.gif)
Gary Lewis (actor)
Encyclopedia
Gary Lewis is a Scottish actor. He has had parts in Billy Elliot
, Gangs of New York
, Eragon
and Three and Out
, as well as a major role in the television docudrama
, Supervolcano
.
area of Glasgow, Lewis has described in interviews the dichotomy of his upbringing: his parents stressed the value of education, yet his formal studies were left wanting. When he left school, he lacked a sense of purpose, taking a job as a road-sweeper to earn a living. Later, Lewis found employment in the local library. Encouraged by his brother, an English teacher at a Glasgow secondary school (Stonelaw High School), he read voraciously and thought about pursuing a career as an actor.
's newly formed Raindog Theatre. His career received a boost when he was befriended by actor-director Peter Mullan
whom he met at a socialist lecture.
(1994). Lewis went on to act in Mullan's subsequent shorts Good Day for the Bad Guys (1995) and the award-winning Fridge (1996).
Lewis joined director Kenneth Loach's unofficial stock company lending support to his two mentors in separate films: with Carlyle, he co-starred in Carla's Song (1996), while he played a recovering alcoholic alongside Mullan in My Name Is Joe (1998). In between, Mullan cast him as the over-righteous, somewhat dimwitted elder sibling Thomas in Orphans (1997), an examination of a dysfunctional family
. He went on to co-star with Max Beesley
in The Match (1999; released on video in USA in 2001) before landing his international breakthrough part as the father of a young boy who wants to become a ballet dancer in Billy Elliot
(2000). Lewis delivered a multi-layered turn as a man coping with grief over the death of his wife, a violent strike that threatens his livelihood and the struggles of raising two sons. The actor rounded out his banner year teaming with Irish actor Sean McGinley
in What Where, a 12-minute short film of Samuel Beckett's play, and supporting Michael Caine as a boxing coach who may or may not have been involved in a murder in Shiner (screened at the San Sebastian Film Festival).
In 2008, Lewis starred in the film Ecstasy based on The Undefeated from Irvine Welsh
's best-selling novel Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance
.
Lewis starred in British comedy Three and Out
released on 25 April 2008.
and Prime Suspect, series 7.
In 2010 Lewis appeared as Adam Ingram
in the Channel 4
drama Mo
a biopic of former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Mo Mowlam
, a role that saw him nominated for a BAFTA Television Award
in the category of Best Supporting Actor
.
In 2011 Lewis appeared in episode five of new BBC drama Outcasts playing Patrick Baxter. He also appeared as the enigmatic wizard Alator in episode seven of the fourth season of BBC fantasy drama Merlin
.
s in which Lewis has appeared:
Billy Elliot
Billy Elliot is a 2000 British drama film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Set in the fictional town of "Everington" in the real County Durham, UK, it stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, an aspiring dancer, Gary Lewis as his coal miner father, Jamie Draven as Billy's older...
, Gangs of New York
Gangs of New York
Gangs of New York is a 2002 historical film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. The film was inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 nonfiction book, The Gangs of New...
, Eragon
Eragon (film)
Eragon is a 2006 fantasy-adventure film based on the novel of the same name by author Christopher Paolini. The cast includes Edward Speleers in the title role, Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Alun Armstrong, Joss Stone, and the voice...
and Three and Out
Three and Out
Three And Out is a 2008 British comedy film directed by Jonathan Gershfield. It premiered in London on the 21 April 2008 and was released in the UK and Ireland on 25 April 2008.-Plot:...
, as well as a major role in the television docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
, Supervolcano
Supervolcano (docudrama)
Supervolcano is a science docufiction disaster television film that originally aired on 13 March 2005 on BBC One, and released by the BBC on 10 April 2005 on the Discovery Channel. It is centered on the speculated and potential eruption of the volcanic caldera of Yellowstone National Park. Its...
.
Early life
Born and raised in the tough EasterhouseEasterhouse
Easterhouse is a suburb about east of Glasgow city centre, Scotland. It was partially built on land gained from the county of Lanarkshire as part of a boundary expansion of Glasgow before the Second World War. Building began in the mid-1950s by the then local authority, Glasgow Corporation...
area of Glasgow, Lewis has described in interviews the dichotomy of his upbringing: his parents stressed the value of education, yet his formal studies were left wanting. When he left school, he lacked a sense of purpose, taking a job as a road-sweeper to earn a living. Later, Lewis found employment in the local library. Encouraged by his brother, an English teacher at a Glasgow secondary school (Stonelaw High School), he read voraciously and thought about pursuing a career as an actor.
Theatre
Although he had pursued amateur theatrics, Lewis was 32 when he committed to acting, joining Robert CarlyleRobert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish film and television actor. He is known for a variety of roles including those in Trainspotting, Hamish Macbeth, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, Angela's Ashes, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later...
's newly formed Raindog Theatre. His career received a boost when he was befriended by actor-director Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan is a Scottish actor and film-maker who has been appearing in films since 1990.-Early life:Mullan, the sixth of eight children, was born in Peterhead in the northeast of Scotland, the son of Patricia, a nurse, and Charles Mullan, a lab technician who worked at Glasgow University. He...
whom he met at a socialist lecture.
Film
Mullan hired Lewis for a role in the short Close which began filming in 1991 but took some three years to complete. By that time, both actors had appeared in Shallow GraveShallow Grave
-Track listing:# Leftfield – "Shallow Grave" – 4:38# Simon Boswell – "Shallow Grave Theme" – 3:30# Nina Simone – "My Baby Just Cares for Me" – 3:38# Simon Boswell – "Laugh Riot" – 3:02# Leftfield – "Release the Dubs" – 5:45...
(1994). Lewis went on to act in Mullan's subsequent shorts Good Day for the Bad Guys (1995) and the award-winning Fridge (1996).
Lewis joined director Kenneth Loach's unofficial stock company lending support to his two mentors in separate films: with Carlyle, he co-starred in Carla's Song (1996), while he played a recovering alcoholic alongside Mullan in My Name Is Joe (1998). In between, Mullan cast him as the over-righteous, somewhat dimwitted elder sibling Thomas in Orphans (1997), an examination of a dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
. He went on to co-star with Max Beesley
Max Beesley
Maxton Gig Beesley Jr. , known simply as Max Beesley, is an English actor and musician.Beesley rose to fame for his role of Andy Simpson in Every Woman, Every Man from 1993 to 1998, and has since appeared in a variety of television shows including Bodies, Hotel Babylon, London Ink, Survivors and...
in The Match (1999; released on video in USA in 2001) before landing his international breakthrough part as the father of a young boy who wants to become a ballet dancer in Billy Elliot
Billy Elliot
Billy Elliot is a 2000 British drama film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Set in the fictional town of "Everington" in the real County Durham, UK, it stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, an aspiring dancer, Gary Lewis as his coal miner father, Jamie Draven as Billy's older...
(2000). Lewis delivered a multi-layered turn as a man coping with grief over the death of his wife, a violent strike that threatens his livelihood and the struggles of raising two sons. The actor rounded out his banner year teaming with Irish actor Sean McGinley
Seán McGinley
Seán McGinley is an Irish film and television actor.-Early life:McGinley was born in Pettigo, County Donegal, Ireland where his father was a customs officer, and raised in nearby Ballyshannon...
in What Where, a 12-minute short film of Samuel Beckett's play, and supporting Michael Caine as a boxing coach who may or may not have been involved in a murder in Shiner (screened at the San Sebastian Film Festival).
In 2008, Lewis starred in the film Ecstasy based on The Undefeated from Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh is a contemporary Scottish novelist, best known for his novel Trainspotting. His work is characterised by raw Scottish dialect, and brutal depiction of the realities of Edinburgh life...
's best-selling novel Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance
Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance
Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance is a collection of three novellas by Irvine Welsh.-Lorraine Goes To Livingston:After suffering a stroke, Rebecca Navarro, a best-selling romance novelist, discovers the truth about her corrupt, pornography-loving husband...
.
Lewis starred in British comedy Three and Out
Three and Out
Three And Out is a 2008 British comedy film directed by Jonathan Gershfield. It premiered in London on the 21 April 2008 and was released in the UK and Ireland on 25 April 2008.-Plot:...
released on 25 April 2008.
Television
Lewis has appeared in the Scottish comedy Rab C Nesbitt and the criminal drama shows TaggartTaggart
Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
and Prime Suspect, series 7.
In 2010 Lewis appeared as Adam Ingram
Adam Ingram (Labour politician)
Adam Paterson Ingram is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow from 1987 to 2010.-Early life:...
in the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
drama Mo
Mo (film)
Mo is a 2010 TV film about the later life and career of the British Labour Party politician Mo Mowlam, written by Neil McKay and directed by Philip Martin.-Synopsis:...
a biopic of former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
Mo Mowlam
Mo Mowlam
Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam was a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament for Redcar from 1987 to 2001 and served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.Mowlam's time as Northern...
, a role that saw him nominated for a BAFTA Television Award
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
in the category of Best Supporting Actor
British Academy Television Awards 2010
The 2010 British Academy Television Awards were held on 6 June 2010. The nominations were announced on 10 May.This year new awards were added including the award for Best Actor/Actress in a Supporting Role. Graham Norton hosted the ceremony...
.
In 2011 Lewis appeared in episode five of new BBC drama Outcasts playing Patrick Baxter. He also appeared as the enigmatic wizard Alator in episode seven of the fourth season of BBC fantasy drama Merlin
Merlin (TV series)
Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 September 2008. The show is based on the Arthurian legends of the wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur but differs from...
.
Filmography
What follows is a selected list of motion pictureFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s in which Lewis has appeared:
- Shallow GraveShallow Grave-Track listing:# Leftfield – "Shallow Grave" – 4:38# Simon Boswell – "Shallow Grave Theme" – 3:30# Nina Simone – "My Baby Just Cares for Me" – 3:38# Simon Boswell – "Laugh Riot" – 3:02# Leftfield – "Release the Dubs" – 5:45...
19941994 in film1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
(visitor) - Orphans 19971997 in film-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
(Thomas)- Won Best Actor, Gijón International Film FestivalGijón International Film FestivalGijón International Film Festival was created in 1963. It was born as an initiative of the local authority and it was sponsored mainly by Gijón City Council and the then Caja de Ahorros de Asturias ; both institutions are still the main organisers of the festival, along with funding from the...
- Won Best Actor, Gijón International Film Festival
- My Name Is JoeMy Name Is JoeMy Name Is Joe is a 1998 Scottish film directed by Ken Loach. The film stars Peter Mullan as Joe Kavanagh, an unemployed recovering alcoholic in Glasgow who meets and falls in love with a health visitor. David McKay plays his troubled friend Liam...
, 19981998 in film-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
(Shanks) - One Life StandOne Life StandOne Life Stand is the fourth studio album by English electronic band Hot Chip, released digitally on 1 February 2010. The physical album was released in the United Kingdom on 1 February 2010 by Parlophone and in the United States the following week on 9 February 2010 by Astralwerks...
, 20002000 in filmThe year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
(Jackie) - Rob of the Rovers, 20002000 in filmThe year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
(Rob) - What WhereWhat WhereWhat Where is Samuel Beckett's last play produced following a request for a new work for the 1983 Autumn Festival in Graz, Austria. It was written between February and March 1983 initially in French as Quoi où and translated by Beckett himself....
2000 (Bom/Bim/Bem) - Billy ElliotBilly ElliotBilly Elliot is a 2000 British drama film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Set in the fictional town of "Everington" in the real County Durham, UK, it stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, an aspiring dancer, Gary Lewis as his coal miner father, Jamie Draven as Billy's older...
, 2000 (Jackie Elliot)- Won Best Actor, Flaiano Film FestivalFlaiano Film FestivalThe Flaiano Film Festival is one of Italy International Film Festivals. It involves a lot because the city is conducted through a survey that takes about one month , with the presentation of films in competition and out of competition, allowing the participation of thousands of spectators...
- Won Best Actor, Flaiano Film Festival
- The Escapist, 20012001 in filmThe year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
(Ron) - Gangs of New YorkGangs of New YorkGangs of New York is a 2002 historical film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. The film was inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 nonfiction book, The Gangs of New...
, 20022002 in filmThe year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
(McGloin) - Pure, 20022002 in filmThe year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
(French) - Solid AirSolid AirSolid Air is a folk jazz album released in 1973 by John Martyn on Island Records.Contemporary reviews were favourable with music paper Sounds declaring that Solid Air flows beautifully and shows the entire spectrum of music that John Martyn has at his fingertips." The album has continued to...
, 20032003 in filmThe year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...
(John Doran) - BoudicaBoudica (film)Boudica is a British film released in 2003. Starring Alex Kingston, Steven Waddington and Emily Blunt, the film is a biopic of the queen of the Iceni tribe, Boudica.- Production :...
(Magior the Shaman) - Ae Fond Kiss...Ae Fond Kiss...Ae Fond Kiss... is a 2004 romantic drama film directed by Ken Loach, and starring Atta Yaqub and Eva Birthistle. The title is taken from a Scottish song by Robert Burns, the complete line being "Ae fond kiss, and then we sever..."-Plot:Casim Khan is a Glaswegian DJ of Pakistani origin...
, 20042004 in filmThe year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
(Danny) - SupervolcanoSupervolcano (docudrama)Supervolcano is a science docufiction disaster television film that originally aired on 13 March 2005 on BBC One, and released by the BBC on 10 April 2005 on the Discovery Channel. It is centered on the speculated and potential eruption of the volcanic caldera of Yellowstone National Park. Its...
, (TVTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
) 2005 (Jock Galvin) - Joyeux Noël, 20052005 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
(Palmer) - Goal!Goal! (film)Goal! is a 2005 film directed by Danny Cannon. It is the first installment of a trilogy also named Goal!. This film was made with full cooperation from FIFA, which is one of the reasons actual teams and players are used throughout the film...
2005 (Mal Braithwaite) - CargoCargo (2006 film)Cargo is a 2006 thriller film. It was directed by Clive Gordon, produced by Andrea Calderwood and Juan Gordon, and written by Paul Laverty...
, 20062006 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
(Herman) - True NorthTrue North (film)True North is a 2006 Scottish drama film directed by Steve Hudson and starring Martin Compston, Peter Mullan, Gary Lewis and Steven Robertson as sailors aboard a Scottish fishing boat smuggling Chinese into the United Kingdom....
, 20062006 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
(The Skipper) - EragonEragon (film)Eragon is a 2006 fantasy-adventure film based on the novel of the same name by author Christopher Paolini. The cast includes Edward Speleers in the title role, Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Alun Armstrong, Joss Stone, and the voice...
, 20062006 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
(Hrothgar) - Ecstasy (2008) - (Mr. Cab Driver)
- Three and OutThree and OutThree And Out is a 2008 British comedy film directed by Jonathan Gershfield. It premiered in London on the 21 April 2008 and was released in the UK and Ireland on 25 April 2008.-Plot:...
2008 - (Callaghan) - Valhalla Rising (film)Valhalla Rising (film)Valhalla Rising is a 2009 English-language film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, starring Mads Mikkelsen. The film takes place in 1000 AD and follows a Norse warrior named One-Eye and a boy named Are as they travel with a band of Christian Crusaders in pursuit of a Crusade. Instead, they find...
2009 - (Kare) - Neds (film) 2010 - (Teacher)
- Outcasts (TV series)Outcasts (TV series)Outcasts is an eight-part 2011 British television science-fiction drama serial, starring Liam Cunningham, Hermione Norris, Amy Manson, Daniel Mays, Jamie Bamber, Eric Mabius and Ashley Walters. It originally aired on BBC One, and BBC HD.-Plot:...
2011 - (Pak) - MerlinMerlin (TV series)Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 September 2008. The show is based on the Arthurian legends of the wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur but differs from...
(2011) - (Alator)