Contemporary Actors
Ed Stoppard was born in London in 1974. He is the son of playwright Tom Stoppard and physican Dr Miriam Stoppard. His films include “The Pianist” and “Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang”. He is currently starring in the hit television series “Upstairs Downstairs”.
Bill Duke was born in New York in 1943. He is known for his strong imposing persona on film. His movies include “Car Wash” in 1976, “American Gigolio” in 1980 and “Commando”.
IMDB entry:
Shaven headed, imposing looking African American actor, director, producer and writer who received his dramatic arts training at Boston University, New York University’s Tisch School of Arts and at the American Film Institute. Duke first broke into TV in the early eighties directing episodes of well known TV shows including Miami Vice (1984), Cagney & Lacey (1981) and Hill Street Blues (1981). Additionally he directed several made for TV movies that received wide critical acclaim including American Playhouse (1981) (The Killing Floor) and American Playhouse: A Raisin in the Sun (1989). Big Bill Duke’s face then became known to movie goers following his appearance in several high octane action movies of the mid 1980s including fighting (and losing) to Arnold Schwarzeneggerin Commando (1985), as unlucky mercenary “Mac”, in Predator (1987) and as Carl Weathers fiery police chief in Action Jackson (1988). After cutting his directorial teeth on the small screen, Duke directed his first feature film with the crime drama, A Rage in Harlem (1991). This was followed by another impressive crime film Deep Cover (1992), then the, The Cemetery Club (1993), and the comedy sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993). Duke has since continued to divide his time between appearing both in front of the camera and behind it, and remains a dynamic, stimulating and creative talent in Hollywood.
– IMDb Mini Biography By: firehouse44
The above IMDB entry can also be accessed online here.
Ben Price is currently appearing as Nick Tilsey in “Coronation Street”. He was born in 1974 in Newcastle-on-Tyne. He made his television debut in “Soldier,Soldier” in 1997. Other TV roles include in “Heartbeat”,”Peak Practice” and “Wire in the Blood”. Movies include “Blood Trials” in 2006.
IMDB entry:
Ben Price (born 1 January 1974) is a British actor, known for his roles in the British television series Footballers’ Wives (2002) and Casualty (1986) and several high-profile theatre roles. He co-starred in the horror film Blood Trails (2006), which won the audience award for best feature at the Dead by Dawn International Horror Film Festival 2006 in Edinburgh. He has starred in Casualty (1986) as “Corporate Director Nathan Spencer” between 2004 and 2007, and was recently voted one of the ten actors most likely to succeed in Hollywood by “Stage and Screen” magazine. In 2009, he is due to appear in Series 4 of The Tudors (2007). He now lives between Los Angeles and London
Kevin Doyle was born in 1961 in Scunthorpe. His TV debut was in 1984 in the series “Sharing Time”. His films include “The LIbertine” in 2004 and “Good”. He is currently starring in the very popular series “Downton Abbey”.
William Gaminara is best known for his role as Leo Dalton in the long running TV series “Silent Witness” on BBC. His films include “Comrades” in 1986 and “A Dark Adapted Eye”
“What’s On Stage” in 2014:
Actor William Gaminara, best known for playing Leo Dalton for more than a decade in Silent Witness, is currently starring in The Body of an American at the Gate Theatre, which runs until 8 February
1. Where and when were you born?
I was born in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia (Northern Rhodesia at the time) in 1956.
2. What made you want to become an actor?
Playing head sheep in the Nativity Play at Nursery School. I only had one word to say… ‘Bethlehem’… which I bleated repeatedly and got a (cheap) laugh.
3. If you hadn’t become an actor, what might you have done professionally?
I work as a writer as well so maybe I would have done that full time. I like the idea of being an investigative journalist, but I suspect the reality is a lot less glamorous than I imagine.
4. First big break?
Playing one of the Tolpuddle Martyrs in Bill Douglas’ film Comrades. It was my first proper screen work and I didn’t really know what I was doing but it was a wonderful adventure which taught me a lot.
5. Career highlights to date?
A brief scene with Vanessa Redgrave in the same film; in Silent Witness doing an autopsy on a dog whose tail would not stop wagging; speaking Cantonese in a production of Macbeth knowing that if I got the intonation wrong the whole meaning would alter – all highlights in their own ways.
6. Any regrets?
That we don’t have a multiplicity of lives so we can try out different ways of living.
7. What was the first thing you saw on stage that had a big impact on you?
Being taken to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre at the age of about eight. It wasn’t just the play but the magic of that venue on a hot summer’s night in the dark.
8. And the last?
It’s not often that the production, the performances and the writing all match each other in a show. Jerusalem managed it in spades.
9. Who are your acting idols?
On screen the usual suspects… De Niro, Brando, Harvey Keitel. On stage I don’t have any idols as such but I could name any number of British actors whom I admire enormously.
10. What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
When you sit down at a poker table, the first thing you do is look round and see if you can spot the patsy. If you can’t, then the patsy is you.
11. Why did you want to get involved in The Body of an American?
A variety of reasons; I spent a long time researching and writing a film about a War Correspondent some years ago so it felt like I was returning to a familiar and fascinating subject. It’s a challenging and unconventional script which makes challenging and unconventional demands of an actor. Like all good plays, it leaves as many questions unanswered as answered. And at its heart it has two complex and intriguing central characters with whom I could immediately identify.
12. How have you prepared for the role?
My character exists in real life so apart from his autobiography (from which a lot of the play is drawn), there is video footage of him available. Otherwise the usual careful scrutiny and exploration of the text. We have also had the benefit of a dialect coach for a variety of accents/voices. Our author Dan O’Brien was also with us for the first week and having spent a lot of time with my character (in real life) was of course able to fill in any gaps.
13. Favourite line in the show?
“I’m paraphrasing now of course, but what kind of an ass-jag uses the word ‘whilst’!”
14. What do you hope people take away from the show?
I hope they have a genuinely arresting and exciting theatrical experience, that they are engrossed in and intrigued by the relationship between these two men, and that if nothing else they leave with some greater understanding of what is involved in being a reporter working on the frontline in war scenarios.
15. What’s your favourite post-show hang out?
My bath.
16. Do you often get recognised from your TV work?
Often enough to realise what a pain it must be to be recognised more often.
17. How do you unwind?
I play in a band (guitar and blues harmonica) and I play table-tennis and poker. But not all at the same time. I have also been learning Cuban salsa for a year or two.
18. If you could swap places with anyone for a day, who would it be?
David Cameron, so I could hand in my resignation.
19. What’s your favourite theatre joke?
A: What’s the secret of comedy? B: Timing.
20. What’s next?
Uncertainty as ever.
Read our five star review of The Body of an American here
The Body of an American, which is co-produced by Royal & Derngate, Northampton, continues at the Gate until 14 February
The above “What’s On Stage” article can also be accessed online here.
Andrew Lincoln was born in 1973 in London. He made his television debut in 1994 in the series “Drop the Dead Donkey”. He starred with Tom Hardy in a television adaptation of “Wuthering Heights” as Edgar Linton. His movies include “Love Actually” in 2003 and “Heartbreaker”.
TCM overview:
Born Andrew James Clutterbuck in London, England on Sept. 14, 1973, Andrew Lincoln was one of two sons by his father, a civil engineer, and his mother, a nurse from South Africa. Raised in the cities of Hull, in the county of Yorkshire, and later Hull, in southwestern England, he was a self-admitted high-energy child whose exuberance attracted the attention of a teacher that placed him in a production of “Oliver Twist” at the age of 14. Acting soon became his passion, and after a summer at the National Youth Theatre, he put aside thoughts of becoming a veterinarian to focus on auditioning. He eventually gained entrance into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and paid its tuition by working a variety of jobs, including auto assembly worker at one of his father’s factories. During this period, he also assumed the professional surname of Lincoln.
His first screen appearance arrived with a 1994 episode of the newsroom sitcom, “Drop the Dead Donkey” (Channel 4, 1990-98), which was followed in short order by more television work and a feature debut in the gritty “Boston Kickout” (1995), about the lives of four young men in a dead-end English town. In 1996, he landed the role that brought him his first taste of stardom in his native country: “This Life” was a drama about five recent law graduates who shared a London house while exploring the highs and lows of adult life and careers. Lincoln played Edgar “Egg” Cook, whose lack of ambition created tension with his girlfriend (Amita Dhiri) and eventually forced him to abandon the legal profession. A modest hit in its first season, “This Life” blossomed into a huge success in its second network run, thrusting Lincoln and his castmates into the national spotlight with front page news coverage and wall-to-wall magazine features.
The success of “Life” led to steady work on UK television and in films, most notably the Welsh comedy “Human Traffic” (1999), which cast him as a clubgoer pining for the heady days of the early 1990s, and “Gangster No. 1” (2000) as a savage hitman working for Paul Bettany’s aspiring crime lord. In 2001, he returned to series work with “Teachers.” The sitcom, set in a British secondary school, starred Lincoln as a newly-minted English teacher whose laid-back approach to education clashed with his high-strung peers. Lincoln, who left the series in 2003 before its final season, also made his directorial debut with several episodes.
In 2003, Lincoln gained international exposure through the film “Love Actually.” The portmanteau romantic comedy, which featured such major stars as Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson and Laura Linney, included a story thread which followed lovelorn videographer Lincoln, who inadvertently reveals his feelings for Keira Knightley’s new bride while photographing her wedding to his best friend (Chiwetel Ejiofor). A sizable hit during the 2003 holiday season, it was soon followed by more work in British film, as well as Lincoln’s third television series, “Afterlife.” The supernatural drama cast him as a research academic grieving the loss of his son, and finding a possible means of easing his pain through a psychic (Lesley Sharp) who claimed she could see his son’s spirit. In turn, Lincoln helped Sharp overcome guilt and trauma caused by visitations by the ghost of her mother.
After a 2007 reunion with his “This Life” castmates in “This Life + 10” (BBC Wales), which examined the former housemates’ lives a decade after their time together, Lincoln settled into a string of prominent starring roles on UK TV series and in features. He was Edgar Linton, who vied for the hand of Catherine Earnshaw in a 2009 production of “Wuthering Heights” (ITV), then played Apollo 11 crew member Michael Collins in “Moon Shot” (ITV, 2009), a British take on the 1969 moon landing and its effect on history and its participants. That same year, he starred in “Strike Back” (Sky One, 2010- ), an action-drama about two former special operations soldiers (Lincoln and Richard Armitage) who united during a botched raid in Iraq and later served together on several high stakes rescue missions. There was also a brief stint in America with a starring role in a pilot for a 2008 legal drama produced by Barry Sonnenfeld, but the project never came to fruition.
In 2010, Lincoln was cast as the lead in “The Walking Dead.” The ambitious horror-drama, based on a popular comic book series, followed the survivors of a worldwide plague that turned its victims into flesh-eating zombies. Lincoln adopted an impressive American accent to play the show’s hero, Georgia sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes, who attempted to lead a band of humans to safety as civilization crumbled around them. A massive ratings hit during its first season, the show was greenlit for a sophomore season that same year.
The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.
Con O’Neill
Con O’Neill
Con O’Nell was born in Weston-Supermare in Sumerset. He has many fine stage performances to his credit. He won wide acclaim for both his stage and film roles as Joe Meek in “Telstar” in 2008.
IMDB entry:
Con O’Neill was born in 1966 in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, England. He is an actor, known for Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008), Bedrooms and Hallways (1998) and The Last Seduction II (1999). He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1989 (1988 season) for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in Blood Brothers. Was nominated for Broadway’s 1993 Tony Award as Best Actor (Musical) for “Blood Brothers.” Born in England to parents from Dundalk in Ireland,he started acting at the Everyman Youth Theater in Liverpool, meeting Willy Russell, hence the ‘Blood Brothers’ connection. Appearing in “Telstar” at the New Ambassadors Theatre, London [July 2005]
Craig Gazey was born in 1982 in Manchester. He is best known for his portryal of window-cleaner Graeme Proctor in “Coronation Street”. He left the series in 2011 to concentrate on the theatre.
Interview in “RTE10”:
RTÉ Ten chats to the former Coronation Street star about the stage version ofThe Full Monty, which runs at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre from April 8 – 13.
In 1997, a BAFTA award winning film about six out of work Sheffield steelworkers with nothing to lose, took the world by storm. And now they’re back, live on stage.
The film’s writer, Simon Beaufoy, has since won an Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, has now gone back to where it all started to rediscover the men, the women, the heartache and the hilarity of a city on the dole.
Featuring songs from the film by Donna Summer, Hot Chocolate and Tom Jones, The Full Monty is brought to the stage by award winning director Daniel Evans and stars Sidney Cole, Kenny Doughty, Craig Gazey, Roger Morlidge, Kieran O’Brien, and Simon Rouse.
RTÉ Ten caught up with actor Craig Gazey, who plays Lumper, and you might also remember from Coronation Street on which he played the loveable Graham Proctor.
RTÉ Ten: How similar to the movie is The Full Monty the play?
Craig: There are lots of moments that are like the film, but I think it is different in a certain way as I would say it is a bit more political, than the film was. We meet the characters but we are obviously different actors to the original ones so we do it in our way! I haven’t seen the film for about 10 years and I did love it when I saw it, but I thought it was really important not to see it when I was auditioning and when I got the script, because there are a lot of things different with my character.
Steve Huison played the part of Lumper in the movie, who you are now playing, and you worked with him on Coronation Street – did you ask him for any advice?
No I didn’t. I remember he was great in it, but in the film he has a beautiful dead-pan way. He doesn’t really say anything and you can do that, but on a stage when there are hundreds of people watching you, you can’t really get away with that. I just saw it as a new entity really.
Tell us a bit about your Lumper then?
Well, we meet Lumper in the factory, which is different to the film and he attempts suicide, and gets saved by the Dave and Gaz. He then has these new friends, which is all he really wanted. Simon [Beaufoy] has really developed Lumper since I got the part, he has written it so that he becomes empowered by his new friendships and being part of a group which he never had. He has always been a bit of a loner. His life just gets better and better.
Did you get a chance to work directly with Simon Beaufoy on the script?
Yes, he was an integral part of the rehearsal process and we were doing rewrites through the previews as well. He is the most lovely, humble guy and this is his first play. I couldn’t believe how excited he was to work with theatre actors. He told us it is one of the most difficult things he has done. What has been great is that none of the reviews has belittle it. Yes it is about fun, and yes we do strip, but like the film, it is about these guys that have lost their way and for 5 minutes of their lives become empowered and I think that comes across in the play. We certainly feel it and the audience seem to.
Director Daniel Evans said that in rehearsal some of the cast where more up for the stripping than others – which side of that fence did you sit on?
Well this is the fourth play that I have had to strip in so I was completely fine with it! When we started we had one week of just the six of us with our choreographer and on the second day of that week we had what now can only be described as naked Tuesday, we walked from one side of the room to the other with our clothes off. It was just great because we weren’t giggly about it, everyone was so supportive. All the other people in the show, they all sit at the side of the wings and it’s just a thing that we don’t really talk about, it just happens!
Are you looking forward to your Dublin dates?
Yes very much so – I’ve been to Dublin a couple of times and I love it. I run for Leukaemia Lymphoma Research and we came over and did a 10k run with Sonia O’Sullivan. But I have never been there for long enough, so hoping to get out and about this time.
The poster for the show says ‘Prior to the West End’ – are you hoping to be part of the cast if it makes it there?
Well, we don’t like to jinx it. Hopefully we will get there – but we don’t really talk about it. We are doing our job by performing so we will just have to wait and see what happens with that.
We haven’t seen you on the telly since you left Corrie, what have you been up to?
Yeah, I haven’t done any TV work, not for any particular reason except that the projects I wanted to do happened to be in the theatre. I would like to go back to it at some stage, not necessarily Coronation Street, maybe that could be something down the road.
What about Hollywood – do you have dreams of the big screen?
I’d love to do some films, especially here in England, but our industry isn’t thriving at the minute. I’ve been trying my hand at writing and I have a short film I want to make in the summer so I will see how I get with that.
The above “RTE Ten” interview can also be accessed online here.
Reece Dinsdale was born in 1959 in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. In 1984 he scored on television in the play “Winter Flight”. He was also featrued that year in the film “A Private Function” with Michael Palin and Maggie Smith. He was then cast as John Thaw’s son in the series “Home to Roost”. In 1994 he won many critical plaudits for his leading role in the film “I.D”. a drama about football violence. Recently he was Joe McIntyre in “Coronation Street”. He is married to actress Zara Turner.
IMDB entry:
Dinsdale was born in Normanton West Yorkshire, England in 1959. He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in the late seventies and early eighties. This eventually led to him being cast as Albert in the Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime(1983) series, making his first appearance in the episode The Secret Adversary (1983) in 1982. He continued in that role for two years. In 1984 director Mick Jackson writer Barry Hines cast him in their powerful nuclear war docudrama Threads (1984), as Jimmy Kemp, a soon to be father and husband to Karen Meagher‘s Ruth Beckett, who is killed when a nuclear bomb explodes over Sheffield, England. Interestingly that same year Dinsdale also starred in the Cold War drama Winter Flight (1984), in which he played a shy, introverted RAF man who falls in love with a feisty barmaid. Also in 1984 Dinsdale appeared in his first feature, the Maggie Smith comedy, A Private Function (1984). His largest role to date, however, came in 1985 as Matthew Willows when he co-starred withJohn Thaw in the British sitcom Home to Roost (1985). Dinsdale played Thaws unruly teen-aged son Matthew who comes to live with his estranged father after his mother put him out of the house. The core of the shows comedy came from constant clashing between Henry Willows (Thaw’s character), who resented his son for imposing on his bachelor solitude, and Matthew adolescent antics which clashed with his father’s conservatism. The show ran for five series between 1985 and 1990.
Dinsdale co-starred in many other British television shows and mini series in the nineties. From 1990-1992 he co-starred in Haggard (1990), a comedy set in the late 1700s. In 1995 he starred in the mini-series Bliss (1995), and more recently he has co-starred in the British series Born and Bred (2002), The Chase (2006), and Dalziel and Pascoe (1996). Film roles have included 1995’s _ID_, 1996’s _Hamlet_, in which he played Guilderstern alongside Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet, and 1998’s _So This Is Romance_.
Privately Dinsdale resides with his wife, British actress Zara Turner, in Yorkshire, England. The couple have two children, a daughter Elwy, and a son Luca. Dinsdale is also a great supporter of Huddersfield Town Football Club. He presented the video ‘Beyond the Touchline’ that went behind the scenes at Huddersfield’s former Leeds Road ground.
– IMDb Mini Biography By: garryq after Anon
The above IMDB entry can also be accessed online here.
Anyone who knows me are aware that I am a bit of a movie buff. Over the past few years I have been collecting signed photographs of my favourite actors. Since I like movies so much there are many actors whose work I like.