Edward Rowe is a Cornish actor, known for the lead role as a struggling fisherman in the BAFTA-winning film Bait and for the Kernow King character.
Early life
editRowe is from Roche in Cornwall[1] where he started his standup routine and YouTube video series.[2] He attended Poltair School from the age of 11 to 16.
Career
editEarly career and Kernow King
editHis Kernow King character features a strong Cornish identity and speaks in a strong Cornish accent. In mid 2010 he produced a series of short comedy videos on Cornish themes, often in the spoof documentary format. Examples include the Camborne Maid's song remake of musician Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl".[3] This led to a 2014 standup tour, Splann!.[4]
Rowe wrote an opinion piece for The Guardian in 2012 criticising the proposed pasty tax.[5] In 2015, he starred in Kernow King's sex tape, an educational film produced by Cornwall Council's Health Promotion Service. This was nominated for the UK Sexual Health Awards.[6] Rowe was made a bard of Gorsedh Kernow in 2015 "for his work as an ambassador for the Cornish identity".[7]
In 2017, he starred in the Hall for Cornwall's Christmas show, Sleeping Beauty.[8]
In 2018, he wrote and starred in the play Hireth, about a Cornish miner,[9] and starred in Trevithick!, a biographical comedy about Richard Trevithick directed by Kneehigh Theatre's Simon Harvey.
Bait
editRowe found breakthrough success for his lead role in Bait, a film by Mark Jenkin.[10] He was longlisted for Best Actor and Most Promising Newcomer at the 2019 British Independent Film Awards.[10][11]
Post-Bait career
editHe has appeared in a number of television shows which include The Witcher as King Henselt of Kaedwen,[12] House of the Dragon as Ser Howland Sharp,[13] and Beyond Paradise as Matthew Colbert.[14] He also voiced the character Godfrey/Hoarah Loux in 2022 video game Elden Ring and starred as The Boatman in Jenkin's 2022 film Enys Men.[15][16]
In 2022, Rowe called Channel 4's Finding the Cornish Dream series "abhorrent" and "deeply disrespectful" at a time when "[m]ost of us are scraping along making sure we make our mortgage payments."[13]
References
edit
- ^ "Edward Rowe". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ Trewhela, Lee (4 August 2019). "A Cornish film could turn Kernow King into an international star". cornwalllive. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ Iivonen-Gray, Katri (8 July 2013). "'Camborne Maids' is Kernow King's latest internet hit with 40k views". cornwalllive. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ "Kernow King - Lane Theatre". Newquay. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ Edward Rowe (30 April 2012). "The message from Cornwall: hands off our pasties". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ Wallis, Andrew (23 February 2015). "Kernow King's Sex Tape a finalist in the UK Sexual Health Awards". Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ "Press Release – Gorsedh Kernow names 20 new Bards". Gorsedh Kernow. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ Trewhela, Lee (6 December 2017). "Kernow King triumphs in filthy yet family-friendly Hall For Cornwall panto". cornwalllive. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ Trewhela, Lee (1 October 2018). "This is why comedian Kernow King is getting serious". cornwalllive. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ a b Paul Armstrong (27 June 2022). "Falmouth Cringe comedy fest, Kernow King Ed Rowe to headline". The Falmouth Packet. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ Alex Ritman (16 October 2019). "British Independent Film Awards 2019 Breakthrough Longlists Unveiled (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ Charlotte Becquart (21 December 2021). "Edward Rowe aka Kernow King is in Netflix hit The Witcher season 2 starring Henry Cavill". Cornwall Live. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ a b Lee Trewhela (17 September 2022). "Cornwall comedian Kernow King says Channel 4's Finding The Cornish Dream TV series is 'abhorrent'". Cornwall Live. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ Sam Cook (24 February 2023). "BBC Beyond Paradise full cast list as Death in Paradise spin-off airs". Wales Online. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ Nicolo Manaloto (8 March 2022). "Elden Ring Voice Actors: The Complete List". UnGeek. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ "Enys Men, the new feature from visionary Cornish filmmaker Mark Jenkin, to be released by the BFI on 13 January 2023". British Film Institute. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2024.