Although born in London, Cowan was brought up in Colchester, Essex. He is the son of a consultant physician and a charity worker, and has a younger brother and sister.

Cowan boarded at Uppingham School 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, and has worked with the London Sinfonia.

He lives in Dalston, London. On 7 August 2011, Elliot swam the 16 miles distance of Lake Zurich to raise funds for Guy's and St. Thomas's Neonatal Unit, in memory of Alfie Blacksell.

Early life

Blake attended the Dolphin School in Reading, Berkshire until 1993, before going to St Paul's School, an independent school for boys in Barnes in West London on an academic scholarship. He then attended the University of Cambridge,[1] where he studied English and Medieval Italian, Dante primarily.[2] While a student he acted on both stage and screen,[3] playing Paul Etheridge in White Chameleon, Fleance in Macbeth, and Augustus in Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia (1996) at the National Theatre in productions directed by Richard Eyre and Trevor Nunn.[2]

[edit] Career

Blake is best known in recent years for portraying Mr Elton in the BBC 2009 adaptation of Emma and Edmund Bertram in the 2007 ITV adaptation of Mansfield Park,[4] Giles Vicary in the BBC series Red Cap and for playing sidekick Robert Presley in A Touch of Frost.[5] He also played the part of Justin in The League of Gentlemen, Idek in God on Trial, and the Duke of Kent in Upstairs Downstairs.

Blake writes and directs with his older brother, Dylan Ritson.[6] The Ritson brothers' latest short film, Love Hate, starring Ben Whishaw and Hayley Atwell was completed in May 2009 and was selected for the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Palm Springs Film Festival, London BFI Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Foyle, Omaha, Encounters, Berkshire International Film Festival, Sofia Film Fest (Bulgaria), Tofifest International Film Festival (Poland), West Hollywood International, LA Shorts Fest, Short Shorts Film Festival (Japan). It was the winner of the Jury Award at Palm Springs International Shortsfest and won the Best International Short award at Cinema St. Louis Film Festival. "Crisply shot and superbly acted, it's also a sly comment on repression and everyday insanity. It will be great to see what the Ritsons do next." (Empire)

The brothers first directed the short film Out of Time. Starring Mark Heap and Raquel Cassidy, the film won the Global Audience Award at the first CON-CAN Movie Festival[7] and was runner up at Minimalen and the Berlin Film Festival. It also screened at the London, San Paulo and Dresden film festivals. Their second short film, More More More, starring The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss, was a runner-up in the Turner Classic Movies Competition. Their third film, shot in 2009 with Hayley Atwell as Hate, was entitled Love Hate.[8] The Ritson brothers have also shot a fourth short film, Good Boy, starring Jessica Hynes (née Stevenson), Reece Shearsmith, Nicholas Burns, Joanna Page and Blake's fiancee Hattie Morahan.[9]

The Ritson Brothers were selected for the front cover of Screen International's "Stars Of Tomorrow 2009".

Blake played the banjolele on Doug Hodge's 2006 album Cowley Road Songs,[10] which was recorded in four days at the Blue Moon Studios in Banbury.[11] He describes the banjolele as “a hybrid instrument between a ukulele and a banjo; teamed up with the gazoo it’s a winning combination.”[2]

[edit] Personal life

Blake is the brother of Dylan Ritson, with whom he directs and writes. Dylan also attended Cambridge, where he wrote and directed plays for Footlights and the Edinburgh Festival which received numerous awards and excellent reviews in the national press.[3]

Blake's fiancee is the stage and screen actress Hattie Morahan, who was also the costume designer and script supervisor on one of the movies he and his brother directed.[12

Ian McElhinney is a Northern Irish actor and director best known for his roles as General Dodonna in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Val-El in Krypton, and as Ser Barristan Selmy in the HBO series, Game of Thrones.

Over a career spanning more than thirty years, McElhinney has accumulated a number of credits for film and television including roles in Hornblower, Cold Feet, Queer as Folk, and The Tudors.

Announced in 2010, McElhinney was confirmed in the role of Ser Barristan Selmy in the long running series, Game of Thrones. As a knight who had served in the Kingsguard for almost forty years, the character was one of the more honorable men in the seven kingdoms. Having read the books, McElhinney mentions that he was pleased with how show runners had used the character, however was disappointed with how and when he met his demise. Appearing in the first, third, fourth and fifth seasons of the show, his character served as a key instigator, until meeting his gruesome death at the hand of the Sons of the Harpy. After 25 episodes, his sudden exit marked the farewell to a kind and noble presence in the series.

In recent appearances, Ian McElhinney has portrayed General Dodonna in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a role that was initially donned by Alex McCrindle. McElhinney is set to appear as Val-El in the upcoming Superman prequel Krypton, airing 2018.

汉娜·沃丁厄姆，英国女演员和歌手，知名于其对西区剧院音乐剧所作出的贡献。其中，她在伦敦首演版《巨蟒剧团之火腿骑士》、2010年摄政公园重演版《步入森林》及2011年音乐剧《绿野仙踪》（饰演西国魔女）中的表现尤为出色。她获得过三项奥利维尔奖提名。2015年，她加入了HBO电视剧《权力的游戏》第五季的演员阵容，饰演乌尼亚修女一角。此外，她还出演了2012年故事片《悲惨世界》，在2018年心理惊悚片《冬脊》中饰演主要角色。

2020年起，沃丁厄姆在Apple TV+喜剧系列《足球教练》中担任球队老板莉碧嘉一角。她凭借此剧在2021年赢得艾美奖最佳喜剧类剧集女配角，2022年又赢得了评论家选择电视奖最佳喜剧女配角。