Eddie Marsan calls out friend of college ‘bully’ who tries to mock him on social media

Eddie Marsan has called out the friend of a college “bully” who tried to mock him on social media.

The London-born actor, who has been in the profession since the 1990s, has racked up an impressive string of credits throughout his career, including roles in Mission: Impossible III (2006), Mike Leigh film Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes (2009) and The World’s End (2013), directed by Edgar Wright.

On Monday (3 April), Marsan, 54, spotted a mean-spirited post on Twitter reading: “Do you ever scroll through Netflix, when you think that you’ve found a film to watch, all of a sudden you scream “Eww! F*** that! It’s got Eddie Marsan in it!”? It keeps happening...”

In reply, one of the actor’s former fellow students at London College of Printing School of Media in Elephant and Castle wrote: “Many years ago my oppo was at the Print College @ the Elephant. Marsan came late to the class and sat infront of Russ. The lecturer said this is Eddie, be nice to him, Russ flicked his ears from behind and started singing “Eddie the Elephant packed his trunk”.”

The Twitter user capped the nasty post with a laughing-face emoji.

After reading the post, Marsan stepped in.

“Yeah I was bullied, relentlessly at printing college, it was awful,” he wrote.

“I remember your mate doing that. I’m glad you find it funny. If he wants to know how I am now, he can just Google me, I have a beautiful wife, four wonderful kids & I’ve been in over 120 films. How’s he doing?”

Marsan, who has been married to Janine Schneider since 2002, left school at 16 and undertook a printing apprenticeship at the Elephant and Castle college in the late 1980s, before becoming an actor.

He went on to train at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, where he graudated in 1991, and went on to study at Kogan Academy of Dramatic Arts, now known as The School of the Science of Acting, where Marsan is a patron.

The actor has been supported on social media following the nasty post, with broadcaster Gail Porter writing: “Oh Eddie. I love you. Been there. You’re fabulous.”

Actor Matthew Marsden replied: “Imagine someone tweeting this and thinking it’s some kind of win? Good grief.”

Peaky Blinders star Emmett J Scanlan simply replied, “Legend,” while Twitter user Violet C added: “It’s horrifically gross that not only would a college aged man do that, but a middle aged man still thought it was funny.”

Marsan, who currently stars in Prime Video series The Power, will play Mitch Winehouse, dad of singer Amy, in forthcoming biopic Back to Black. Amy is being played by Industry’s Marisa Abela.

He’ll also play former president John Adams in new Michael Douglas-starring series Franklin from Boardwalk Empire director Tim Van Patten.

Marsan co-stars in The Power with John Leguizamo and Toni Collette, who recently named the acting role she struggled to shake off for almost two years.