Justin Matthew Edwards is a British actor and writer.

Screen career

His television work includes the role of Ben Swain in political comedy ''

The Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a sm ...

'', the lead role in Channel 5 sitcom ''

Respectable Respectable may refer to: *Having significant social status * "Respectable" (Rolling Stones song), 1978 single * "Respectable" (Mel and Kim song), 1987 single *"Respectable", a 1960 single by The Isley Brothers, a 1965 album cover by the Yard ...

'', roles in ''

Black Books ''Black Books'' is a British sitcom created by Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan, and written by Moran, Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley, Linehan and Arthur Mathews. It was broadcast on Channel 4, running for three series from 2000 to 2004. Starring ...

'', ''

Endeavour Endeavour or endeavor may refer to: People Fictional characters * Endeavour Morse, central character of the ''Inspector Morse'' novels by Colin Dexter * Endeavor, the hero name for the character Enji Todoroki from the anime series ''My Hero A ...

'', '' The Suspicions of Mr Whicher'', '' The Old Guys'', '' Skins'', ''

Secret Diary of a Call Girl ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl'' is a British drama television series that aired from 27 September 2007 to 22 March 2011 on ITV2, based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous Belle de Jour. It stars Billie Piper as Belle, a high-end London ...

'', '' The Trip'', '' Veep'''', '' Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'', and ''

Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Individual episodes explore a diversity of genres, but most are set in near-future dystopias with science fiction technology—a type of speculative ficti ...

'' amongst many others. He won an RTS Award in 2014 for Best Male Actor for his performance in ''

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective who is featured in 53 short stories published between 1910 and 1936 written by English author G. K. Chesterton. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuiti ...

'' ("The Daughters of Jerusalem"). He has played

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes ''Top Gear'' and ''The Grand Tour'' alongside Rich ...

three times for television, twice for'' Harry & Paul'', and once for ''

Murder in Successville ''Murder in Successville'' is a British sitcom with improvisational elements created by Andy Brereton and Avril Spary. The series aired on BBC Three from 6 May 2015 to 24 May 2017. ''Murder in Successville'' stars Tom Davis as DI Desmond Sl ...

''. In 2016 he played Mr Rumbold in the BBC remake of ''Are You Being Served?'' His film work includes the role of Charles Vernon in Whit Stillman's '' Love & Friendship'', Spartak Sokolov in ''

The Death of Stalin ''The Death of Stalin'' is a 2017 political satire black comedy film written and directed by Armando Iannucci and co-written by David Schneider and Ian Martin with Peter Fellows. Based on the French graphic novel '' La Mort de Staline'' ...

'', John Forster in '' The Man Who Invented Christmas'', Inept Policemen in both ''

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

'' and ''

Thor 2 ''Thor: The Dark World'' is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Thor, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Thor'' (2011) and the eighth film ...

'', a fop in '' The Duchess'', Leo in '' Yesterday'', and as

Giant Haystacks Martin Austin Ruane (10 October 1946 – 29 November 1998) was an English professional wrestler of Irish parentage, best known by the ring name Giant Haystacks. He was one of the best-known wrestlers on the British wrestling scene in the 1970s ...

and Gan in Tim Plester's short films ''World of Wrestling'' and ''Blakes Junction Seven''.

Radio

Edwards is a regular voice on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

, having appeared on ''

The News Quiz ''The News Quiz'' is a British topical panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4. History ''The News Quiz'' was first broadcast in 1977 with Barry Norman as chairman. Subsequently, it was chaired by Barry Took from 1979 to 1981, Simon Hoggart ...

'', '' Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive'', '' Cabin Pressure'', ''The Odd Half Hour'', ''Kevin Eldon Will See You Now'', '' Double Science'', '' Mr Blue Sky'' and ''

Listen Against ''Listen Against'' is a BBC Radio 4 series. Its title is a play on the name of the BBC's Listen Again service. Presented by Jon Holmes and Alice Arnold, it takes a surreal look at the week's radio. Created by Jon Holmes, it is co-written by Bil ...

'' amongst many others. He hosted five series of '' Newsjack'', the topical sketch show on Radio 4 Extra and wrote and performed in

Miles Jupp Miles Hugh Barrett Jupp (born 8 September 1979) is an English actor, singer, and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian before playing the role of the inventor Archie in the children's television series ''Balamory''. He also played ...

's radio sitcom ''

In and Out of the Kitchen ''In and Out of the Kitchen'' is a BBC radio comedy written by Miles Jupp Miles Hugh Barrett Jupp (born 8 September 1979) is an English actor, singer, and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian before playing the role of the ...

''. In 2016 he played Anthony Trollope in ''Trollope And The Labours of Hercules''. In 2017, he headed up the cast of ''Rum Bunch'', with

Mel Giedroyc Melanie Clare Sophie Giedroyc (; , born 5 June 1968) is a British actress, comedian and television presenter. With Sue Perkins, she has co-hosted series including '' Light Lunch'' for Channel 4, '' The Great British Bake Off'' for the BBC and ...

and Dave Mounfield, and starred alongside Meera Syal in ''Mrs Sidhu Investigates''.

Stage

His theatre work includes ''Twitstorm'' at the Park Theatre, ''The Rivals'' at the Arcola Theatre, ''The Opinion Makers'' at the Colchester Mercury, ''Art'' at the Holders Festival in Barbados, and the role of Rasputin in ''I Killed Rasputin'' at the Assembly Theatre in Edinburgh. In January 2018 he joined the cast of ''The Ferryman'' as Tom Kettle and reprised the role for the Broadway production which opened in October 2018. In 2020 he joined the RSC to play Antipholus of Ephesus in ''

The Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play ...

''.

Live comedy

Edwards won the

Perrier Award Perrier ( , also , ) is a French brand of natural bottled mineral water obtained at its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard ''département''. Perrier is known for its carbonation and its distinctive green bottle. Perrier was part of th ...

(Best Newcomer) at the

2002 Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

as a member of the sketch trio The Consultants, alongside Neil Edmond and James Rawlings. They went on to write and record four series for BBC Radio 4. As booze-sodden children's entertainer Jeremy Lion he performed four acclaimed live shows at the Edinburgh Festival and Melbourne Comedy Festival, and was nominated four years running for the Chortle Awards as best character act, winning in 2006 and 2004. He was nominated for the Perrier Award in 2005 and 2006 he had a successful run at the Edinburgh Festival with his one-man musical show ''Unaccompanied As I Am''.

Writing

He was one of the main writers and performers on the BAFTA-nominated children's show '' Sorry, I've Got No Head'' as well as co-devising and writing the CBBC sitcom ''Pixelface'' and writing for ''

Horrible Histories ''Horrible Histories'' is an educational entertainment franchise encompassing many media including books, magazines, audio books, stage shows, TV shows, and more. In 2013, Lisa Edwards, UK publishing and commercial director of Scholastic Corpor ...

''. He wrote and starred in the sitcoms '' Double Science'' (with Ben Willbond) and '' Buy Me Up TV'' for Radio Four, and one of his episodes of ''In and Out of the Kitchen'' won the BBC Audio drama Award for Best Scripted Comedy Drama in 2015.

Personal life

Born in

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, Edwards studied Drama at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

before training at

Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, formerly Mountview Theatre School, is a drama school in Peckham, south London, England, founded in 1945. The Academy provides specialist vocational training in acting and musical theatre, as well as production ...

. He is married to Lucy Porter and they have two children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Justin 1972 births Living people 20th-century British screenwriters 20th-century English comedians 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English singers 20th-century English writers 20th-century British male singers 21st-century British screenwriters 21st-century English comedians 21st-century English male actors 21st-century English male writers 21st-century English writers 21st-century British male singers British male television writers English male comedians English male film actors English male singers English male television actors Male actors from Southampton