Edward Jack Peter Westwick (born 27 June 1987) is an English actor and musician best known for his role as Chuck Bass on

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

's ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...

'' as well as Vincent Swan in the TV series ''White Gold''. He made his feature film debut in '' Children of Men'' (2006) and has since appeared in the films ''Breaking and Entering'' (2006), '' Son of Rambow'' (2007), '' S. Darko'' (2009), '' Chalet Girl'' (2011), ''J. Edgar'' (2011), ''Romeo & Juliet'' (2013), '' Bone in the Throat'' (2015), ''Freaks of Nature'' (2015), '' Billionaire Ransom'' (2016) and ''

Me You Madness ''Me You Madness'' is a 2021 American comedy thriller film, written, directed, produced by, and starring Louise Linton alongside Ed Westwick. It was released on February 12, 2021, by STX Entertainment, STXfilms. Plot Catherine Black, a wealthy ...

'' (2021).

Early life

Westwick was born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, London, and raised in Stevenage,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. He was born the youngest of three boys for Carole (née Blenkiron), an educational psychologist, and Peter Westwick, a university lecturer. He began music lessons and attended a Saturday morning drama school from the age of six. Westwick was educated at The Barclay School and North Hertfordshire College, where he took A-levels in business, law and communication. He was a member of the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

in London. Westwick shared an apartment with his ''Gossip Girl'' co-star Chace Crawford in the Chelsea neighbourhood of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

from the beginning of the series in 2007 until July 2009, when Crawford moved out. Westwick is a Chelsea supporter.

Career

Acting

Westwick made his film debut in '' Breaking and Entering'' (2006), following an open audition casting call sent to the National Youth Theatre. He went on to guest-star in the British television series '' Doctors'' as Holden, in '' Casualty'' as Johnny Cullin, and in ''

Afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...

'' as Darren. He also had a minor role in the film '' Children of Men'' (2006). In 2007, Westwick appeared in the film '' Son of Rambow'' and was cast as Chuck Bass in

's teen drama series ''

'', based on the book series of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. Westwick said of his casting: "There wasn't much work in the UK. I was only in LA for a month and I got this show. It's changed my life." For his portrayal of Chuck, he assumed an American accent, based on the character Carlton Banks from '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air''. As a result of the show's success, he was named one of 2008's Sexiest Men Alive by ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'', and appeared the following year on its "100 Most Beautiful" list with the whole cast of ''Gossip Girl''. Westwick earned the 2008 and 2009 awards for Best TV Villain at the

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...

, and was named Breakthrough Talent by '' GQ'' in 2010. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' also named Westwick's character Chuck Bass number one in their "Best Dressed TV Characters of 2008" list (tied with Leighton Meester's character Blair Waldorf), as well as in their "Best Performances" list alongside co-star Meester. Ed Westwick July 2010 d

In 2008, Westwick became the new face of K-Swiss. That same year, he appeared as Joey in the horror film '' 100 Feet''. In 2009, Westwick played the role of Randy Holt in the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to ''

Donnie Darko ''Donnie Darko'' is a 2001 American Science fiction film, science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly (filmmaker), Richard Kelly in his List of directorial debuts, directorial debut, and produced by Flower ...

'', directed by Chris Fisher, and guest-starred in the third season of the Showtime original series '' Californication'', as Chris "Balt" Smith, a student who was fascinated with vampire literature. In May 2009, he was attached to play Heathcliff in the film adaptation of ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is the only novel by the English author Emily Brontë, initially published in 1847 under her pen name "Ellis Bell". It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the ...

''. However, in January 2010, director Peter Webber left the project, which was then passed into the hands of Andrea Arnold. This directing change caused the roles to be recast. In 2010, Westwick starred in the McHenry Brothers short film ''The Commuter'', which was shot on a

Nokia N8 The Nokia N8 is a touchscreen-based smartphone developed by Nokia. Announced on 27 April 2010, the Nokia N8 was the first device to run on the Symbian^3 mobile operating system and it was the company's flagship device for the year. It was rel ...

smartphone. In January 2011, Westwick joined

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

's film ''

J. Edgar ''J. Edgar'' is a 2011 American Biographical film, biographical drama film based on the career of Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, directed, produced and scored by Clint Eastwood. Written by Dustin Lance Black, the ...

'', a biopic about J. Edgar Hoover, the controversial first director of the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

. That same year, he appeared in the romantic comedy '' Chalet Girl''. He co-narrated the audiobook version of '' City of Fallen Angels'' by Cassandra Clare and also narrated Clare's second novel '' Clockwork Prince'' from '' The Infernal Devices'' series. In mid-2011, Westwick became an international celebrity endorser for Penshoppe, a local clothing brand in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He next co-starred in the film adaptation of '' Romeo & Juliet'' as the main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Tybalt. The film was released on 11 October 2013. Westwick then portrayed the lead role in the film adaptation of

Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain ( ; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author and Travel documentary, travel documentarian. He starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the huma ...

's novel '' Bone in the Throat'', which premiered at

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

on 14 March 2015. Westwick then co-starred in the horror comedy film '' Freaks of Nature'', which was released on 30 October 2015. In March 2015, he joined the cast of ABC's short-lived crime drama series '' Wicked City'' as Kent Grainger, a sadistic Sunset Strip serial killer. The series was cancelled after airing three episodes, but was picked up by

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

to air the remaining five episodes. Westwick was next seen in Jim Gillespie's '' Billionaire Ransom'', released on 19 August 2016, and stars in the thriller '' The Crash'', released on 13 January 2017. Westwick played Vincent Swan in the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

television comedy series '' White Gold'' (2017). The show has so far aired two seasons, for a total of twelve episodes. Westwick starred in ''

'' (2021), co-starring and directed by

Louise Linton Louise Linton (Given name, née Hay; born 20 December 1980) is a Scottish actress. She has appeared in the horror films ''Cabin Fever (2016 film), Cabin Fever'' and ''Intruder (2016 film), Intruder'', in minor roles in the television series ''CS ...

Music

Westwick was a member of the British band The Filthy Youth. The

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band, formed in 2006, was inspired by the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

and

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, in 1999. The band includes brothers Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern roc ...

. The songs "Come Flash All You Ladies" and "Orange" were both featured in an episode of ''Gossip Girl''. The band consisted of fellow countrymen Benjamin Lewis Allingham (guitar), Jimmy Wright (guitar), Tom Bastiani (bass), and John Vooght (drummer). Westwick is also the vocalist of the band For You, who released their first single "Tailspin" on 15 January 2023.

Personal life

On January 29, 2024, Westwick announced that he had gotten engaged to actress Amy Jackson in

Gstaad Gstaad ( , ) is a town in the German language, German-speaking section of the Canton of Bern in southwestern Switzerland. It is part of the municipality of Saanen and is known as a major ski resort and a popular destination amongst high society ...

. They married on August 23 of that year in Lustra, Campania. On October 31 of that same year, the couple announced they were expecting their first child together. On March 24, 2025, they revealed that their son, Oscar Alexander, had been born.

Misconduct allegations

In November 2017, sexual misconduct allegations were made by three women. All three incidents allegedly occurred in 2014. Westwick vehemently denied the allegations, describing them as "unverified and provably untrue". As a result, forty-five minutes of footage from 35 of his scenes from ''

Ordeal by Innocence ''Ordeal by Innocence'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 3 November 1958 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retai ...

'' were reshot over 12 days with Christian Cooke replacing him. In July 2018, the Los Angeles District Attorney announced that no action would be taken and Westwick would not be prosecuted or charged regarding any of the allegations. Prosecutors said they did not have enough evidence to pursue charges and were unable to contact the third alleged claimant. Prosecutors also noted additional claims would not be pursued, due to being outside the

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
PopGurls Interview: Ed Westwick
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westwick, Ed 1987 births Living people Audiobook narrators English expatriate male actors in the United States English male film actors English male models English male television actors English male voice actors English rock singers English male singer-songwriters Male actors from Hertfordshire Musicians from Hertfordshire National Youth Theatre members People from Chelsea, Manhattan Musicians from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Male actors from London People from Hammersmith Actors from Stevenage 21st-century English male actors 21st-century English singers 21st-century English male singers Male actors from Manhattan Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham