Edward Holcroft

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 film franchise and in the television series Wolf Hall (2015), London Spy (2015), and Alias Grace (2017).

Holcroft is the second of three sons born to Lt. Col. Patrick Holcroft, a soldier and banker, and Kathleen "Annie" Holcroft (née Roberts), a publisher at Condé Nast. His elder brother, Oliver Holcroft, is a former soldier who served with the Grenadier Guards in Afghanistan. Edward was sent to boarding school at age 8, first attending prep school at Summer Fields School in Oxford and then Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, where he first appeared in school productions. He initially wanted to become a musician after taking up drumming, but switched to acting after appearing in a play at Oxford Brookes University. He then undertook post-graduate studies in acting at the Drama Centre London of Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, graduating in 2012.

Holcroft is best known for his roles as Charlie Hesketh in the film Kingsman: The Secret Service and its sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, as George Boleyn in the British drama series Wolf Hall and as Alex Turner in the BBC drama series London Spy. In 2017, he appeared in the historical miniseries Gunpowder on BBC and Alias Grace on Netflix and the CBC.

Holcroft acted with Sir Mark Rylance in Jerusalem at the Royal Court Theatre and with Dominic West and Janet McTeer in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Donmar Warehouse.