Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008).

Early life and education

Marsan was born on 9 June 1968 in the

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

district of London to a working-class family; his father was a lorry driver and his mother was a school dinner lady and teaching assistant. He was brought up in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

and attended Raine's Foundation School. He left school at 16 and initially served an apprenticeship as a printer before beginning his career in theatre. He trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, graduating in 1991, and went on to study under Sam Kogan at the Kogan Academy of Dramatic Arts, now known as The School of the Science of Acting, of which Marsan is now a patron. His first year at drama school was funded by Mr Benny, a bookmaker who ran a menswear shop where Marsan worked; he obtained scholarships for the rest of the course. It took many attempts for Marsan to get a place at drama school.

Career

Marsan's first television appearance was in 1992 as a " yob" in the London Weekend Television series '' The Piglet Files''. One of his more significant early television appearances was in the popular mid-1990s BBC sitcom '' Game On'' as an escaped convict who was an old flame of Mandy's. Marsan went on to have roles in '' Casualty'', ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'', ''

Grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

'', '' Kavanagh QC'', ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

'', '' Silent Witness'', '' Ultimate Force'', '' Southcliffe'', and more. He also voiced the Manticore in the '' Merlin'' episode " Love in the Time of Dragons". In 2011, he starred alongside Olivia Colman and Peter Mullan, all three actors relatively unknown at that time, in the British drama film '' Tyrannosaur''. In 2013, he began portraying Terry Donovan, brother to the lead character in 7 series and 82 episodes of Showtime's drama series '' Ray Donovan''. The same year he played Ludwig Guttmann in the television film '' The Best of Men''. In May 2015, Marsan appeared as the practical magician Gilbert Norrell in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

period drama '' Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell''. Marsan's film roles include the main villain in the 2008

superhero film Superhero film/movie is a film genre categorized by the presence of superhero characters, individuals with extraordinary abilities who are dedicated to fighting crime, saving the world, or helping the innocent. It is sometimes considered a sub ...

'' Hancock'' alongside

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

and as Inspector Lestrade in

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter known primarily for British comedy gangster films and large-scale action-adventure films. Ritchie left school at the age of 15, and worked in e ...

's ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

''. His other films include '' Sixty Six'', '' Gangs of New York'', '' 21 Grams'', '' The Illusionist'', ''

V for Vendetta ''V for Vendetta'' is a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd (comics), David Lloyd (with additional art by Tony Weare). Initially published between 1982 and 1985 in black and white as an ongoing Serial (li ...

'', '' Gangster No. 1'', '' Miami Vice'', '' Mission: Impossible III'', '' I Want Candy'', '' Vera Drake'', '' Happy-Go-Lucky'', '' Filth'', '' Tyrannosaur'' and '' Heartless''. In 2021, Marsan appeared as anti-Fascist activist Soly Malinovsky in the television adaptation of the novel '' Ridley Road''. In 2022, he played the real-life role of John Darwin in ITV's drama series '' The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe''. Marsan appeared as Mitch Winehouse, father of

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

, in the biopic '' Back to Black,'' which was released in 2024.

Personal life

Marsan married make-up artist Janine Schneider in 2002. They have four children. Marsan is a

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

and was appointed a patron of

Humanists UK Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent Irreligion in the United Kingdom, non-religious people in the UK throug ...

in 2015. He was critical of the lack of representation of working-class people in the arts in 2015 on BBC Radio 5 Live in which he stated too much drama is written from "the white, privileged, middle class perspective". In 2024 he was interviewed on HARDtalk with an episode entitled "Do the arts neglect working-class people?". Marsan was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the 2025 New Year Honours for service to drama.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marsan, Eddie 1968 births Alumni of the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts English atheists English humanists English male film actors English male television actors Living people People educated at Raine's Foundation School Actors from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Male actors from London People from Stepney Officers of the Order of the British Empire