Rob James Collier stars as ‘Thomas Barrow’ in the very popular TV series “Downton Abbey”. He also played ‘Liam Connors’ in “Coronation Street”. He was also featured in the series “Shameless”..
IMDB entry:
Rob James-Collier was born on September 23, 1976 in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England as Robert James-Collier. He is an actor, known for Coronation Street (1960),Downton Abbey (2010) and Mercenaries (2011).) Came into acting while doing a favor for a friend, who asked him to fill in for an actor who failed to show up for his friend’s film shoot. Following this experience, he started taking acting classes during his off hours from work. Modeled for Argos, where he appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2007 and Spring/Summer 2008 catalogs. Won the Sexiest Male award at the 2007 and 2008 British Soap Awards in addition to “Best Exit” at the 2009 British Soap Awards. Also won Sexiest Male and Best Newcomer at the 2007 Inside Soap Awards. Found an acting coach in the Yellow Pages and began going to classes one night a week after work.Studied business at Huddersfield and marketing at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.
He was (born 17 August 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and lead singer for the pop band Dexys Midnight Runners, which had several hits in the early 1980s, the most famous being “Geno” and “Come On Eileen“. Rowland was born in Wolverhampton, England in 1953 to Irish parents from Crossmolina, Co. Mayo.[1] His first group, Lucy & The Lovers, were influenced by Roxy Music and turKevin Rowlandned out to be short-lived. His next project, punk rock act The Killjoys, were slightly more successful, releasing the single “Johnny Won’t Get To Heaven” in 1977. He decided to form a new soul-influenced group, Dexys Midnight Runners. Many of the group’s songs were inspired by Rowland’s Irish ancestry and were recognisable through Rowland’s idiosyncratic vocal style
Trevor Eve has had a prolific career on television both in Britain and the U.S. One of his early roles was playing Paul McCarthney in Willy Russell’s “John Paul, George and Ringo” on the stage. He also had a major role in the 1979 version of “Dracula” with Frank Langella and Laurence Oliver. Trevor Eve starred as Eddie Shoestring in the much-loved “Shoestring”. Eve played a computer analyst who recovering from a nervous breakdown becomes a radio dj witch an ability to solve crimes. The series was filmed in Bristol and the West Country. Since 2000 he has starred as Boyd in the hughly popular TV series about cold cases “Waking the Dead”.
In the early 1960’s before the Beatles and the Mersey sound took over the UK charts, the pop music in Britain consisted of rockers like Cliff Richard and Adam Faith. Joe Brown was a little more edgy with a cheeky grin who also made a few films including “Hat A Crazy World”. Joe Brown still continues with great success to perform to-day.
A stylish versatile actor just getting into his stride, Matthew Goode made a recent particular impact in “A Singular Man” with Colin Firth and also in the Irish set rom com “Leap Year” which he was a witty Kerry taxi driver with a dodgy Irish accent. He is definitely an actor on the way up.
TCM Overview:
From classical stage training to period television dramas, British actor Matthew Goode started out on that well-traveled path to an international film career, but after turning out supporting performances that were much more memorable than warranted, he was bumped up to star status in short order. He earned a significant female following for his role as the charming secret service agent and love object of the president’s teen daughter (Mandy Moore) in “Chasing Liberty” (2004), and critical kudos for his posh performance in the acclaimed Woody Allen film, “Match Point” (2005). Goode went on to surprise audiences with his ensemble role in the comic book adaptation “Watchmen” (2009) as the dapper Ozymandias, and while the period dramas regularly invited the actor back into their worlds, he revealed himself to be a versatile, charming leading man known for his off-the-cuff sense of humor.
Sam Kydd was born in 1915 in Belfast. He featured in many numerous British films since the mid 1940’s including “The Captive Heart”, “The Blue Lamp” and “Quest for Love”. He died in 1982.
Good website on Sam Kydd by his actor son Jonathan Kydd here.
IMDB entry:
Sam Kydd was born on February 15, 1915 in Belfast, Northern Ireland as Samuel John Kydd. He was an actor, known for Orlando (1965), Crane (1963) and The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959). He was married to Lavender Rosamund Marguerite ‘Pinkie’ Barnes. He died on March 26, 1982 in London, England. He was the father of actor Jonathan Kydd. Irish-born, he lived in England from early childhood. During his acting career, he specialised in playing irrepressible cockney characters. Son of an army officer, he saw military action himself during World War II. Taken prisoner in Calais in 1940, he was interned in a POW camp in Poland for five years. There, he took charge of theatrical activities among the prisoners, writing and staging plays.
Paddy Considine is an English actor of Irish parents. He was born in 1972 in Burton-Upon-Trent. He is best known for his work with director Shane Meadows. His movies include “In America”, “Dead Men’s Shoes” and on television “Red Riding Trilogy”.
TCM overview:
ossessing an enormous wealth of animated charm, along with a touch of quiet intensity, actor Paddy Considine established himself as a talented performer in his relatively short career. From the time he made his feature debut in friend Shane Meadows’ “A Room for Romeo Brass” (1999), Considine amassed a number of credits that displayed his versatility, particularly in roles that required morally or mentally troubled characters. He delivered fine turns in the stark drama, “Last Resort” (2000), while doing a 180 degree turn for the lighthearted romantic comedy “Born Romantic” (2000). Considine’s exceptional performances often exceeded rather underwhelming material, as so happened with Michael Winterbottom’s “24 Hour Party People” (2002). He shined as an Irish immigrant who struggles to make good in the United States in Jim Sheridan’s critically hailed semi-autobiographical drama, “In America” (2003). Following smaller supporting roles in studio fare like “Cinderella Man” (2005) and “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007), Considine excelled in lower profile projects like “The Cry of the Owl” (2009), “Red Riding: 1980” (Channel 4, 2009) and “Blitz” (20110), which once again allowed the actor to put the full breadth of his talents on display.
Born on Sept. 5, 1974 in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, Considine was raised with his six brothers and sisters in a working-class household in the suburb of Winshill. After finishing his required studies at the Abbot Beyne Senior School, Considine studied acting at Burton College, where he befriended future director and collaborator Shane Meadows. He failed to complete his studies, however, and eventually went on to study photography at the University of Brighton. Considine held a career as a professional photographer until the end of the 1990s, when he returned to acting for his feature debut after Meadows cast him in a starring role for the director’s critically acclaimed comedy drama, “A Room for Romeo Brass” (1999). He played Morell, a strange neighborhood character in working-class Nottingham who ultimately drives a wedge between two 12-year-old friends (Andrew Shim and Ben Marshall) after pursuing the sister of one of the boys. Prior to starring in the film, Considine thought very little about an acting career. But after his memorable turn, Considine rethought the direction of his career.
Considine followed his film debut with another fine performance in the grim drama “Last Resort” (2000), directed by Pawel Pawlikowski. The actor played Alfie, a washed-up boxer who runs a dilapidated arcade. Considine’s endearing performance gave the otherwise stark film a much-needed comic spark. Though released in only 14 theaters in the United States, “Last Resort” did make the festival rounds, which helped expose Considine’s already impressive acting talents to a wider audience. He settled back into a light-hearted romantic comedy for his next project, “Born Romantic” (2000), about three lonely Londoners contemplating life’s greatest mystery: women. After a virtually unnoticeable role in the crime-comedy “The Martins” (2001), Considine was the troubled and volatile music manager, Rob Gretton, in Michael Winterbottom’s nostalgic “24 Hour Party People” (2002). Though unfamiliar with both Gretton and the larger Manchester music scene, Considine impressed Winterbottom enough to be cast in the role. Once again, however, Considine gave a notable performance in a film that was barely seen by audiences, particularly in America.
Considine’s fortunes changed virtually overnight when he appeared in the Oscar-nominated drama “In America” (2003). Helmed by acclaimed director Jim Sheridan, “In America” told the near-autobiographical tale of a man (Considine) who emigrates from Ireland with his family to America in order to realize his dreams of becoming an actor. Told that he would not be playing a character based on Sheridan in the film, Considine nonetheless could not help having the idea in the back of his mind. Considine’s experience on “In America” proved to be the most taxing in his short career, starting with the death of his father two weeks before shooting began. He pointed to the support of his fellow cast members, particularly the two little girls who play his daughters, as helping him get through the shoot. Considine also had trouble performing love scenes with co-star Samantha Morton because of his fidelity to his wife, Shelly – he was so nervous and guilt-ridden that he briefly considered giving up acting over love scenes. Though not nominated for an Oscar like co-stars Morton and Djimon Hounsou, Considine nonetheless turned in his finest performance to date.
From there, Considine teamed with director Pawel Pawlikowski for the romantic drama “My Summer of Love” (2005), before appearing alongside Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger in the Oscar-baiting drama “Cinderella Man” (2005). He next appeared in the speculative historical drama “Stoned” (2005), in which he played a man accused of murdering Rolling Stones founding member, Brian Jones. After reuniting with Meadows to co-write and star as a vengeance-minded brother in the crime thriller “Dead Man’s Shoes” (2006), Considine wrote and directed “Dog Altogether” (2007), a short film partially inspired by the life of his father. Back on the big screen, he had a small role as a newspaper reporter in the blockbuster action thriller, “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007), starring Matt Damon, before he starred on British television in the addiction-themed drama, “My Zinc Bed” (BBC, 2008). In “The Cry of the Owl” (2009), he was a recent divorcé who moves to rural Pennsylvania, where he becomes unhealthily obsessed with a younger woman (Jenny Thierolf). He next starred as a police detective brought in to investigate the Yorkshire Ripper case, only to unearth massive police corruption in the acclaimed “Red Riding: 1980” (Channel 4, 2009), part two of three feature-length television movies based on the famed serial killings. Meanwhile, he followed by playing a charming spiritual guru in the coming-of-age drama, “Submarine” (2011), before starring opposite Jason Stratham in the action thriller “Blitz” (2011).
The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.
James Wilby was born in Rangoon, Burma in 1958. He has carved out a niche in period dramas such as “A Tale of Two Cities” in 1989, “Maurice”, “Howard’s End” and “Gosford Park”. To view article on James Wilby, please click here.
TCM overview:
A handsome, athletic blond British lead, James Wilby garnered his first film success as the title character of “Maurice” (1987), the Merchant-Ivory adaptation of E M Forster’s novel about an Edwardian youth coming of age and coming to terms with his homosexuality.
Born in Rangoon (his father was an executive with the British Oxygen Company), Wilby was raised in England. While still in drama school at RADA, he landed a feature role in Michael Hoffman’s “Privileged” (1982), alongside Hugh Grant and Imogen Stubbs. After graduating in 1983, he landed a leading role in the West End in the much-heralded production “Another Country”, loosely based on the early life of spies Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean. Based on his stage role, Wilby was cast by Ismail Merchant and James Ivory as Maurice, again opposite Hugh Grant. He followed with one of his best screen performances as an unhappily married aristocrat cuckolded by his wife in “A Handful of Dust” (1988) before reteaming with Merchant-Ivory to play Charles Wilcox in the superb adaptation of “Howards End” (1992). More recently, Wilby earned praise for his portrayal of poet Sigfried Sassoon in the WWI-era drama “Regeneration” (1997).
On the small screen, Wilby first caught American audiences’ attention as Sidney Carton, who does a far better thing than he has ever done before, in the Granada TV remake of “A Tale of Two Cities” (aired in the USA in 1989 on PBS’ “Masterpiece Theatre”). He was Diana Rigg’s son and the object of much more in “Mother Love”, a 1990 British TV production that aired as an installment of PBS’ “Mystery!”. Throughout the 90s, Wilby has continued to appear on British television often as wealthy eccentrics as in the heroine’s crippled husband in “Lady Chatterley” (1993) and as the unctuous owner of a mysterious estate in “The Woman in White” (1997).
The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.
Marshall Lancaster is a prolific British television actor who was born in Cheshire in 1974. He is best known for his performance in the series “Ashes to Ashes”. He also played the part of ‘Slug’in “Coronation Street”.
“Female First” interview in 2010:
by Helen Earnshaw |
Marshall Lancaster has enjoyed an acting career that has already spanned ten years with shows such as Clocking Off and Coronation Street under his belt.
But is his role as Chris Skelton for which he is most famous as Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes have become two of the most popular shows on TV in recent years.
But Ashes to Ashes came to an end earlier this year, out on DVD now, and I caught up with Marshall to talk about his time on the show.
– Ashes to Ashes is just out on DVD so for anyone who hasn’t seen the show what can we expect?
(Laughs) Basically the show ties up the mystery of what’s going on, what has happened to Alex Drake and also what happened to Sam Tyler in the previous series Life On Mars.
– No Chris was left in disgrace at the end of season two so how do we see him develop this time around?
Well I think that the fact that it was left like that has affected his relationships with Shaz because they have sort of had to split really, it’s never really explained why but I think it’s probably something to do with Chris being a Judas in the previous series. He was very lucky that he wasn’t taken away by Jim Keats.
– And what about his relationships with Gene, Alex, Ray and Shaz how do they develop or alter?
I think it sort of carries on in pretty much the same way, it’s not really mentioned what happened in the previous series, so it pretty much picks up where they left off Chris is still eager to please and he is still the dogsbody.
– But he does have a very interesting relationship with Gene this time around?
This whole point is in this coppers purgatory you have to redeem yourself, Chris died because he was shot after being given wrong orders and he didn’t trust is own instincts.
So the whole point is that Chris has to stand up to Gene in the seventh episode and that is what he does and that helps him move on and send him off to the pub.
– Season 3 gives us the answers we have all been looking for so when were you told about the ending and was it what you were expecting?
It wasn’t what I was expecting at all. We were all sat down at the beginning of the third series and we were told about how it all fits and what it was all about, we had all been used to the idea that it’s Alex Drake that’s in this coma but to find out that you are all in the same boat was quite funny really. I wish I had known about it earlier on because I could have played a coma moment of my own.
– Did you have any theories of your own?
No, no. I didn’t think that Alex Drake would wake up and it would be your typical ending I thought that there had to be more to it than that but I didn’t expect to go quite like that.
I thought of another option that was the whole thing was just a couple of seconds and she would wake up and the whole was just in the blink of an eye, but I never expected that.
– How satisfied were you with Chris’ fate?
I was satisfied until I got to the final line of the show, Chris’ final line of the show, Shaz says to Chris and Ray ‘You two should have got married’ and Chris’ final line is ‘well it’s legal in Holland actually’ so it looks like Chris turned out to be gay in the final line of the show (laughs).
– We first met Chris back in 2006 on Life On Mars so what was it that drew you to the project in the first place?
Well it was literally work, I didn’t know what it would be and how it would turn out I had just gone for an audition like any other, I didn’t realise that it was going to be what it was five years later.
– How surprised have you been by the success of Life On Mars?
It was 50/50 really because I had worked with both John (Simm) and Phil (Glenister) before and I knew that they were both great actors and that sort of thing so to see them involved in that you knew that it was going to be a good show.
But walking onto the CID set for the first time in Manchester it was just vast, it was brilliant to see this 1970’s CID with that concrete roof and it just looked brilliant.
Also half way through that they also showed us footage of what we had been filming and we got the idea that t was going to be good.
– The original show was all tied up after two series so why they suggested the spin-off what was your initial reaction?
I think I thought ‘how are they going to do this?’ I half wondered if it would be a success, how it would take off and how people would receive it.
But they cleverly worked Keeley into it and it was good that they choose a female copper rather than trying to replace John, I don’t think you could have replaced the character of Sam Tyler.
But I did just wonder but it was nice in a way because we had already set the ground rules and we could go further with it, it’s almost tongue in cheek when we are coming down the Thames in the speedboat, it’s almost like you can have just a little bit more fun with it.
– What were the relationships like on set, you have worked with Dean Andrews and Philip Glenister for five years now?
Yeah, yeah (laughs) I did a lot of work with Dean and Phil Glenister is an amazing actor and he great to work alongside. But yeah it was good, it was good.
– And how did Keeley and Montserrat shake up that dynamic?
It was good because they brought in the female influence really and it was quite amusing to have then involved in this man’s world that had been created.
– The police force at the time was a male dominated arena and many of the characters are quite sexist so what sort of research did you do into the time and the profession?
Originally we were sent information on what things were like at the time and how things worked in CID at the time.
There was a thing in the early series about stamping a rubber stamp on Keeley’s backside because she has come into CID and that sort of thing did go on it was taken from genuine stories of the atmosphere that women had to put up with, you would be done for sexual harassment nowadays.
So we learnt a lot about how coppers worked and watched lots of footage to see how they all hung around.
– Away from the show you are rehearsing for a new theatre show of The Railway Children so can you tell me a little bit about that?
Yeah it’s going on in Waterloo Station, I have already been in the show up in York, and I’m taking on the role of Perks the porter, which is played by Bernard Cribbins in the film; he has been down to see us.
The train has been shipped down from York and that is going to be pushed into the theatre space which is quite an amazing feat, especially for the ‘oh my daddy, my daddy’ moment.
It’s just a fabulous play and all the scenes go in and out of platforms so it’s really, really clever and just a beautiful piece of theatre and I’m looking forward to being in it.
– How great is it for you to go on to move into an entirely new project?
It’s a funny thing being an actor because your head is always right involved with whatever project you happen to be in at the time. I have always done things between Life On Mars and Ashes, luckily I have always found a bit of work in between, so it fells like I could be going back to do another series, obviously I’m not. But you just concentration straight onto the next project my focus is now on sweeping platforms and whistling trains in.
– You have appeared in a couple of theatre productions in recent years including Wuthering Heights and Up n’ Under so how does your stage work compare with TV?
TV needs plenty of energy but theatre you need lots of gusto and energy because you really have to play things out a lot more than when you are on TV, I think anyway (laughs) It compares in the fact that you have got to make more of the voice and you have got to be more physical but on the whole action is acting and you prepare and that sort of thing.
– Back to Ashes to Ashes how sad are you to see it end? But was it the right time to bring the show to a close?
I do think it was the right time because these shows can run and run and I think that there is only so much the public will probably accept, in the end I think that you would just get frustrated and want to know what is going on so I think if it had tried to go on or move to another era it would just have been too much.
– What the main memories that you will take away from working on the show, Montserrat Lombard said it was your dancing?
(laughs) yeah I think I probably scared her for life with that. I think it was those sorts of things like the speedboat moment are all really fond memories. But it was just having a laugh and working with some great people.
– Finally what’s next for you?
I have got one or two things in the pipeline, I’m not 100% sure, there is talk of me returning to Coronation Street, I have spoke to the producer about going back and it’s whether they get in touch again.
I would quite like to do that and I have one or two other things up my sleeve but for the next couple of months I have got to concentrate on being Mr Perks.
Ashes to Ashes Season 3 is out on DVD now.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Marshall Lancaster has enjoyed an acting career that has already spanned ten years with shows such as Clocking Off and Coronation Street under his belt.
