Ed Speleers

Early life

Speleers was born at St Richard's Hospital, Chichester, West Sussex, England. He is of Belgian descent. His parents divorced when he was three, with his mother residing in Spain and his father in London. He has two older half brothers. While still in school, Speleers performed in school productions such as A Midsummer Night's Dream and Richard III. In addition to acting, Speleers wrote a play, entitled Retribution, that was performed at Eastbourne College, in Sussex, where he attended. Speleers completed his education in 2006.

Career

2006–2011

Speleers' first professional role in 2006 was the lead in 20th Century Fox's screen version of Christopher Paolini's book Eragon. His next role, in 2008, was Jimmy Penwarden on the British prime time series Echo Beach. He also appeared in the comedy Moving Wallpaper and an episode of Moving Wallpaper: The Mole, which many saw as a parody of Echo Beach.

In 2009 Speleers took on the role of Robin Cecil Byng in the Japanese television miniseries Jiro Shirasu: Man of Honor, which highlighted the intermediary between American and Japanese negotiators at the conclusion of World War II. The next year, Speleers played Jason Grint in the fantasy-adventure television film Witchville, and starred in Aimee Powell's short film Deathless. In 2011, Speleers appeared in Julian Gilbey's action thriller film A Lonely Place to Die and Marion Pilowski's short film The Ride.

2012–2015

In 2012 Speleers starred as Jamie in Andy De Emmony's comedy horror film Love Bite, alongside Jessica Szohr and Timothy Spall. He appeared as the hunter Actaeon in the short promotional film Metamorphosis: Titian 2012 by Credit Suisse for an exhibition in the National Gallery. He was cast in the film A Dead Man in Deptford, based upon Anthony Burgess' novel of the same name, but the film was never completed. That same year, Speleers was cast in the recurring role of Jimmy Kent in the award-winning ITV series Downton Abbey.

The short film Turncoat (2013), from Dark Matter productions, featured Speleers as Nathan Reese. He then starred as Sam in the 2014 thriller Plastic, which was written and directed by Julian Gilbey for Gateway Films. On 12 March 2014, it was reported that Speleers was among five actors being considered for a lead role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but was cut during the casting process.

In 2015 Speleers had a small role in the BBC's historical drama mini-series Wolf Hall as Edward Seymour, brother of Henry VIII's third wife Jane Seymour. He also played a leading role in the direct-to-DVD werewolf horror film Howl, as a young train conductor overseeing the final London train. That same year, Speleers guest starred in the BBC One miniseries Partners in Crime, an adaptation of two of Agatha Christie's novels, which focused on crime-solving couple Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. Speleers appeared in three episodes based on the story N or M?, in the role of Carl Denim. Also that year, he portrayed Greg in director Omer Fast's psychological thriller Remainder.

2016–2020

In 2016 he played the role of Slean in ITV's epic fantasy drama television series, Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands. He had a supporting role in Disney's fantasy adventure sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass from director James Bobin. The following year he appeared in Andy Serkis' directorial debut, the biopic Breathe, which starred Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy. The film is about paraplegic Robin Cavendish, who is recognised as having helped pioneer the development of wheelchairs equipped with mechanical lungs.

In 2017 Speleers was a producer on Barnaby Blackburn's short film Wale. The film, which centers on contemporary racial prejudices in Britain, was nominated for a British Academy Film Award in 2018 in the Short Film category. In late 2017, Speleers was confirmed to appear in seasons four and five of Starz's time-travel drama series Outlander as Irish smuggler and pirate Stephen Bonnet.

In 2018 Speleers starred in the dark comedy-horror film Zoo, which centers on a couple in crisis and attempting to reconcile during a zombie pandemic. He went on to feature in Lars von Trier's psychological thriller The House That Jack Built, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. On 20 August 2018, Speleers made his stage premiere in the play Rain Man, portraying the lead role of Charlie Babbitt. The play, based upon the film of the same name, was directed by Jonathan O'Boyle and toured various theatres throughout the United Kingdom.

Romantic comedy For Love or Money featured Speleers as Johnny, opposite Robert Kazinsky and Samantha Barks, in 2019. In the same year, he produced Dad Was, the second short film with director Barnaby Blackburn, which was released in 2020.

In 2020 Speleers made the final appearance in Outlander. He was also the narrator of a David Copperfield audiobook published by Penguin Classics.

2021–present

In 2023 Speleers appeared in the fourth season of You as the main antagonist Rhys Montrose. He also appeared as Jack Crusher, a main character and a secret son of the protagonist, in the final season of Star Trek: Picard. His performance earned a Saturn Award nomination as a Best Supporting Actor in a Network or Cable Television Series. This was his third Saturn Award nomination overall.

In 2024 Speleers co-starred in the romantic comedy Irish Wish alongside Lindsay Lohan, and was a guest star in an episode of the British television series The Famous Five. He appeared in Midas Man, a biographical film on Brian Epstein who managed the Beatles. He starred in two short films, Deadline directed by Amy Gardner and Fudge Sundae directed by Georgia Redman.

In 2025 BBC announced Speleers will appear as a guest star in the 2nd series of Black Ops. He will star as Thomas Cressman in the ITV drama series The Lady. His next performance will be in Wind of Change as the Scorpions member Matthias Jabs. Also, it is reported that he will appear as a guest in the Netflix action-thriller spin-off series Extraction.

Personal life

Speleers lives in Bristol, England. He is married to Asia Macey, with whom he has two children. He is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur.

Filmography

Film

Shorts

Television

Theatre

Video games

Audiobooks

• 2020: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (Penguin Classics)

Awards and nominations

References

References

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4. (20 February 2007). "Superman Returns Leads the 33rd Annual Saturn Awards with 10 Nominations".
5. (18 January 2014). "2014 SAG Awards: Winners and Nominees".
6. (26 January 2015). "SAG Award Winners 2015: Full List".
7. (30 January 2016). "SAG Awards 2016: Full Winners List".
8. (30 January 2016). "The Complete List of the 2016 SAG Award Winners".
9. (30 January 2016). "Downton Abbey Wins Best Ensemble in a TV Drama at the SAG Award".
10. Mancuso, Vinnie. (16 July 2019). "'Avengers: Endgame', 'Game of Thrones' Lead the 2019 Saturn Awards Nominations".
11. Joseph, Sara. (17 May 2023). "Nominations for the 9th annual National Film Awards are announced". [[National Film Academy]].
12. Hipes, Patrick. (6 December 2023). "'Avatar: The Way Of Water', 'Oppenheimer', 'Star Trek' Series Lead Nominations For Genre-Focused Saturn Awards".
13. Pascale, Anthony. (4 February 2024). "'Star Trek: Picard' Wins 4 Saturn Awards, 'Strange New Worlds' Wins 1".
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16. Speleers, Edward. (11 April 2019). "What a joy to be in the motherland with two of Scandinavia's finest men. Screening of #Zoo. #belgium🇧🇪 #Brussels #anychanceofapassport #antwerpen".
17. "Ed Speleers biography". Tribute.ca.
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22. Speleers, Ed. (1 July 2011). "FrightFest Week – A Lonely Place To Die: Ed Speleers Interview". Filmwerk.
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35. (12 September 2010). "Little Film Company to sell Sam Riley in A Dead Man in Deptford".
36. (13 September 2010). "A Dead Man in Deptford Movie (Pre-Production): Sep. 13, 2010 - added Ballpark Productions as a production company".
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39. Debnath, Neela. (1 October 2018). "Outlander season 4 cast: Who is Stephen Bonnet? Who is actor Ed Speleers?".
40. "Jennifer Handorf".
41. Rosser, Michael. (6 December 2012). "Speleers, Poulter and Allen to star in Plastic". Screen Daily.
42. (26 September 2014). "Plastic". Rotten Tomatoes.
43. Kroll, Justin. (12 March 2014). "'Star Wars Episode VII': Actors Battle for Lead Role". Variety.
44. Crow, David. (12 March 2014). "John Boyega, Ed Speleers Up For Star Wars: Episode VII?".
45. (27 December 2015). "Ed Speleers confirms he screen-tested for Star Wars".
46. Robinson, Joanna. (3 April 2015). "Here's Why the Cast of Wolf Hall Looks So Familiar".
47. Jones, Nate. (18 April 2015). "The Gruesome Ways Every Character in Wolf Hall Died in Real Life".
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51. Romney, Jonathan. (11 February 2016). "'Remainder': Berlin Review".
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53. Pearce, Lucy. (20 May 2016). "West Sussex actor Ed Speleers stars in the fantasy movie Alice Through the Looking Glass alongside a stellar cast".
54. Shzr Ee, Tan. (25 January 2018). "Defying medical odds to Breathe".
55. "Wale (2018) - IMDb".
56. Clarke, Stewart. (9 January 2019). "'The Favourite' Leads BAFTA Awards Nominations".
57. Nannar, Nina. (21 January 2019). "Wale actor Raphel Famotibe 'shocked' to make Oscars shortlist".
58. Harnick. (11 October 2017). "Outlander Season 4 Adds Downton Abbey Veterans in Pivotal Roles". E Online.
59. Petski, Denise. (11 October 2017). "'Outlander': Maria Doyle Kennedy & Ed Speleers Join Season 4 Cast".
60. Thompson, Avery. (4 November 2018). "Stephen Bonnet: 5 Things To Know About The New 'Outlander' Character".
61. Kay, Jeremy. (5 February 2018). "Seville International heads to EFM with 'Zoo' (exclusive)". Screen Daily.
62. Cannes, James Mottram. (15 May 2018). "The House That Jack Built review: Profound, disgusting".
63. Gans, Andrew. (25 May 2018). "Gavin & Stacey's Mathew Horne and Downton Abbey's Ed Speleers Will Star in Rain Man U.K. Tour".
64. Aldred, Natalie. (23 August 2018). "Movie classic was Royal treat".
65. "Full Casting Announced For RAIN MAN Starring Mathew Horne And Ed Speleers".
66. (30 August 2018). "Mathew Horne and Ed Speleers in Rain Man: first look photos".
67. Mosthof, Mariella. (16 January 2019). "Lana Condor Serves Up Something Very Different in Syfy's 'Deadly Class'".
68. (21 July 2017). "We chat with Mark Murphy about his new film The Revenger: An Unromantic Comedy".
69. (15 March 2019). "For Love or Money (2019)".
70. Lash, Jolie. (27 April 2020). "'Outlander': Ed Speleers on Stephen Bonnet's Storyline Twist".
71. (2020). "David Copperfield".
72. Rubin, Rebecca. (14 September 2022). "Lindsay Lohan's Netflix Rom-Com 'Irish Wish' Adds Ed Speleers, Ayesha Curry and More to Cast".
73. Vary, Adam B.. (23 February 2023). "Ed Speleers Talks Joining the 'Picard' Family, His Future With 'Star Trek' and His 'Liberating' Role on 'You'".
74. Ntim, Zac. (14 June 2023). "Beatles Manager Movie 'Midas Man' Adds Suzy Eddie Izzard And Ed Speleers".
75. Ramachandran, Naman. (14 June 2023). "Suzy Eddie Izzard, Ed Speelers Join Cast as Joe Stephenson Wraps Beatles Manager Film 'Midas Man'".
76. FUDGE SUNDAE. (1 February 2024). "That's a wrap on Fudge Sundae".
77. (29 February 2024). "The Famous Five guest stars revealed as new episode lands on BBC One this Easter".
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82. Finite Films. (15 July 2024). "Festival News! Our short film DEADLINE has been selected from 6,100 submissions for the Oscar qualifying @hollyshorts Film Festival, celebrating its 20th anniversary August 8-18, 2024 at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.".
83. (6 February 2025). "BBC comedy Black Ops begins filming series two with a star-studded guest cast".
84. FUDGE SUNDAE. (2 March 2025). "We're so pleased to announce FUDGE SUNDAE has been recognised by these awesome film festivals in the UK!".
85. Goldbart, Max. (19 March 2025). "ITV, BritBox & Left Bank Find Their Jane Andrews & Sarah Ferguson For Royal Drama 'The Lady'".
86. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (27 June 2025). "Scorpions Biopic `Wind Of Change' From ESX-Fox-WB Sets Cast With Dominic West, Alexander Dreymon, Ludwig Trepte, Ed Speleers & More".
87. Cordero, Rosy. (28 August 2025). "May Calamawy, Waleed Zuaiter & Ed Speleers Join Netflix Action-Thriller Series ‘Extraction’".
88. (11 November 2025). ""Black Ops Series 2 arrives in January".