Skandar Keynes facts for kids

Skandar Keynes (born on September 5, 1991) is an English political adviser and former actor. He is most famous for playing Edmund Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia movies. Skandar appeared in all three films: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Skandar Keynes's Early Life

Skandar Keynes was born in London, England. His mother, Zelfa Hourani, is from Lebanon. His father, Randal Keynes, was a British author. Skandar has an older sister named Soumaya. She is a journalist and economist. They grew up in Islington, London.

Skandar's Family History

On his father's side, Skandar is English. His great-great-great-grandfather was the famous naturalist Charles Darwin. Darwin is known for his work on evolution. Skandar's great-grandparents were also very important people. They were Nobel Prize winner Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian and Hester Adrian, Baroness Adrian.

On his mother's side, Skandar has Lebanese Christian roots. His family also has some distant Persian and Turkish heritage. His grandfather, Cecil Fadlo Hourani, was a Lebanese writer. He advised the former president of Tunisia. The Hourani family moved to Manchester from Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon.

Skandar's Education

Skandar went to the Anna Scher Theatre School. Before that, he attended Thornhill Primary School. He then studied at the City of London School, an all-boys school. He won several awards there for his studies. He also received prizes for drama and chemistry.

In 2010, Skandar passed his A-level exams with top grades. He got A*s and As in subjects like biology, chemistry, and history.

In October 2010, Skandar started studying at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He studied Arabic, Persian, and Middle Eastern History. He did very well in his studies. He often earned top marks. He even spent a year studying in Lebanon. There, he improved his Arabic speaking skills. He also wrote about his experiences in a weekly newspaper column.

Skandar wrote a special project for his degree. It compared how history is taught in Iran and Saudi Arabia. He had to translate school books from both countries. In June 2014, he graduated with a top degree. He studied Middle Eastern Studies.

Skandar's Career

Skandar Keynes has had two main careers. First, he was an actor. Now, he works as a political adviser.

Acting Career

Skandar's acting started when he was nine years old. He played a small part in a TV show called Macbeth in 2001. He also appeared in a BBC documentary.

His first big movie role was at age ten. He played a young Enzo Ferrari in the film Ferrari (2003). This movie showed how Ferrari became a famous car maker.

Skandar became famous around the world for his role as Edmund Pevensie. This was in the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005). The movie was filmed mainly in New Zealand. It was a huge success, earning over $745 million worldwide. Skandar won the role of Edmund after 2,000 other young actors tried out. Edmund's story in the movie is about betrayal and forgiveness. Skandar did many of his own stunts. These included sword fighting and horse riding. He also voiced Edmund in the video game for the movie. In 2006, he won an award for his acting in this film.

He played Edmund again in Prince Caspian (2008). This movie also did very well. Skandar enjoyed the action scenes and stunts. He traveled to many countries for filming. He was nominated for awards for his performance. He also voiced Edmund in the video game for Prince Caspian.

Skandar returned as Edmund for the third Narnia movie. It was called The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010). This movie was filmed in Australia. It also earned a lot of money worldwide. For this film, Skandar learned to dive for underwater scenes. In 2011, the cast was nominated for another award.

In 2014, Skandar voiced a character named Sir Allan Kerr. This was for an audio adventure called In Freedom's Cause. It was based on a historical novel. The story was about the Scottish hero William Wallace. The audio drama won several awards in 2015. In January 2016, Skandar announced he was stopping acting.

Political Career

In 2015, Skandar worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. This was in Amman, Jordan. He helped research a report about Syrian refugees. The report showed that refugees' living conditions were getting worse. This study was based on visits to almost 150,000 Syrian refugees.

After that, Skandar worked at the House of Commons. This is part of the UK Parliament. He was an adviser to Crispin Blunt, a Member of Parliament. He worked there until 2018.

Skandar also traveled with the committee to different countries. They visited Beirut to discuss fighting against ISIL. He also went to Brussels to talk about conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa. In Bahrain, he discussed how to improve talks with Russia. In 2017, he visited Qatar to meet officials. He discussed relations between the two countries. Skandar has been working as a political adviser since then.

Skandar's Personal Life

Skandar enjoys playing music. He plays the guitar, flute, and cornet. He also likes sports. He ran a marathon in Beirut to support Prostate Cancer UK. He has tried extreme sports like bungee jumping in New Zealand. At Cambridge University, he played rugby and football. He even played football with actor Freddie Highmore.

Conservation Efforts

Skandar supports projects that protect nature. He helped track grey wolves in Switzerland. This was part of his work with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He also wrote an introduction for a journal about Charles Darwin. He promoted an online community called connect2earth. This community is run by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Skandar also helped his father with the Galapagos Tortoise Project. He helped promote Sebastian, a very large giant tortoise.

Connection to Lebanon

Skandar and his family visit Marjeyoun in Lebanon every year. They have done this since he was a child. He was there during a conflict in 1996. He was only four years old then. He realized how serious the situation was during the 2006 July war. He was 14 at the time. But this did not change his view of Lebanon as his second home.

Skandar knows that Lebanese law makes it hard for mothers to pass their nationality to their children. He hopes this law will change. He would like to be considered a Lebanese citizen by the government. He wants to show a Lebanese passport when he arrives at the airport.

Skandar Keynes's Filmography

Awards and Nominations

See Also

In Spanish: Skandar Keynes para niños