Edward Patrick Holcroft (born 23 June 1987) is an English film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his roles in the ''

Kingsman Kingsman or King's man may refer to: * Kingsman (rank), a British Army rank Arts and media * Kingsman (franchise), ''Kingsman'' (franchise) ** Kingsman (comic book), ''Kingsman'' (comic book), the basis for the franchise ** ''Kingsman: The Secre ...

'' film franchise and in the television series ''

Wolf Hall ''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a sym ...

'' (2015), ''

London Spy ''London Spy'' is a British-American five-part drama television serial created and written by Tom Rob Smith that aired on BBC Two from 9 November until 7 December 2015. It was aired on Netflix in 2018. Plot ''London Spy'' begins as the story ...

'' (2015), ''

Alias Grace ''Alias Grace'' is a historical fiction novel by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood. First published in 1996 by McClelland & Stewart, it won the Giller Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. The story fictionalizes the notorious 1843 mu ...

'' (2017), and ''

The English Game ''The English Game'' is a British historical sports drama television miniseries set in Lancashire, but filmed in Yorkshire, developed by Julian Fellowes for Netflix about the origins of association football in England. The six-part series was r ...

'' (2020).

Early life and education

Holcroft is the second of three sons born to Lt. Col. Patrick Holcroft, a soldier, and Kathleen "Annie" Holcroft (''née'' Roberts), a former publisher at

Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Nast (businessman), Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942) and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the FiDi, Financial Dis ...

. His elder brother, Oliver, is a former soldier who served with the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. Holcroft was sent to boarding school at age 8, first attending prep school at

Summer Fields School Summer Fields is a fee-paying boys' independent day and boarding preparatory school in Summertown, Oxford. It was originally called Summerfield and used to have a subsidiary school, Summerfields, St Leonards-on-Sea (known as "Summers mi"). ...

in Oxford, and then a Roman Catholic school,

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding and day school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition. It opened in 1803 as a boys' school. It is near the villa ...

, in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

. He initially wanted to become a professional

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

, having attended music school, but switched to acting after appearing in a play at

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

. He then undertook post-graduate studies in acting at the

Drama Centre London Drama Centre London (often abbreviated as Drama Centre) was a British drama school in Kings Cross, London, King's Cross, London, where it moved in 2011 after a major reshaping of the University of the Arts London. It was part of Central Saint ...

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...

University of the Arts London The University of the Arts London is a public collegiate university in London, England, United Kingdom. It specialises in arts, design, fashion, and the performing arts. The university is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of ...

, graduating in 2012.

Career

Holcroft is best known for his roles as Charlie Hesketh in the 2015 film '' Kingsman: The Secret Service'' and its 2017 sequel '' Kingsman: The Golden Circle''; as

George Boleyn George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford ( – 17 May 1536) was an English courtier and nobleman who played a prominent role in the politics of the early 1530s as the brother of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII. George was the maternal ...

in the 2015 British drama series ''

''; and as Alex Turner in the 2015 BBC drama series ''

''. In 2015, Holcroft acted with

Dominic West Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director, producer, and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in HBO's ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Noah Solloway in Showtime's '' The Affair'' (20 ...

and

Janet McTeer Janet McTeer (born 5 August 1961) is an English actress. She began her career training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before earning acclaim for playing diverse roles on stage and screen in both period pieces and modern dramas. She has r ...

in ''

Les Liaisons Dangereuses ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (; English: ''Dangerous Liaisons'') is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu on March 23, 1782. It is the story of the Marquise Isabelle de Merteu ...

'' at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

. In 2017, he appeared in the historical miniseries ''

Gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

'' on the BBC and ''

'' on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

and the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

. In 2020, he was one of the lead actors in ''

'', playing Arthur Kinnaird.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holcroft, Edward People educated at Summer Fields School English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors Alumni of Oxford Brookes University Alumni of the Drama Centre London People educated at Ampleforth College Male actors from London 1987 births Living people