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1-50 of 54
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Described by top film critic Mark Kermode as an "unbelievably versatile" actor, Jamie Bell was born in 1986 in Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK, to Eileen (Matfin) and John Bell, a toolmaker. He comes from a family of dancers including his grandmother, mother, aunt, and sister. It was at his sister's dance practices that he would stand outside the door and imitate the movements of the dancers inside. At age six, he was encouraged to step inside the door and, thus, his dance career began. His own story parallels that of Billy Elliot (2000) in that Jamie kept his dancing a secret from his friends at school. His mother had him when she was 16 and, unfortunately, he never knew his father.
When he met Stephen Daldry, director of Billy Elliot (2000), Jamie adopted him as his father. Once the word about his dancing got out, he was harassed, but this only made him more determined to prove that dancing wasn't just for girls. He has proven a lot by landing the title role of Billy Elliot (2000), winning the role in an audition that included more than 2,000 boys from the northeast of England. His ensuing performance certainly justified the selection since he has not only won the hearts of moviegoers all over the world, he has also been nominated for and won a number of awards, including a Best Newcomer Award and then a Best Male Performance at the BAFTA awards.- Actor
- Composer
- Additional Crew
Jeremy Swift is an English actor born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham in 1960, who has most recently been seen in 'Mary Poppins Returns' directed by Rob Marshall for Disney. Jeremy has also worked with legendary film directors such as Roman Polanski (Oliver Twist), Robert Altman (Gosford Park) and The Wachowski Siblings (Jupiter Ascending). His professional career began touring a revue show to prisons and borstals and throughout his 20's Jeremy worked mainly in theatre including The National Theatre (What The Butler Saw) and the West End (Abigail's Party). Jeremy moved more into television in his 30's with roles in Vanity Fair and cult show The Smoking Room (BBC) then in his 40's into major feature films such as Gosford Park, Amazing Grace, Oliver Twist, Fred Claus and Jupiter Ascending. He is known internationally for his role in Downton Abbey, in which he played Mr. Spratt (Maggie Smiths butler) and Foyle's War, in which he played Glenvil Harris. Jeremy is married to the actress Mary Roscoe. (q v )They have 2 children and live in London.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Daniel Casey was born on 1 June 1972 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Midsomer Murders (1997), Marchlands (2011) and Hex (2004). He has been married to Ellie since October 2005. They have two children.- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
Stephen Tompkinson was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham in October 1965. His grandad (who Stephen describes as "a comic genius") inspired him to take up acting and he attended the Central Drama School, which he left at the age of 23. He has rarely been out of work since and has worked on the stage, on radio, television and, on the big screen, notably in the movie Brassed Off (1996), for which he has gained many excellent reviews. His TV roles have included a psychopathic poisoner (A Very Open Prison (1995)), a psycho TV reporter (Drop the Dead Donkey (1990)), a yuppie (Downwardly Mobile (1994)), a priest (Ballykissangel (1996)), a veterinarian (Wild at Heart (2006)) and a detective inspector (DCI Banks (2010)). Stephen has also played "Demetruis" in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for Radio 4. He is also a keen charity cricket player and once scored two more runs than Brian Lara, when they played on the same team. In 1994, he won a Best Comedy Actor award for his role as "Damien Day" in Drop the Dead Donkey (1990). In the future, he plans a trip to Australia (to do a report for the Holiday programme) before he begins filming a new series of Ballykissangel (1996) in March 1997.- Mark Stobbart was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. He is known for Line of Duty (2012), The Devil Outside (2018) and The Silence (2010).
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Elizabeth Estensen was born on 10 August 1949 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Emmerdale Farm (1972), T.Bag's Christmas Cracker (1988) and T.Bag's Christmas Carol (1989). She has been married to Philip Allen since May 1983. They have one child.- Actor
- Writer
Bodhrán Mullan was born on 1 April 1999 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for The Lounge (2019), Once Upon a Time in Frickley and Hope Street (2020).- Actress
- Producer
Born in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, in the North-east of England, Marlene Sidaway originally trained as an adding-machine operator when she left school, but in 1961 she left for London to join a childrens' theatre group and studied acting at the East 15 acting school. Although she has been a familiar character player on television since the 1970s she is also the secretary of the International Brigade Society, commemorating the volunteers who enlisted to fight Fascism in the Spanish Civil War, Marlene's much older partner, David Marshall, having been a member of the Brigade. They lived together from 1990 until his death in 2005.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Mike grew up in a working-class family in Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire on the North East coast. A versatile character actor with an extensive body of work across both stage and screen. He studied Meisner technique under the tuition of Eva Pope, as well as attending Anthony Meindl's Actors Workshop, Drama Studio London and Redroof's Film and Television School.
On screen he has appeared in "The Genius of Turner" for the BBC; Series 2 of American crime docudrama "Suspicion" by the award winning October Films; the multi award-winning short film "Falsified" (Taba Productions); "Easy Virtue" for Ealing Studios and the Oscar-winning "The Kings Speech".
Mike is also Creative Director for Old Lamp, the award nominated production company he set up with British / Portuguese actress Luisa Guerreiro. In 2015, the company released "The Journey of Alfred Small" which picked up award nominations for 'Best Ensemble Cast'. Following this, the company then produced a live immersive production of "The Crystal Egg Live" to critical praise and a sell out run.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Franc was born in Norton, near Stockton on Tees and on leaving St John's School at Billingham he went to work at Smith's Dock in Middlesbrough but soon gained a scholarship to the London Film School. From there he moved into the film side of tv commercials and freelancing and his productions of The Fight, a BBC documentary about the preparation for the Bugner -Frazer fight. Television productions such as Auf Wiedersehen Pet brought more acclaim and Quadrophenia, his first feature film achieved cult status in Amereica. This success led 20th Century Fox to offer him a three picture deal that brought a four year stay in Beverley Hills. The mid 1980's saw completion of a 14 million dollar blockbuster The Bride loosely based on May Shelley's Frankenstein tale starring Sting and Jennifer Beals. Since then Franc has maintained his run of successes with both film and television productions.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
James Gaddas was born on 17 June 1960 in Ragworth, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Starter for 10 (2006), Bad Girls (1999) and Jonathan Creek (1997).- Actor
- Writer
- Director
William Thompson Hay was probably one of the most versatile of entertainers. He was not only a character comedian of the first rank, but was also an astronomer of high repute - he discovered the spot on the planet Saturn in 1933 - and a fully qualified air pilot; he was once an engineer. Born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham in 1888, he became interested in astronomy at school and carried on his research work in this direction after he had finished his nightly stage entertainments. He was first "on the air" in 1922 and his then comedy sketches of "St. Michaels School" (of which he was the headmaster) proved to be one of the most popular comedy characters on radio at that time. This character was transferred to film and became equally successful. He worked at Elstree Studios, then Gainsborough, then Ealing; the Gainsborough period was the most consistently successfully, particularly when he worked with the team of Marcel Varnel (director), Val Guest and Marriott Edgar (writers), and Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt (supporting cast). By the time he made his first film, he was in his mid forties and his last role came less than a decade later. Between 1934 and 1943, he was a prolific and popular film comedian. He was credited on several films as a writer or co-ordinator, and was arguably the dominant 'author' of all the films in which he appeared, in that they were built around his persona and depended on the character and routines he had developed over years on the stage.- Elliott Francis was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Splatalot (2011) and Little Dorrit (2008).
- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Lesley Duncan was born on 12 August 1943 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. She was an actress, known for What a Crazy World (1963), Margot at the Wedding (2007) and Friends (1971). She was married to Anthony S. R. Cox and Jimmy Horowitz. She died on 12 March 2010 in Salen, Isle of Mull, Scotland, UK.- Camera and Electrical Department
- Additional Crew
Ian Fergusson was born in the Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England but spent much of his younger years living abroad including in Japan, Southern Africa and California. His final school years were spent in Hertfordshire, England and Edinburgh, Scotland.
Ian Fergusson is a BBC weather presenter in the West of England, appearing on the regional news programme 'Points West', especially breakfast bulletins. Previously he worked as a cameraman based at BBC Bristol (where he was awarded by the Royal Television Society). Arguably, he is best-known to the wider public through his TV documentary work on sharks.
Fergusson's interests in sharks began as a child in South Africa in the mid 1970s. He went on to gain chartered status as a biologist and his research and conservation work in the past decade has mainly focused on sharks inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea. He has authored a number of scientific papers on the biology of great white sharks and other species, including preparing sections of the well-known 'Red List' of threatened species prepared by IUCN: The World Conservation Union.
His credentials as a shark conservationist include helping establish the Shark Trust, a UK-based wildlife charity, in 1997. Fergusson is now a patron of the Trust and also serves as a member of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group.
Although much of his TV work with the BBC has been behind the scenes as a cameraman, his TV appearances have spanned over a decade including presenting Channel 4's Equinox: 'Jaws in the Med' in 1995. Since then, he has been a regular contributor in television portrayals of sharks, including appearances on various BBC and ITV documentaries; children's programmes including the BBC's Blue Peter and Live & Kicking; and even fending-off Jeremy Paxman as a guest on BBC Two's current affairs series, Newsnight.
He was awarded by the Royal Television Society for his camera-work in 2007 and given Freedom of the City of London in 1997. Fergusson will appear as guest presenter in the first of a major new BBC TWO series of science-adventure documentaries,'Oceans', which will be shown in Autumn 2008.- Chris Williamson is a British podcaster, model, club promoter and TV celebrity. He became known to the British public through being a contestant on the first season of Love Island (2015). He created the podcast, Modern Wisdom (2018), which as of 2022 has obtained over 62 million views on youtube alone. Modern Wisdom has discussions with scientists, professionals and public figures on a range of issues like dating, fitness, psychology, mental determination, science, etc.
- Actor
- Music Department
While Paul was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham near Middlesbrough, his early years were spent traveling the world due to his father being a chief technician in the R.A.F. but they always came back to Stockton. His final school was St. Mary's College in Middlesbrough and when he left he spent a year working as a clerk for a haulage contractor. At that time acting hadn't entered his mind as he wanted to be a singer and dreamt of being the new Frank Sinatra. A friend was studying acting at the Guildhall School of Speech and Drama and encouraged Paul to apply. Armed with speeches from 'King Lear', which he'd studied at school, he applied but was turned down. He took acting lessons from a Stockton teacher friend who took him through some pieces then he re applied and was accepted. One of his earliest acting jobs was as a photographer in 'Coronation Street' then a part in 'Crossroads' where he met and married Diane Keen and later divorced. They had a daughter Melissa, In 1975 who's a theatrical agent. He became well known playing the title role in the TV series 'The Growing Pains of PC Penrose' and the follow up series 'Rosie'. Now married to actress Claire Neilson he's stepfather to her daughter Peggy. who's a script editor. His most enjoyable role was the smallest, that of Master Stephen in Ben Johnson's Every Man In His Humour. He has a third daughter Rosie- Additional Crew
- Actor
- Writer
Ben Pratt was born on 18 May 1990 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for The Secret Eye (2013) and Leeza (1994).- Ivy Close began a dynasty that has now covered four generations of the history of Cinema and Television. She married the photographer Elwin Neame (1885-1923) and reared two sons Ronald Neame (1911-2010), a successful cinematographer, screenwriter, producer and director and Derek Neame (1915-1979), an author who scripted several films. Her grandson Christopher Neame (1942- ) and her great-grandson Gareth Neame (1967- ) have become successful producers. Her second husband was the Australian-born make-up artist and former stuntman Curly Batson, who died in 1957.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Tim Burstall was born on 20 April 1927 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for Stork (1971), End Play (1976) and Libido (1973). He was married to Neela Dey and Betty Rogers. He died on 19 April 2004 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.- Frank Jarvis was born on 13 May 1941 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Italian Job (1969), A Bridge Too Far (1977) and Secret Army (1977). He was married to Christine Muphy. He died on 15 September 2010 in London, England, UK.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Dean Stobbart was born on 25 March 1980 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor and director, known for 442oons (2013), Killing Time (2004) and Where the Heart Is (1997).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Maurice Elvey was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, the oldest son of William Clarence Folkard, an inspecting engineer, and Sarah Anna Seward Folkard (formerly Pearce). He never had a formal education, and was working on the streets of London by the age of nine after having run away from home. For a time he worked as a page boy in the Hyde Park Hotel, and a lucky encounter with a wealthy American set him on the road to a career in first the theatre and then in films. It was while in New York when working as a stage producer that he saw his first film, The Flying Dutchman (1923). This made such an impression on him that when he came back to England he was determined to produce and direct films; thus began a career spanning 44 years, during which time he made over 300 feature films and innumerable shorts. Amongst the "firsts" that Maurice Elvey can claim as a director are: Gaumont's first talking film (High Treason (1929)) and the first British colour film Sons of the Sea (1939)). Carol Reed and David Lean began their distinguished careers in film by working for him, and he directed Gracie Fields in her first movie, Sally in Our Alley (1931). Maurice Elvey was the older brother of Fred V. Merrick, and during the 1920s and 1930s they worked on a number of films together. In May 1996 the world premiere of a long-lost film about David Lloyd George, directed by Elvey, took place in Cardiff more than 70 years later than scheduled. The three-hour film was suppressed on the eve of its release under circumstances that have still not been fully explained. The film was acclaimed by cinema historians as a milestone in film making, and it is believed that had it been released in 1918, as originally planned, it may well have changed the course of British cinema.
Maurice Elvey was married three times. His first marriage took place on 31st December 1910 to Adeline Maud Charlton Preston (aka actress 'Philippa Preston'. This marriage ended in divorce. He then married Florence Hill Clarke (a sculptor) on 2nd February 1916. This marriage, too, ended in divorce. On 13th January 1923 he married Isabella Reed (aka actress Isobel Elsom), but this marriage also ended in divorce. As Elvey's niece and god-daughter I was privileged to unveil a plaque in April 1997 at the Green Dragon Museum, Stockton-on-Tees as part of the Centenary of Cinema Celebrations.- Brogan West was born on 10 July 1984 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Nuryan (2009), The Sweet Shop (2013) and Roanoke: The Lost Colony (2007).
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
John Baker was born in Stockton-On-Tees, County Durham in the North East of England. He lived in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, for several years, and later moved to London to study acting and directing at The University of East London and The Media Production Centre. In 2002 John moved to Florida, USA.