Charles Edwards
Edwards in 2022
Born	Charles Peter Keep Edwards (1969-10-01)1 October 1969 (age 56) Haslemere,Surrey, England, UK
Education	Winchester College
Alma mater	Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1993–present
Known for	The Rings of Power The Crown Downton Abbey Holy Flying Circus The Halcyon Henry IX

Charles Peter Keep Edwards (born 1 October 1969) is an English actor with a career in theatre, TV, and film. His roles include Michael Gregson inDownton Abbey (2012–2013),Alexander McDonald inThe Terror (2018),Sir Martin Charteris inThe Crown (2019–2020), andCelebrimbor inThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022–2024).

Edwards was born 1 October 1969,^[1][2] in the town ofHaslemere inSurrey, England,^[3] and grew up inGrayshott,Hampshire.^[4]

He is the youngest of four sons^[4] of stockbroker Ronald Derek Keep Edwards (1934–2024),^[5][6] and his first wife, Sally Anne Lake, daughter of rubber company executive Patrick Boyle Lake Coghlan, sometime chairman of Anglo-Asian Rubber Plantations Ltd.^[2][7][8]

From an early age, Edwards attendedAmesbury School inHindhead, Surrey.^[4] Edwards was further educated atWinchester College,^[3] Hampshire, from 1983 to 1987, where he boarded in Moberly's house.^[2] 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.^[2]

Edwards went on to pursue acting at theGuildhall School of Music and Drama,^[9] from which he graduated in 1992.^[10]

Edwards' debut in acting was on stage as agingerbread man in a play ofHansel and Gretel.^[1] Edwards' first professional theatre engagement was inBlithe Spirit at age 24.^[10] Since then he has appeared in many shows such asThe Duchess of Malfi,Hay Fever,Private Lives andThe Apple Cart.^[11]

Edwards received acclaim for his Broadway debut performance asRichard Hannay in the 2005 play ofThe 39 Steps,^[10] in the first London production in 2006,^[12] and in the first US productions in 2007 (Boston)^[13] and in New York City in 2008.^[14] 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.^[15][16]

He has made appearances in a number of Shakespeare plays, including Peter Hall's production ofTwelfth Night at theRoyal National Theatre (Cottesloe auditorium) as Sir Andrew Aguecheek; as Benedick inMuch Ado About Nothing atShakespeare's Globe;^[17]The Merchant of Venice; andA Midsummer Night's Dream, playing Oberon toJudi Dench's Titania. For his performance inMuch Ado About Nothing, Edwards was shortlisted forBest Actor at the2011 Evening Standard Theatre Awards.^[18] He also received aWhatsOnStage Award nomination, in 2012, for his performance inTwelfth Night.^[19]

In 2012, Edwards played the lead role ofGeorge VI in the original stage play ofThe King's Speech on a nationwide tour and also the West End,^[3] gaining positive feedback from critics across the board. Drama criticMichael Billington wrote of his performance, "Edwards, who has been edging towards stardom for several seasons, has now unequivocally arrived."^[20] Later in 2012, he took on the role of Conservative WhipJack Weatherill in James Graham'sThis 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.^[21]

In 2013, Edwards starred as Charles Marsden in aSimon Godwin adaptation of Eugene O'Neill'sPulitzer prize winning playStrange Interlude at the National's Lyttleton Theatre.^[1] In 2014, Edwards co-starred inMichael Blakemore's adaptation ofBlithe Spirit, opposite DameAngela Lansbury. He played the title role inSimon Godwin's production ofRichard II at Shakespeare's Globe, and Henry Trebell inHarley Granville Barker's playWaste at the National Theatre, both in 2015.^[9]

In March 2017, he starred as Henry Higgins in the Brisbane and Melbourne seasons ofLerner and Loewe'sMy Fair Lady, presented by Opera Australia andJohn Frost and directed by DameJulie Andrews.^[22]

Edwards worked with playwright James Graham again in 2021, playingGore Vidal inBest of Enemies at theYoung Vic. He received aLaurence Olivier Award nomination forBest Actor the following year.^[23][24]

In 2002, he played David, also known as KingEdward VIII, in the feature-length TV dramaBertie and Elizabeth forITV.^[9]

In 2011, he playedMichael Palin inHoly Flying Circus, a dramatisation of the controversy surroundingMonty Python's Life of Brian.^[25] In October 2012, Edwards appeared in the third season of the television seriesDownton Abbey as Michael Gregson.^[9] Edwards appeared in the 2013 filmDiana, charting the final few years ofDiana, Princess of Wales, where he played Diana's private secretaryPatrick Jephson.^[9] He made an appearance in BBC seriesSherlock 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 seriesHenry IX forSky channelGOLD.^[9]

Edwards' other film and television credits includeBatman Begins,An Ideal Husband,Monarch of the Glen,The Halcyon,Mansfield Park,Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes,The Shell Seekers,Colditz andMidsomer Murders.^[9]

In 2019 and 2020, he appeared in the third and fourth seasons of the widely acclaimedNetflix seriesThe Crown asMartin Charteris,Queen Elizabeth II'sprivate secretary, taking over the role fromHarry Hadden-Paton, who played a younger Charteris in the first two seasons.^[9] In 2021, Edwards worked on a New Zealand TV mini seriesUnder the Vines, released on 19 January 2022.^[26]

In 2022, Edwards played the key role ofCelebrimbor, the elven smith responsible for forging theRings of Power inThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.^[27] Edwards was named an honorable mention forTVLine's "Performer of the Week" for the week of 23 September 2024 for his performance.^[28]

• Charles Edwards atIMDb
• Charles Edwards at theInternet Broadway Database
• Charles Edwards' London

• 1969 births
• 20th-century English male actors
• 21st-century English male actors
• Living people
• Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
• English male film actors
• English male stage actors
• English male television actors
• Male actors from Surrey
• People educated at Winchester College
• People from Haslemere
• Actors from the Borough of Waverley

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from August 2016
• Use British English from August 2016
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Articles with hCards
• Internet Broadway Database person ID same as Wikidata