Edge

Adam Joseph Copeland was born in Orangeville, Ontario, on October 30, 1973, the son of Judy Lynn Copeland, a single mother who worked two jobs to support him. He has said he never met his father, or even saw a picture of him. He became interested in professional wrestling at a young age; his favorite wrestlers included Mr. Perfect, Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, Ricky Steamboat, Shawn Michaels, and Bret Hart. He met fellow future wrestler Jason Reso, known by his ring-name Christian Cage, in Orangeville when he was 10 years old, and they would make the trip to Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto to watch their favourite wrestlers; at the age of 16, Copeland attended WrestleMania VI at the Toronto SkyDome in 1990, sitting in the 11th row at ringside. He was cheering on WWF Champion Hulk Hogan against The Ultimate Warrior, and he credits this match with making him realize he wanted to be a wrestler. When he was 17, he won an essay writing contest hosted by his local gym, the prize for which was free wrestling training with Sweet Daddy Siki and Ron Hutchison in Toronto. However, he put his wrestling aspirations aside to help his mother pay the bills, taking numerous jobs and then receiving a diploma in radio broadcasting from Humber College before resuming his wrestling training.In 2000, Copeland had a cameo appearance as a road bandit in the fantasy movie Highlander: Endgame. In March 2002, he appeared with other wrestlers on the quiz show Weakest Link. He was voted out in the first round, and the eventual winner was Kane. On the August 6, 2006 episode of Mind of Mencia, he appeared as Edge as a commentator for "The Royal Religious Rumble". He punched out an actor playing L. Ron Hubbard to stop Scientology from ruling the world and then speared another actor playing Tom Cruise. In March 2007, Copeland appeared alongside Randy Orton, John Cena, and Bobby Lashley on Deal or No Deal. Weeks later, he appeared on the sketch comedy show MADtv. He appeared in a Slim Jim commercial, in which his "spicy side" caused chaos in a DMV, a restaurant, and a hotel. Edge: a Decade of Decadence, a DVD documentary of Copeland's life, was released in December 2008. The DVD illustrates his wrestling career dating from when he entered the WWF to 2008.

In June 2011, Copeland appeared as Thelo, an Abnormal, in the Sanctuary episode "Into the Black". In September 2011, he held an "Edgucational" Essay Scholarship Contest, as an echo back to how he himself got a start in the wrestling business. The scholarship went to one of the students at Squared Circle Wrestling in Toronto, Alysha Verhoven, who has since gone on to work as Leah von Dutch. Copeland appeared regularly in the Syfy series Haven, which started in July 2011, as Dwight Hendrickson, a troubled man whose affliction is revealed to be attracting bullets and who works as a cleaner, cleaning up after the troubles. He is later appointed the Chief of Police. He was part of the cast until the show's series finale in December 2015. WWE Studios released Bending the Rules, in which Copeland starred, in 2012. WWE released the official trailer of the film on the February 28, 2012 episode of Raw. The 2012 documentary, You Think You Know Me – The Story of Edge, includes a look at Copeland's life and career in pro wrestling.

On September 4, 2013, Copeland hosted a special episode of the Syfy series Ghost Mine. In December 2014, Copeland made a cameo appearance in the music video for the In-Flight Safety song "Destroy" as his Dwight Hendrickson character. In July 2015, Copeland was nominated for a Golden Maple Award for Best Actor in a TV series which was broadcast in the U.S. for his role in Haven as Dwight Hendrickson. On July 16, 2015, it was announced that Copeland would be set to portray Atom-Smasher in the second season of The Flash. On February 21, 2016, Copeland and Christian began starring on The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness, a series on the WWE Network. On July 14, 2016, Copeland starred in the Canadian television series Private Eyes where he played Ben Fisk. On July 26, 2016, it was announced that Copeland would play Kjetill Flatnose on Season 5 and 6 of the Vikings in a recurring role. The series ended December 30, 2020.

On October 13, 2022, it was announced that Copeland would play Ares in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series adaptation of the original book series, streaming on Disney+.