Ed Skrein

Early life

Edward George Skrein was born on 29 March 1983 in the Camden borough of London. He grew up in the area and in other nearby boroughs, including Haringey and Islington.

His paternal grandparents were Austrian Jewish refugees, from Vienna, who moved to England in the 1930s to escape the Nazis; his grandmother came over on the Kindertransport.

He attended Fortismere School, then graduated from the Byam Shaw School of Art with a BA in fine art painting.

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.

Acting

Skrein made his acting debut in Plan B's short film Michelle. 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. 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. In 2016, Skrein played the lead villain, Ajax/Francis, in the blockbuster action film Deadpool. In 2017, Skrein also appeared in the music video for 'Eye Contact' by Ocean Wisdom playing the bad guy.

In 2018, Skrein starred in psychological revenge thriller, In Darkness, alongside Natalie Dormer and Stacy Martin; principal photography began in early 2016. He was slated to star in the Hellboy reboot as Ben Daimio, 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.

In 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.

In 2022, Skrein starred as Vince in I Used to Be Famous. Leslie Felperin, writing for The Guardian, gave the film 3/5 stars, calling it a "sweet-natured but predictable comedy drama".

Writing and directing

Skrein wrote and directed the short drama film Little River Run (2020), which was released via his Instagram page.

Personal life

Skrein has a son who was born in the U.S. in 2011; he has not disclosed the mother's identity. He has three children, as revealed in an interview for the promotion of his film Rebel Moon.

Skrein has been a swimming coach for Greenwich Leisure Limited since he was 15 years old, working at leisure centres on Caledonian Road and in Archway.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Filmography

Film

Television

References

References

1. (2 September 2015). "British actor Ed Skrein takes over Jason Statham's 'Transporter' duties".
2. "In an interview earlier this year, Ed Skrein told us about the generational legacy of his grandparents' experiences during the Holocaust: "The Second... {{!}} By AJR Refugee Voices Testimony Archive".
3. Ates, Alex. (July 8, 2020). "By Turning Down 'Hellboy,' Ed Skrein Shows Us How It's Done".
4. Sims, David. (30 August 2017). "Is Hollywood Learning a Lesson About Whitewashing?".
5. (2 September 2015). "Behind the scenes – Rising star Ed Skrein talks The Transporter Refuelled – Candid Magazine".
6. "Ed Skrein: 5 facts including girlfriend, his son and The Transporter Legacy – Swide".
7. (3 September 2015). "Before 'Deadpool' and 'Game of Thrones,' Ed Skrein Was a Pretty Good Rapper".
8. (27 January 2015). "G.A – Rough UK Ed Skrein". YouTube.
9. HBO. (3 September 2015). "'Game of Thrones' Actor Ed Skrein Shoots Down Reports He Walked Away From Show".
10. Brooks, Xan. (10 February 2014). "Transporter 4 will star Ed Skrein in Jason Statham role". [[The Guardian]].
11. Goldberg, Lesley. (28 August 2013). "'Game of Thrones' Books 'Treme' Alum for Season 4". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
12. Keslassy, Elsa. (7 February 2014). "'Game of Thrones' Star to Succeed Statham in 'Transporter' Reboot (EXCLUSIVE)". [[Variety (magazine).
13. Rothman, Lily. (7 April 2014). "Who's the Sellsword? Game of Thrones Premiere Introduces Recast Daario Naharis".
14. "Ed Skrein on Twitter".
15. (8 April 2015). "'Deadpool' Actor Ed Skrein Confirms He's Playing Ajax".
16. (2017-10-27). "Ocean Wisdom – Eye Contact (OFFICIAL VIDEO) (Prod. Kidkanevil)". [[YouTube]].
17. Thom Geier. (29 October 2015). "Natalie Dormer, Ed Skrein to Star in Revenge Thriller 'In Darkness'". Thewrap.com.
18. Ramos, Dino-Ray. (24 August 2017). "'Hellboy' Casting Of Ed Skrein As Japanese Character Draws Whitewashing Backlash".
19. "Ed Skrein on Twitter".
20. . (28 August 2017). ["Actor Ed Skrein quits Hellboy after whitewashing criticism"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41077054). *BBC*.
21. Kroll, Justin. (28 August 2017). "Ed Skrein Drops Out of 'Hellboy' Reboot After Whitewashing Controversy".
22. Donnelly, Matt. (October 31, 2019). "Roland Emmerich Just Made a $100 Million Indie Film. Will It Work?".
23. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (May 23, 2017). "Bona Film Group Stakes $80M On Roland Emmerich/Mark Gordon WWII Battle Pic 'Midway:' Cannes". Deadline.
24. Wiseman, Andreas. (May 2, 2018). "Roland Emmerich's WWII Epic 'Midway' Sets Sail With Woody Harrelson, Mandy Moore & AGC Studios — Cannes Hot Pic". Deadline.
25. Kit, Borys. (July 3, 2018). "Luke Evans Joins Roland Emmerich's Naval Action Movie 'Midway' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
26. Marc, Christopher. (July 24, 2018). "Roland Emmerich's WWII Epic 'Midway' Adds 'The Guest' Cinematographer – GWW". thegww.com.
27. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (September 5, 2018). "Roland Emmerich's WWII Epic 'Midway' To Open Veterans Day Weekend 2019". Deadline.
28. Kenny, Glenn. (15 September 2022). "'I Used to Be Famous' Review: Hold On to That Feeling".
29. Asatryan, Robinson, Tigran, Jacob. (14 September 2022). "Netflix Movie 'I Used to Be Famous': Coming to Netflix in September 2022".
30. Felperin, Leslie. (6 September 2022). "I Used to be Famous review – heartwarming boyband tale beats the neurodivergent drum".
31. "Ed Skrein (@edskrein) posted on Instagram • Jul 19, 2020 at 5:02pm UTC".
32. (20 April 2023). "Marley Skrein: Meet The 12 Year Old Son Of Ed Skrein".
33. Megan Conner. (9 June 2012). "Why we're watching: Ed Skrein".
34. "Ed Skrein".
35. "Ed Skrein: 5 Things To Know About The Man Playing "Game Of Thrones"' Daario Naharis".
36. "All the Light We Cannot See".
37. Schneider, Michael. (February 27, 2025). "Bill Nighy Joins Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham in Amazon Prime Video Action Series 'Ride or Die' (EXCLUSIVE)".