Eddie Marsan Biography

Edward Maurice Charles "Eddie" Marsan (born 23 June 1968) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Gangster No. 1 (2000), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Sixty Six (2006), V for Vendetta (2006), Hancock (2008), Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), Sherlock Holmes (2009), War Horse (2011), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), The Best of Men (2012), and The World's End (2013).

Early life

Marsan was born in Stepney, London, England, to a working-class family; his father was a lorry driver and his mother was a school dinner lady and teacher's assistant. He was brought up in Bethnal Green and initially served an apprenticeship as a printer, before beginning his career in theatre, and moving to a television and film career. He trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, graduating in 1991, and went on to study under Sam Kogan and The Academy of the Science of Acting and Directing, of which Marsan is a patron.

Television 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 earliest television appearances was in the popular mid-1990s BBC sitcom Game On as a bungling bank robber. Marsan went on to have roles in Casualty, The Bill, Grass, Kavanagh QC, Grange Hill, Silent Witness, Ultimate Force, and more. He also voiced the Manticore in the Merlin episode Love in the Time of Dragons. In 2012 he played Dr Ludwig Guttmann in The Best of Men. Most recently he has played Terry Donovan, brother to the lead character in Showtime's drama series Ray Donovan.

Film

Marsan has since branched out into numerous and varied film roles including work in the United States, and is achieving much success in Hollywood, most recently as the main villain in the 2008 superhero film Hancock alongside Will Smith and as Inspector Lestrade in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. His other films include Sixty Six, Gangs of New York, 21 Grams, The Illusionist, V for Vendetta, Gangster No. 1, Miami Vice, Mission: Impossible III, I Want Candy, Vera Drake, Happy-Go-Lucky, Tyrannosaur, and Heartless.

Personal life

Marsan is married to Janine Schneider, a make-up artist, They have four children.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role
1997	Get Well Soon	Brian Clapton
1997	The Man Who Knew Too Little	Mugger No. 1
1999	This Year's Love	Eddie
2000	Gangster No. 1	Eddie Miller
2001	The Emperor's New Clothes	Louis Marchand
2001	The Bunker	Pfc. Kreuzmann
2001	The Monkey King	Pigsy
2002	Gangs of New York	Killoran
2003	AfterLife	Jez Walters
2003	21 Grams	Reverend John
2003	Charles II: The Power and The Passion	Titus Oates
2004	The Rocket Post	Heinz Dombrowsky
2004	Vera Drake	Reg
2005	The Secret Life of Words	Victor
2005	Beowulf & Grendel	Father Brendan
2005	The New World	Eddie
2006	Mission: Impossible III	Brownway
2006	Miami Vice	Nicholas
2006	Sixty Six	Manny Reuben
2006	The Illusionist	Josef Fischer
2006	V for Vendetta	Brian Etheridge
2006	Pierrepoint	James "Tish" Corbitt
2007	I Want Candy	Doug Perry
2007	Grow Your Own	Little John
2008	Happy-Go-Lucky	Scott
2008	Hancock	Red Parker
2008	God on Trial	Lieble
2008	Me and Orson Welles	John Houseman
2008	Little Dorrit	Pancks
2008	The 39 Steps	Scudder
2008	Faintheart	Richard
2009	Red Riding	Jack Whitehead
2009	Sherlock Holmes	Inspector Lestrade
2009	The Disappearance of Alice Creed	Vic
2009	Criminal Justice	Saul
2009	Heartless	Weapons man
2010	London Boulevard	DI Bailey
2010	Junkhearts	Frank
2011	Law and Order: UK	Jason Peters
2011	Moby Dick	Stubb
2011	Tyrannosaur	James
2011	Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows	Inspector Lestrade
2011	War Horse	Sgt. Fry
2012	Snow White and the Huntsman	Duir
2012	I, Anna	DI Kevin Franks
2012	The Best of Men	Dr. Ludwig Guttmann
2013	Jack the Giant Slayer	Crawe
2013	Ray Donovan	Terry Donovan
2013	The World's End	Peter Page
2013	Southcliffe	Andrew Salter

Awards and nominations

Marsan won the Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor, the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor, and the London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Happy-Go-Lucky. Marsan also won the last one for his performance in Vera Drake.

For his performance in Happy-Go-Lucky, Marsan also earned another nominations, such as the Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor, New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor, and the Women Film Journalists Awards for Best Supporting Actor.