Edward Rowe | |
|---|---|
Mab Tregarrek | |
 Rowe in 2025 at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2010s–present |
| Notable credits | |
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
Rowe is from Roche in Cornwall1 where he started his standup routine and YouTube video series.2 He attended Poltair School from the age of 11 to 16.
Career
Early career and Kernow King
His 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, taking the bardic name Mab Tregarrek (transl. Son of Roche).8
In 2017, he starred in the Hall for Cornwall's Christmas show, Sleeping Beauty.9
In 2018, he wrote and starred in the play Hireth, about a Cornish miner,10 and starred in Trevithick!, a biographical comedy about Richard Trevithick directed by Kneehigh Theatre's Simon Harvey.
Bait
Rowe found breakthrough success for his lead role in Bait, a film by Mark Jenkin.11 He was longlisted for Best Actor and Most Promising Newcomer at the 2019 British Independent Film Awards.1112
Post-Bait career
He has appeared in a number of television shows which include The Witcher as King Henselt of Kaedwen,13 House of the Dragon as Ser Howland Sharp,14 and Beyond Paradise as Matthew Colbert.15 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.1617
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."14
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Kernow King's Poldark | Ross Poldark | |
| 2019 | Bait | Martin Ward | |
| 2020 | An Tarow | Mal | |
| 2020 | Frayed Edges | Narrator | |
| 2021 | Dog Years | Lawrence | |
| 2022 | Enys Men | The Boatman | |
| 2022 | Tresor | Animus | |
| 2022 | Let's Not Do This Tonight | Eduardo | |
| 2023 | Mowes | Chris | |
| 2023 | Conti | Roman Foster | |
| 2024 | Edge of Summer | Pete | |
| 2025 | Rose of Nevada | ||
| 2025 | For Better | Officer Craig |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Delicious | Duncan | |
| 2021 | Alex Rider | PC Harry Elsom | |
| 2021-2025 | The Witcher | King Henselt | |
| 2022 | House of the Dragon | Ser Howland Sharp | Episode: "Second of His Name" |
| 2022 | Strike | Dave Polworth | |
| 2023 | Beyond Paradise | Matthew Colbert | |
| 2025 | Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators | Sly Forrester |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Elden Ring | Godfrey | |
| 2026 | Crimson Desert | Various |
References
References
- "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. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- thstudio (6 June 2016). "Press Release - Holyer an Gof 2016 Award winners announced". Gorsedh Kernow. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.