# Cosmo Jarvis
**Cosmo Jarvis** (Harrison Cosmo Krikoryan Jarvis, born 1989) is an English actor, musician, and filmmaker who came to international prominence playing [John Blackthorne](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-blackthorne) in the Disney+ series *Shōgun* after building a reputation in British independent film.[7](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/cosmo-jarvis-interview-warfare-shogun-christopher-nolans-odyssey-3853264) He began his career as a folk-influenced musician and no-budget filmmaker in Devon before switching to acting in his late twenties.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/mar/07/cosmo-jarvis-interview-calm-with-horses)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and birth | Harrison Cosmo Krikoryan Jarvis, born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, to an Armenian-American mother and an English father; the family moved to Plymouth when he was a baby and settled in Dorset[1](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-i-think-ireland-tends-to-produce-good-actors-1.4351712) • [3](https://mirrorspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/91711-pdf-ms.pdf) |
| Music career | Released his first two LPs, *19 Songs By Cosmo Jarvis* and *Humasyouhitch/Sonofabitch*, as a teenager, and five albums in total; he has not recorded or written music since the 2013 EP *They Don't Build Hearts Like They Used To*[1](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-i-think-ireland-tends-to-produce-good-actors-1.4351712) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/mar/07/cosmo-jarvis-interview-calm-with-horses) |
| Breakout role | Sebastian, opposite Florence Pugh, in William Oldroyd's *Lady Macbeth* (2016); nominated for Most Promising Newcomer at the 2017 British Independent Film Awards[1](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-i-think-ireland-tends-to-produce-good-actors-1.4351712) |
| Acclaimed lead | Douglas "Arm" Armstrong, a former boxer turned gangland enforcer, in *Calm With Horses* (2020), which RTÉ called possibly the breakout performance of the year[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/mar/07/cosmo-jarvis-interview-calm-with-horses) • [4](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/movie-reviews/2020/0311/1121648-its-an-irish-town-called-malice-in-calm-with-horses/) |
| Television lead | John Blackthorne (Anjin) in *Shōgun*, the Emmy-winning Disney+ adaptation of James Clavell's 1975 novel; he will reprise the role in the second season[7](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/cosmo-jarvis-interview-warfare-shogun-christopher-nolans-odyssey-3853264) • [5](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/hulu/shogun-season-2) |
| Working method | Frequently stays in character through a shoot; his *Calm With Horses* co-star Niamh Algar did not realize he was English until she received voice messages in his actual accent after filming ended[6](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-it-is-in-us-all-calm-with-horses-persuasion-shogun-b1025246.html) |
## Early life and music
Jarvis was born in New Jersey and moved to England as a baby, growing up in Devon after the family settled in the southwest.[1](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-i-think-ireland-tends-to-produce-good-actors-1.4351712) He started young and prolifically: by his 22nd birthday he had written 300 songs and made more than 65 short films with friends.[3](https://mirrorspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/91711-pdf-ms.pdf) As a teenager he released his first two albums and promoted his folk-ish songs on MySpace, eventually putting out five albums.[1](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-i-think-ireland-tends-to-produce-good-actors-1.4351712) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/mar/07/cosmo-jarvis-interview-calm-with-horses)
**Leaving music behind.** He stopped writing and recording after the 2013 EP *They Don't Build Hearts Like They Used To*, saying that music had left "a nasty taste" in his mouth and that he had largely stopped listening to music altogether.[1](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-i-think-ireland-tends-to-produce-good-actors-1.4351712) He has said he wanted to act for as long as he can remember, auditioning unsuccessfully for a production of *Oliver!* at age five, but saw no route into film from Devon and used music as a stepping stone.[1](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-i-think-ireland-tends-to-produce-good-actors-1.4351712)
## Acting career
**Independent film.** His casting as Sebastian in *Lady Macbeth* (2016), opposite a then-unknown [Florence Pugh](https://www.edgepedia.org/florence-pugh), brought a British Independent Film Awards nomination in 2017 and numerous offers of lead action roles.[1](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-i-think-ireland-tends-to-produce-good-actors-1.4351712) • [6](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-it-is-in-us-all-calm-with-horses-persuasion-shogun-b1025246.html) He followed it with a small role in [Alex Garland](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-garland)'s *Annihilation* (2018), [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://www.edgepedia.org/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje)'s *Farming*, Tim Sutton's *Funny Face*, and Nathalie Biancheri's *Nocturnal*.[1](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-i-think-ireland-tends-to-produce-good-actors-1.4351712) • [7](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/cosmo-jarvis-interview-warfare-shogun-christopher-nolans-odyssey-3853264)
In *Calm With Horses* (2020), Nick Rowland's adaptation of a Colin Barrett short story set in rural Ireland, Jarvis played Arm, a hulking enforcer for the Devers crime clan torn between the gang and his son. He bulked up for the part with milkshakes and weightlifting, and critics singled out the performance: *The Guardian* praised his "few words but hugely eloquent physicality," and RTÉ called it possibly the breakout performance of the year.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/mar/07/cosmo-jarvis-interview-calm-with-horses) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/mar/15/calm-with-horses-review-irish-crime-clan-cosmo-jarvis-nick-rowland) • [4](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/movie-reviews/2020/0311/1121648-its-an-irish-town-called-malice-in-calm-with-horses/) He stayed in character for much of the shoot, an approach he repeated on later productions.[1](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-i-think-ireland-tends-to-produce-good-actors-1.4351712)
He has continued to favor troubled, isolated men: a London businessman unraveling after a fatal car crash in Donegal in [Antonia Campbell-Hughes](https://www.edgepedia.org/antonia-campbell-hughes)' *It Is In Us All* (2022), a performance *Sight and Sound* called sterling and IndieWire described as a "force-of-nature turn";[9](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/it-us-all-misty-moody-character-piece) • [10](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/it-is-in-us-all/critic-reviews/) Captain Frederick Wentworth opposite [Dakota Johnson](https://www.edgepedia.org/dakota-johnson) in Netflix's *[Persuasion](https://www.edgepedia.org/persuasion-2022-film)* (2022), which reached number one on the platform despite poor reviews;[6](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-it-is-in-us-all-calm-with-horses-persuasion-shogun-b1025246.html) and an inmate who becomes a father figure to his cellmate in the Australian prison drama *Inside* (2024).[11](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/cosmo-jarvis-interview-inside/)
**Television.** He played the shell-shocked Barney in *Peaky Blinders*, part of the plot against [Oswald Mosley](https://www.edgepedia.org/oswald-mosley), and appeared in HBO's Ridley Scott-produced science fiction series *Raised By Wolves*.[12](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/feb/23/cosmo-jarvis-interview-samurai-epic-shogun) • [1](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-i-think-ireland-tends-to-produce-good-actors-1.4351712) The lead role of John Blackthorne, the first Englishman in feudal Japan, in *[Shōgun](https://www.edgepedia.org/shogun-2024-tv-series)* (2024) made him internationally known; the series won Emmys and swept the 2025 award season.[7](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/cosmo-jarvis-interview-warfare-shogun-christopher-nolans-odyssey-3853264) • [13](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/cosmo-jarvis-hype-interview-2025) He is confirmed to return as Blackthorne in the second season, set ten years after the first.[5](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/hulu/shogun-season-2)
**Recent films.** After *Shōgun*, Jarvis appeared opposite [Robert De Niro](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-de-niro) in the period mob drama *The Alto Knights* and played Navy SEAL sniper Elliott Miller in *Warfare* (2025), Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza's real-time [Iraq War](https://www.edgepedia.org/iraq-war) drama, to which the film is dedicated.[13](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/cosmo-jarvis-hype-interview-2025) • [14](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/drama-movies/big-screen-spotlight-warfare/) Upcoming work includes [Guy Ritchie](https://www.edgepedia.org/guy-ritchie)'s *Wife & Dog*, for which he was rehearsing an aristocratic Received Pronunciation accent in early 2025.[15](https://www.sirmagazine.co.uk/features/cosmo-man)
## Method and reputation
Jarvis is not a Method actor in the full sense, but he has a method: he lives in an accent for weeks before a role, and on several productions he has carried the character with him between takes for consistency.[13](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/cosmo-jarvis-hype-interview-2025) • [1](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-i-think-ireland-tends-to-produce-good-actors-1.4351712) Interviewers regularly note how completely he disappears into roles; the intensity of his performances has drawn comparisons with [Marlon Brando](https://www.edgepedia.org/marlon-brando), a comparison he dismisses.[6](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-it-is-in-us-all-calm-with-horses-persuasion-shogun-b1025246.html) On *Warfare* he described himself and his castmates as "technicians" rather than artists, reflecting the film's aim of recreating a real incident rather than dramatizing it.[14](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/drama-movies/big-screen-spotlight-warfare/)
He has said he is selective about roles and uninterested in acting in superhero films, and that he deliberately avoids publicizing his music career to keep credibility as an actor.[6](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-it-is-in-us-all-calm-with-horses-persuasion-shogun-b1025246.html) • [16](https://www.inkl.com/news/cosmo-jarvis-with-acting-you-come-in-you-blow-everything-you-ve-got)
## References
1. [Cosmo Jarvis: 'I think Ireland tends to produce good actors', The Irish Times (15 September 2020)](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-i-think-ireland-tends-to-produce-good-actors-1.4351712)
2. [Cosmo Jarvis: 'With acting, you come in, you blow everything you've got', The Guardian (7 March 2020)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/mar/07/cosmo-jarvis-interview-calm-with-horses)
3. [Mirror-Spectator (Birmingham Evening Mail item on Cosmo Jarvis), June 2019 archive](https://mirrorspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/91711-pdf-ms.pdf)
4. [Calm with Horses movie review, RTÉ](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/movie-reviews/2020/0311/1121648-its-an-irish-town-called-malice-in-calm-with-horses/)
5. ['Shogun' season 2: Everything we know so far, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/hulu/shogun-season-2)
6. [Cosmo Jarvis: the actor talks It Is In Us All, Netflix's Persuasion and his love of trees, The Standard](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/cosmo-jarvis-it-is-in-us-all-calm-with-horses-persuasion-shogun-b1025246.html)
7. ['Shōgun's Cosmo Jarvis on 'Warfare' and Christopher Nolan's 'Odyssey', NME (16 April 2025)](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/cosmo-jarvis-interview-warfare-shogun-christopher-nolans-odyssey-3853264)
8. [Calm With Horses review, The Guardian (15 March 2020)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/mar/15/calm-with-horses-review-irish-crime-clan-cosmo-jarvis-nick-rowland)
9. [It Is In Us All review, Sight and Sound, BFI (30 September 2022)](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/it-us-all-misty-moody-character-piece)
10. [It Is In Us All critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/it-is-in-us-all/critic-reviews/)
11. [Cosmo Jarvis on 'Inside' and the Path Toward Redemption, Slant Magazine](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/cosmo-jarvis-interview-inside/)
12. ['I went for it!': Shōgun's Cosmo Jarvis on swords, samurai and working with De Niro, The Guardian (23 February 2024)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/feb/23/cosmo-jarvis-interview-samurai-epic-shogun)
13. [The dutiful method of Shōgun's Cosmo Jarvis, British GQ (17 March 2025)](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/cosmo-jarvis-hype-interview-2025)
14. [Ex Machina director's new movie Warfare, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/drama-movies/big-screen-spotlight-warfare/)
15. [Cosmo Jarvis Interview: Shōgun Star, Sir! Magazine (March 2026)](https://www.sirmagazine.co.uk/features/cosmo-man)
16. [Cosmo Jarvis: 'With acting, you come in, you blow everything you've got', via Inkl](https://www.inkl.com/news/cosmo-jarvis-with-acting-you-come-in-you-blow-everything-you-ve-got)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames I to K*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license