversy in new film". BBC News. 21 June 2011.
  14. ^ Breznican, Anthony; Robinson, Joanna (10 February 2022). "Amazon's Lord of the Rings Series Rises: Inside 'The Rings of Power'". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.

External links[]

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