Ed Skrein

Edward George Skrein (born 29 March 1983) is an English actor, filmmaker, and rapper. He rose to recognition as the villain Francis Freeman / Ajax in the superhero comedy film Deadpool (2016). He also starred in the films The Transporter: Refueled (2015), Alita: Battle Angel (2019), Midway (2019), Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire (2023) and Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver (2024).

Early life
Edward George Skrein was born on 29 March 1983 in the Camden borough of London, and grew up there and in other London boroughs such as 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.

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, 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.

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.

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". In 2023 he plays the sadistic admiral Atticus Noble in Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire.

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 12 years old, working at leisure centres on Caledonian Road and in Archway.