Ed Skrein

Edward George "Ed" Skrein (born 29 March 1983) is an English rapper and actor. Aside from his rap career, he is best known for his roles as Daario Naharis in Season 3 of Game of Thrones (2013) and Ajax in Deadpool (2016).

Life and career

Skrein was born in Camden, London, England, and was raised there and in other London boroughs, Haringey and Islington. He is of Austrian Jewish and English descent. Skrein graduated from Central Saint Martins with a BA Hons degree.

In 2004, Skrein released a three track EP under the record label Dented Records. In 2007, he released his first album, The Eat Up. He has collaborated with a variety of artists including Foreign Beggars, Asian Dub Foundation, Plan B, Dubbledge and Doc Brown. Later that year, Skrein released a collaborative EP, Pre-Emptive Nostalgia, with the group A State of Mind.

Skrein made his acting debut in Plan B's short film Michelle. Skrein got his first lead role in Plan B's Ill Manors. Skrein portrayed Daario Naharis in the third season of the television series Game of Thrones. However, in the fourth season of the series, he had been replaced by Dutch actor Michiel Huisman. Skrein states that "behind the scenes politics" had forced him to leave the show. In 2014, Skrein was cast in The Transporter: Refueled, replacing Jason Statham as the lead. Though the film was critically panned, his performance was praised. In 2015, Skrein was cast to play the villain Ajax in Deadpool.