Edgar Ruben Bagayawa, was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Filipino immigrants, Ruben and Thelma, who arrived in the country with $50. He has three younger sisters, Karen, Kimberly and Stephanie. He grew up in the small town of Hespeler, Ontario, making his acting debut in his elementary school's rendition of Alice in Wonderland, playing a singing pigeon. He attended high school at Galt Collegiate. At the request of his parents, despite being undecided in a career path, he attended college and earned a BA in psychology at Brock University. During the summer months, he worked for the City of Cambridge Parks and Recreation department, assigned on Fridays as a garbage man. After graduation, he took a job for a large Fortune 500 IT firm, working as a Business Development Manager. In less than three months, he was the third highest grossing salesperson at the company out of over one hundred. During this time he lived in Toronto's entertainment district at Queen and Spadina, studying improv at Second City. After four years, he took a leave of absence to backpack through Australia, but before leaving, attended the famous Robert McKee screen writing seminar planning to write about his experiences. Upon his return, he transferred to Europe after being offered the position of Strategic Account Executive. Over the next decade, based in London, he traveled the world, visiting over twenty countries, such as Iceland, Argentina, Zimbabwe and Japan, while attending part-time classes at the Central School of Speech and Drama. After becoming a naturalized British citizen in 2009, he left the corporate world and enrolled into UCLA's Postgraduate Professional Screenwriting and Producing programs, and studied acting at the renowned Ivana Chubbuck Studio in Los Angeles. He is engaged to long-term partner Zuzana Neumannova, a pediatric nurse, since proposing in 2010 on the Eiffel Tower.

He has three younger sisters, who all work in creative fields. Karen a mixed media artist, Kimberly a documentary producer and Stephanie a graphic designer.Has a BA from Brock University, the school that awarded local truck driver turned Hollywood box office leader, director James Cameron, an Honorary Degree, after the 1997 success of Titanic.Drove a white 1982 Toyota Tercel in high school, nicknamed The Eggshell. The car didn't have reverse, thanks to classmate and future National Hockey League Pittsburgh Penguins star Steve McKenna, using it to learn stick shift.Olympic gold medalist Derrick Campbell, led the group of friends that took him to his first strip club.His first television appearance was in 2003, on a BBC Food cooking show. He successfully presented a gourmet shrimp recipe, although this was overshadowed by a spectacularly burned side dish of carrots.