Charles Edwards (actor)

Early life

Edwards was born 1 October 1969, in the town of Haslemere in Surrey, England, and grew up in Grayshott, Hampshire.

He is the youngest of four sons of stockbroker Ronald Derek Keep Edwards (1934–2024), and his first wife, Sally Anne Lake, daughter of rubber company executive Patrick Boyle Lake Coghlan, sometime chairman of Anglo-Asian Rubber Plantations Ltd.

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 to 1953, as did his older brother, Simon, who attended from 1974 to 1978. Both father and sons boarded at the same House.

Edwards went on to pursue acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, from which he graduated in 1992.

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.

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, and in the first US productions in 2007 (Boston) and in New York City in 2008. 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.

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; The Merchant of Venice; and A Midsummer Night's Dream, playing Oberon to Judi Dench 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.

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." 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.

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. In 2014, Edwards co-starred in Michael Blakemore's adaptation of Blithe Spirit, opposite Dame Angela Lansbury. He played the title role in Simon Godwin's production of Richard II 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.

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. 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, released on 19 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. Edwards was named an honorable mention for TVLine "Performer of the Week" for the week of 23 September 2024 for his performance.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. 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. (18 January 2012). "Haslemere actor follows in Colin Firth's footsteps". getsurrey.co.uk.
3. "Charles Edwards". ciaranbrown.com.
4. "EDWARDS the Telegraph Announcements".
5. (6 October 2024). "Births, marriages and deaths: October 7, 2024".
6. World Who's Who in Commerce and Industry, 15th edition, 1968, p. 263
7. People of Today, Debrett's Ltd, 2006, p. 490
8. "Charles Edwards". nationaltheatre.org.uk.
9. Joe Tropia. (17 January 2008). "Charles Edwards (Fresh Face Interview)". Broadway.com.
10. "Charles Edwards". royalcourttheatre.com.
11. Dominic Cavendish. (18 August 2006). "Irreverent romp down the nostalgia track". Telegraph.
12. Louise Kennedy. (21 September 2007). "Hitch a ride". Boston Globe.
13. Ben Brantley. (16 January 2008). "Spies, Blonde and a Guy Go North by Northwest". The New York Times.
14. Robert Simonson. (4 June 2008). "Charles in Charge". Playbill.
15. Kenneth Jones. (4 June 2008). "Sam Robards Is the Next Pursued Man of Broadway's ''39 Steps''". Playbill.
16. Billington, Michael. (28 May 2011). "Much Ado About Nothing – review". The Guardian.
17. (28 October 2011). "Evening Standard Theatre Awards – Nominees 2011". westendtheatre.com.
18. "Full List: 2012 Whatsonstage.com Award winners {{!}} WhatsOnStage".
19. Billington, Michael. (10 Feb 2012). "The King's Speech on stage – review". The Guardian.
20. (25 November 2012). "Evening Standard Theatre Awards – Nominees 2012". standard.co.uk.
21. (1 September 2013). "Interviews: Charles Edwards". londontheatre.co.uk.
22. (3 October 2016). "Downton Abbey star Charles Edwards joins My Fair Lady cast, 2017". aussietheatre.com.au.
23. (2022-03-08). "Nominations for Olivier Awards 2022".
24. (18 July 2022). "2022 Olivier Awards: Full list of winners". londontheatre.co.uk.
25. (21 June 2011). "BBC to dramatise Life Of Brian controversy in new film". BBC News.
26. (9 January 2022). "Under the Vines: season 1: release date, cast, interview, plot, trailer and all about the comedy drama set on a New Zealand vineyard". whattowatch.com.
27. (31 August 2022). "Who Created the Rings of Power? The History of Celebrimbor, Explained". collider.com.
28. Mason, Charlie. (September 28, 2024). "Performer of the Week: Nicholas Alexander Chavez".
29. "Charles Edwards Awards". IMDB (Index source only).
30. (9 April 2018). "35th Annual Green Room Awards Winners Announced>".