Ed Skrein
Edward George Skrein (/skraɪn/;[1] born 29 March 1983) is a British actor, film director, screenwriter and rapper. He gained experience as an actor in independent films or television series. In the years that followed, he became known for portraying Daario Naharis in the third season of the television series Game of Thrones. Skrein later rose to greater recognition portraying the villain Francis Freeman/Ajax in the superhero-comedy film Deadpool (2016). Skrein went on to replace Jason Statham in the action film The Transporter: Refueled (2015) and portrayed the cocky bounty-hunting cyborg Zapan in Alita: Battle Angel (2019). He later starred as Lt. Dick Best in the war film Midway (2019).
Ed Skrein | |
|---|---|
Skrein at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Born | Edward George Skrein 29 March 1983 Camden, London, England |
| Other names |
|
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Children | 1 |
Skrein made his directorial debut with the short film Little River Run (2020), which he released on his Instagram.[2]
Early life
Skrein was born in Camden, London, England, and was raised there and in other London boroughs, Haringey and Islington. He is of English and Austrian Jewish descent.[3][4][5] Skrein attended Fortismere School.[3] He graduated from Byam Shaw School of Art, a public tertiary art school, with a BA Hons degree in fine art painting.[6]
Career
Music
In 2004, Skrein released a three track EP under the record label Dented Records. In 2007, he released his first album, The Eat Up. He has collaborated with a variety of artists including Foreign Beggars, Asian Dub Foundation, Plan B, Dubbledge and Doc Brown. Later that year, Skrein released a collaborative EP, Pre-Emptive Nostalgia, with the group A State of Mind. In 2009 Skrein collaborated with rapper Dr Syntax to bring the collaborative album Scene Stealers under the name Skreintax.[7]
Acting
Skrein made his acting debut in Plan B's short film Michelle.[8] Skrein got his first lead role in Plan B's Ill Manors. Skrein portrayed Daario Naharis in the third season of the television series Game of Thrones. However, in the fourth season of the series, he was replaced by Dutch actor Michiel Huisman. Skrein states that it was not his choice to leave the show.[9] In 2014, Skrein was cast in The Transporter: Refueled, replacing Jason Statham as the lead. Though the film was critically panned, his performance was praised.[10][11][12][13] In 2016, Skrein played the lead villain, Ajax, in the blockbuster action film Deadpool.[14][15] In 2017 Skrein also appeared in the music video for 'Eye Contact' by Ocean Wisdom playing the bad guy.[16]
In 2018, Skrein starred in psychological revenge thriller, In Darkness, alongside Natalie Dormer and Stacy Martin; principal photography began in early 2016.[17] He was slated to star in the Hellboy reboot as Ben Daimio,[18] a Japanese-American character; after controversy over his casting, Skrein announced on Twitter that he was stepping down from the role in the hopes an actor of the proper ethnicity would be cast.[19][20][21]
On 8 November 2019, he starred in Roland Emmerich’s blockbuster movie Midway, co-starring Mandy Moore, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Dennis Quaid and Woody Harrelson.[22][23][24][25][26][27]
In 2022, Skrein starred as Vince in I Used to Be Famous.[28][29] Leslie Felperin, writing for The Guardian, gave the film 3/5 stars, calling it a "sweet-natured but predictable comedy drama".[30]
Writing and directing
Skrein made his directing debut by directing and writing the short drama film Little River Run which he released on 20 July 2020 at his Instagram.[2]
Personal life
Since he was 12 years old, Skrein has been a swimming coach for Greenwich Leisure Limited working at leisure centres such as Caledonian Road Pool and Gym and Archway Pool.[31][32][33]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| The Eat Up |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Mind Out/Once Upon a Skrein |
|
| Pre-Emptive Nostalgia (with A State of Mind) |
|
| Scene Stealers (with Dr Syntax) |
|
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Piggy | Jamie | |
| Ill Manors | Edward "Ed" Richardson | ||
| The Sweeney | David | ||
| 2013 | Goldfish | Vincent | Short film |
| 2014 | Northmen: A Viking Saga | Hjorr | |
| 2015 | Sword of Vengeance | Treden | |
| Tiger House | Callum | ||
| Kill Your Friends | Danny Rent | ||
| The Transporter Refueled | Frank Martin Jr. | ||
| 2016 | Deadpool | Francis Freeman / Ajax | MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (with Ryan Reynolds) Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Villain Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Villain |
| The Model | Shane White | ||
| 2018 | In Darkness | Marc | |
| Patrick | Vet | ||
| Tau | Alex | ||
| Little River Run | Short film; director and writer Encounters Short Film Festival Teen Jury Award | ||
| If Beale Street Could Talk | Officer Bell | ||
| 2019 | Alita: Battle Angel | Zapan | |
| Born a King | Philby | ||
| Maleficent: Mistress of Evil | Borra | ||
| Midway | Lieutenant Dick Best | ||
| 2021 | Naked Singularity | Craig | |
| Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon | Fuzz | ||
| 2022 | Taco Bell: Fry Again | The Time Fryer | Video short |
| I Used to Be Famous | Vince | ||
| 2023 | Rebel Moon | Balisarius | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | The Tunnel | Anthony Walsh | 3 episodes |
| Game of Thrones | Daario Naharis | 3 episodes Screen International Award for UK Star of Tomorrow |
References
- ^ "British actor Ed Skrein takes over Jason Statham's 'Transporter' duties". Reuters. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
Skrein is an Austrian name and rhymes with 'wine', he explained.
- ^ a b "Ed Skrein (@edskrein) posted on Instagram • Jul 19, 2020 at 5:02pm UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Behind the scenes – Rising star Ed Skrein talks The Transporter Refuelled – Candid Magazine". candidmagazine.com. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ Ates, Alex (8 July 2020) [August 31, 2017]. "By Turning Down 'Hellboy,' Ed Skrein Shows Us How It's Done". www.backstage.com.
- ^ Sims, David (30 August 2017). "Is Hollywood Learning a Lesson About Whitewashing?". The Atlantic.
- ^ "Ed Skrein: 5 facts including girlfriend, his son and The Transporter Legacy – Swide". Swide Magazine – The Dolce & Gabbana Luxury Magazine Online. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ "Before 'Deadpool' and 'Game of Thrones,' Ed Skrein Was a Pretty Good Rapper". Inverse. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ G.A – Rough UK Ed Skrein. YouTube. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ HBO (3 September 2015). "'Game of Thrones' Actor Ed Skrein Shoots Down Reports He Walked Away From Show". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ Brooks, Xan (10 February 2014). "Transporter 4 will star Ed Skrein in Jason Statham role". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (28 August 2013). "'Game of Thrones' Books 'Treme' Alum for Season 4". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (7 February 2014). "'Game of Thrones' Star to Succeed Statham in 'Transporter' Reboot (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ Rothman, Lily (7 April 2014). "Who's the Sellsword? Game of Thrones Premiere Introduces Recast Daario Naharis". Time. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ "Ed Skrein on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ "'Deadpool' Actor Ed Skrein Confirms He's Playing Ajax". Screen Rant. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ "Ocean Wisdom – Eye Contact (OFFICIAL VIDEO) (Prod. Kidkanevil)". YouTube. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- ^ Thom Geier (29 October 2015). "Natalie Dormer, Ed Skrein to Star in Revenge Thriller 'In Darkness'". Thewrap.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (24 August 2017). "'Hellboy' Casting Of Ed Skrein As Japanese Character Draws Whitewashing Backlash". deadline.com. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^ "Ed Skrein on Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^ "Actor Ed Skrein quits Hellboy after whitewashing criticism". BBC News Online. BBC. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (28 August 2017). "Ed Skrein Drops Out of 'Hellboy' Reboot After Whitewashing Controversy". variety.com. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^ Donnelly, Matt (31 October 2019). "Roland Emmerich Just Made a $100 Million Indie Film. Will It Work?". Variety. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (23 May 2017). "Bona Film Group Stakes $80M On Roland Emmerich/Mark Gordon WWII Battle Pic 'Midway:' Cannes". Deadline. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (2 May 2018). "Roland Emmerich's WWII Epic 'Midway' Sets Sail With Woody Harrelson, Mandy Moore & AGC Studios — Cannes Hot Pic". Deadline. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ Kit, Borys (3 July 2018). "Luke Evans Joins Roland Emmerich's Naval Action Movie 'Midway' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ Marc, Christopher (24 July 2018). "Roland Emmerich's WWII Epic 'Midway' Adds 'The Guest' Cinematographer – GWW". thegww.com. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (5 September 2018). "Roland Emmerich's WWII Epic 'Midway' To Open Veterans Day Weekend 2019". Deadline. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
- ^ Kenny, Glenn (15 September 2022). "'I Used to Be Famous' Review: Hold On to That Feeling". New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ Asatryan, Robinson, Tigran, Jacob (14 September 2022). "Netflix Movie 'I Used to Be Famous': Coming to Netflix in September 2022". What's On Netflix. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ Felperin, Leslie (6 September 2022). "I Used to be Famous review – heartwarming boyband tale beats the neurodivergent drum". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ Megan Conner (9 June 2012). "Why we're watching: Ed Skrein". the Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ "Ed Skrein". Huck Magazine. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ . The Frisky. Archived from the original on 30 October 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
External links
- Ed Skrein at the British Film Institute
- Ed Skrein at IMDb