Joey Batey
Joey Batey in December 2019
Born1989 (age 34–35)[1]
Newcastle upon Tyne, England[1]
EducationRobinson College, Cambridge
L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq
Occupation(s)Actor, musician
Years active2008–present

Joey Batey (born 1989) is an English actor, musician, singer, and songwriter. He portrays the bard Jaskier in the fantasy series The Witcher, where he sang "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher", as well as other songs featured in the series.

Early life and education

Joey Batey was born in Newcastle upon Tyne.[1] He has said he grew up in a "musical family" and has always been around music.[2] He studied at Robinson College, Cambridge and L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq.[3] Whilst at Cambridge, he co-wrote and performed the comedic sketch show Good Clean Men with Alex Owen, Ben Ashenden and others.[4][5]

Career

Acting

Batey's film debut was in the 2013 British thriller, Murder on the Home Front, directed by Geoffrey Sax.[6] In 2014, he appeared in The Riot Club directed by Lone Scherfig.[7] In 2017, Paul McGuigan cast him as Eddie in Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool.[8] Batey also played in the British TV series Strike (2017),[9] and In The Dark (2017).[10] He appeared in the series Knightfall in 2017–2018, a 14th century period piece centered on the Knights Templar, where he played the role of Pierre, a spy after information on the Holy Grail.[11]

As of 2021, Batey was continuing to play the character of the bard, Jaskier, in Netflix's adaptation of The Witcher, based on the Polish novel series of the same name.[12][13]

Musical performance

Batey is a vocalist and musician for the indie folk band The Amazing Devil, as well as the primary writer and composer.[14] He and collaborator Madeleine Hyland met while acting for the Royal Shakespeare Company and together they formed the band in 2015,[15] producing what Batey has described as music that “sad people can listen to at train stations.”[16] The band has released three albums including Love Run (2016),[14] and The Horror and the Wild (2020).[17] Their most recent album, Ruin, was released on 31 October 2021.[18][19]

In Netflix's adaptation of The Witcher, Batey has performed the following songs featured in the series:[20][21] "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher",[20] "The Fishmonger's Daughter"[22] and "Her Sweet Kiss", as well as "Burn Butcher Burn",[23] "Whoreson Prison Blues"[24] and "The Golden One".[25]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2014 The Riot Club Eager Chap
2016 Bloody Cakes Colin Montcrawknox Unreleased
2017 Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool Eddie Uncredited
2024 The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep Jaskier (voice) In production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Murder on the Home Front Dixie Television film
2013 The White Queen Edward of Lancaster 2 episodes
2013 Whitechapel Gavin Redman 2 episodes
2016 Mount Pleasant Gopher 3 episodes
2017 In the Dark Shelley 2 episodes
2017 Strike Al Rokeby 2 episodes
2017–2018 Knightfall Pierre 5 episodes
2018 Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators Callum Ballimore Series 1, episode 4: "This Rough Magic"
2018 Stan Lee's Lucky Man Bobby Hayes Series 3, episode 2: "Run Rabbit Run"
2019 The War of the Worlds Henderson Series 1, episode 1
2019–present The Witcher Jaskier Main role
2022 The Witcher: Blood Origin Guest role
2022 Billy The Kid Patrick McCarty 1 episode

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Dragon Quest Heroes 2 Cesar Voice

Further reading

References

  1. ^ a b c Mundey, Simi (26 July 2022). "10 famous faces that went to school in Newcastle". Newcastle World.
  2. ^ Finger, Bobby (25 February 2020). "The Witcher (ft. Joey Batey)". I'm Obsessed With This (Podcast). Los Gatos, California: Netflix. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Joey Batey CV". Spotlight. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  4. ^ "The Fletcher Players Society presents… Good Clean Men by Ashenden/Bannister/Batey/Fiddaman/Haines/Owen". CAMDRAM.net. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  5. ^ Reynolds, George (6 November 2009). "Good. Clean. Men". Varsity. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  6. ^ BFI Staff (2 January 2022). "Murder on the Home Front [09/05/2013]". BFI.org.uk. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020.
  7. ^ "The Riot Club (2014)". bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Joey Batey". metacritic.com. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  9. ^ "BBC One - Strike, The Silkworm, Episode 2". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  10. ^ "BBC One - In the Dark, Series 1, Episode 1". BBC. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  11. ^ Rivera, Starleen (31 December 2021). "The Witcher: 10 Movies and Shows Where You've Seen the Cast". screenrant.com. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  12. ^ Petski, Denise (31 October 2018). "'The Witcher': First Look At Henry Cavill As Geralt Of Rivia; Netflix Rounds Out Cast As Production Begins". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  13. ^ "The Witcher". Netflix Tudum. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  14. ^ a b Davies, Mike (19 July 2016). "Album Review—The Amazing Devil: Love Run". folkRadio.co.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  15. ^ Ted Fox (29 November 2018). "On Shakespeare and Your Magical Self—Madeleine Hyland, Actors From The London Stage" (Podcast). University of Notre Dame Office of the Provost. 27 minutes in. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Conversations: Joey Batey". Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  17. ^ "The Horror and the Wild". Amazon. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  18. ^ "ruin, by The Amazing Devil". Theamazingdevil.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  19. ^ Bright, Will (21 December 2021). "Album Review: Ruin". The Carillon. The Carillon Newspaper Inc. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  20. ^ a b "The Witcher Soundtrack". Milan Records. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  21. ^ "Joseph Trapanese: The Witcher: Season 2 - Soundtrack". Milan Records. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  22. ^ The Fishmonger's Daughter, retrieved 20 December 2021
  23. ^ "Burn Butcher Burn". YouTube. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  24. ^ "Whoreson Prison Blues". YouTube. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  25. ^ "The Golden One". YouTube. Retrieved 20 December 2021.

External links

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