Elliot Aidan Cowan (born 9 July 1976) is an English

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

, known for portraying Corporal Jem Poynton in ''

Ultimate Force ''Ultimate Force'' is a British television action drama series that was shown on ITV, which deals with the activities of Red Troop of the SAS (Special Air Service). The first episode was broadcast on 16 September 2002, and a total of four s ...

'', Mr Darcy in ''

Lost in Austen ''Lost in Austen'' is a four-part 2008 British television series for the ITV network, written by Guy Andrews as a fantasy adaptation of the 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice'' by Jane Austen. Amanda, a woman from modern London, enters the plot ...

'', and Ptolemy in the 2004 film ''

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

''. He also starred as Lorenzo de' Medici in '' Da Vinci's Demons'' and Daron-Vex in '' Krypton''. Cowan most recently is known for playing King Henry Tudor in the STARZ series ''

The Spanish Princess ''The Spanish Princess'' is a historical drama television limited series developed by Emma Frost and Matthew Graham for Starz. Based on the novels '' The Constant Princess'' (2005) and '' The King's Curse'' (2014) by Philippa Gregory, it is a s ...

''.

Early life and education

Born in London, Cowan was brought up in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Gr ...

. He is the son of a consultant physician and a charity worker, and has a younger brother and sister. Cowan boarded at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. The headmas ...

in Rutland. He later obtained a first class degree in drama at the University of Birmingham, before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, from which he graduated in July 2001. From 1994 to 1996, Cowan was a member of the National Youth Music Theatre. He plays guitar and

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, ...

, and has worked with the London Sinfonia.

Career

Cowan's television credits include ''

Judge John Deed ''Judge John Deed'' is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Mr Justice Deed, a High Court judge who tries to seek real ...

'', ''

'', '' Jonathan Creek'', ''

Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgians, Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays (''Black Coffee (play), Black Coffe ...

'', '' Foyle's War'', '' The Ruby in the Smoke'', ''

'' and the television movie '' The Project''. Cowan has appeared in the films ''

The Golden Compass ''Northern Lights'' (titled ''The Golden Compass'' in North America and some other countries) is a young-adult fantasy novel by Philip Pullman, published in 1995 by Scholastic UK. Set in a parallel universe, it follows the journey of Lyra Be ...

'', ''

Happy-Go-Lucky Happy Go Lucky may refer to: Film and television * ''Happy Go Lucky'' (1936 film), an American film * ''Happy Go Lucky'' (1943 film), an American musical film starring Betty Hutton * ''Happy Go Lucky'' (1946 film), a French film * ''Happy Go L ...

'', ''

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey ''The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey'' is a 2007 British film scripted and directed by Bill Clark. It was adapted from a 1995 book of the same name, written by Susan Wojciechowski and illustrated by P. J. Lynch, from which the film was ad ...

'', '' Love and Other Disasters'', and '' Howl''. His theatre work includes productions of ''

The Revenger's Tragedy ''The Revenger's Tragedy'' is an English-language Jacobean revenge tragedy which was performed in 1606, and published in 1607 by George Eld. It was long attributed to Cyril Tourneur, but "The consensus candidate for authorship of ''The Reve ...

'', ''

Women Beware Women ''Women Beware Women'' is a Jacobean tragedy written by Thomas Middleton, and first published in 1657. Date The date of authorship of the play is deeply uncertain. Scholars have estimated its origin anywhere from 1612 to 1627; 1623–24 has be ...

'', '' Henry V'', '' The Seagull'' and '' Camille''. He played Stanley Kowalski in the 2009 revival of ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of per ...

'' at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Mic ...

, and was a lead in '' Les Blancs'' at the National Theatre in 2016. He played '' Macbeth'' at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gr ...

from 23 April- 27 June 2010 alongside

Laura Rogers Laura Rogers (born 10 March 1979) is a British actress from Carmarthen, Wales.Price, Karen (1 May 2010)Actress brings new meaning to ‘stage diving’ in Macbeth role ''Western Mail (Wales)'' Biography Born in Carmarthen, Rogers grew up in n ...

as Lady Macbeth. He starred as Lord Goring in ''

An Ideal Husband ''An Ideal Husband'' is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for ...

'' at the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End from 4 November 2010 to 19 February 2011.
' London Theatre Direct''. Retrieved on 2011-08-27. As of 2010, he voiced

Alec Trevelyan Alec Trevelyan (006) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film '' GoldenEye'', the first film to feature actor Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Trevelyan is portrayed by actor Sean Bean. The likeness of Bean as Ale ...

in Goldeneye 007 for the Wii console, also providing his likeness.

Personal life

He lives in Dalston, London. On 7 August 2011, Elliot swam the long Lake Zurich Swim race, to raise funds for the Neonatal Unit at Guy's and St. Thomas's in memory of Alfie Blacksell.

Filmography

Television

Film

Videogame

Theatre

References

External links

* *
Official ITV 'Lost in Austen' websiteSwim for Alfie Zurich for Alfie2011 Lake Zurich Swim – Guy's and St. Thomas's Neonatal – Alfie Blacksell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Elliot 1976 births English male television actors English male stage actors English male film actors English male voice actors English male radio actors Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art People educated at Uppingham School English male Shakespearean actors Living people Royal Shakespeare Company members 21st-century English male actors People from Dalston