Alex Ferns

Last updated

Alex Ferns
Born
Alexander Ferns

(1968-10-13) 13 October 1968 (age 55)
Lennoxtown, Stirlingshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
Education University of Cape Town
OccupationActor
Years active1993–present
Television EastEnders
River City
Spouse
Jennifer Woodburne
​
(m. 1996)​
Children2

Alexander Ferns (born 13 October 1968) is a Scottish actor and television personality. His role in EastEnders as Trevor Morgan from 2000 to 2002 was described as "Britain's most-hated soap villain". He also played the role of Rick Harper in the BBC Scotland soap opera River City between 2017 and 2018. For his performance as coal miner Andrei Glukhov in the 2019 miniseries Chernobyl he received a BAFTA Scotland Award.

Contents

Early life and education

Alex Ferns is the oldest of three children of his family, who left Scotland for South Africa, when Ferns was eleven years old. [1] The family took up residence in Secunda, where Ferns' father worked as an electrician during the construction of a power plant. [1] After he finished school, he joined the South African Defence Force and fought in Angola between 1987 and 1989. [1] Afterward he studied drama at the University of Cape Town. [2] In the mid 1990s, he moved back to the United Kingdom and started his career in acting.

Career

Ferns made an appearance in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) before various television roles, including Trevor Morgan in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2000 to 2002, for which he won the British Soap Award for Best Newcomer. [3] In 2005, Ferns played Lieutenant Gordon in the highly acclaimed trilingual film Joyeux Noël , which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, Golden Globe Awards and the BAFTAs.

In 2003, Ferns appeared as Draco Malfoy in a Harry Potter sketch for Comic Relief . In 2004, he played Commander Martin Brooke, the lead role, in the short-lived ITV series Making Waves. In the same year he appeared in Man Dancin' , a Festival Film & TV production, which won a number of awards on the festival circuit, including Outstanding Original Screenplay at the Sacramento Film Festival. He has also appeared on Coronation Street .[ citation needed ] He has also appeared in the 2006 film Shadow Man , as Schmitt, also starring Steven Seagal.

His theatrical work includes the role of the "tapeworm" (a hallucination) in I.D. , a play about Dimitri Tsafendas and his assassination of South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, the 2008 national tour of Agatha Christie's murder mystery And Then There Were None , and Little Shop of Horrors as the Dentist. In 2011, he took the role of Scottish gangster Jimmy Boyle in the play about his life, The Hardman, during a Scottish tour to positive reviews. [4]

He also made a brief appearance in a Smirnoff Vodka advert in 2009.[ citation needed ]

Ferns took part in television series Celebrity Coach Trip , partnered with friend Ricky Groves. [5] He starred as Luther in the 2011 London revival and subsequent UK tour of South Pacific .

In 2013, he starred as Lee in True West at Glasgow's Citizen's Theatre. In 2014, he starred in 24: Live Another Day . In 2016, Ferns starred in ITV's Vera series 6 episode 4 ("The Sea Glass") as Michael Quinn. He also appeared in the BBC's Wallander series 4 episode 1 ("The White Lioness") as Axel Hedeman.

He portrayed the leader of Tula coal miners Andrei Glukhov in the HBO 2019 miniseries Chernobyl . For this performance, he received a BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor in Television. [6]

Ferns appeared in Netflix's The Irregulars (2021) as Vic Collins. He portrayed Gotham Police Commissioner Pete Savage in the superhero film The Batman (2022). Also in 2022, he appeared in the Disney+ series Andor as Sergeant Linus Mosk.

In 2024, Ferns appeared as Aaron Moy in the BBC One thriller series Nightsleeper . [7] [8]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1996 The Ghost and the Darkness Stockton
2003 Man Dancin' Jimmy Kerrigan
2005 Joyeux Noël Lieutenant Gordon
2009 Farewell Scottish Agent
2014True WestLee
2015Caring for the Recently DeceasedSolicitorShort
Legend McLean
2016 Hot Property J.P. De Cock
The Legend of Tarzan Force Publique Officer
2017Baby MineMikeShort
Romans JoReleased as Retaliation in the U.S.
2020 Knuckledust Major Vaughn
2021 Wrath of Man John (Sticky John)
2022 The Batman Commissioner Pete Savage
2024 Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Mikael

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1993GenerationsTV series
1996 Rhodes John GrimmerMiniseries, 6 episodes
1997 Tarzan: The Epic Adventures Jimmy Dorgo1 episode
Black Velvet BandMajor WatsonTV film
1998 The Bill Johno1 episode
1999 Psychos PolicemanMiniseries, 1 episode
Taggart Lenny Kerr1 episode
2000 Britannic Stoker EvansTV film
Holby City Stuart1 episode
Doctors Dan Thomas1 episode
2000–2002 EastEnders Trevor Morgan 119 episodes
2001 Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) Mad Alex1 episode
2001–2002De 9 dagen van de gierBrianTV series
2004 Making Waves Commander Martin BrookeMain role, 6 episodes
2006Dream Team 80'sAl MackayMiniseries, 2 episodes
Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire Mark Antony Miniseries, 1 episode
2007 M.I. High General Scarp1 episode
Casualty Tom Dart1 episode
2014 The Widower DCI Neil ThompsonMiniseries, 2 episodes
24: Live Another Day RadkoMiniseries, 1 episode
The Passing Bells David EdwardsMiniseries, 3 episodes
2015 The Coroner Nolan Prince1 episode
Wallander Axel Hedeman1 episode
2016 Vera Michael Quinn1 episode
Wolfblood AlistairRecurring role, 6 episodes
2017 Taboo Hall1 episode
2017–2018 River City Rick HarperRecurring role, 9 episodes
2019 Chernobyl Andrei GlukhovMiniseries, 1 episode
2020 Barkskins Gay Bill4 episodes
2021 The Irregulars Vic Collins4 episodes
Danny Boy Gavin WoodTV film
2022 Andor Sergeant Linus Mosk5 episodes
The Devil's Hour DS Nick HolnessMiniseries, 5 episodes
2023 Six Four Gordon Byrne3 episodes
2024 Nightsleeper Aaron Moy1 episode

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Susan Swarbrick: EastEnders' Alex Ferns on leaving River City and his Lennoxtown thriller . In: heraldscotland.com, 13 January 2018.
  2. ↑ Alex Ferns . In: apm.co.za, access date 22 July 2022.
  3. ↑ Welsh, James. "British Soap Awards 2002: Nominations". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  4. ↑ Fisher, Mark (4 April 2011). "The Hard Man – review". The Guardian.
  5. ↑ Alex Fletcher (16 September 2010). "Celebrity 'Coach Trip' lineup revealed". Digital Spy .
  6. ↑ Scotland: Actor – Television in 2019 . In: awards.bafta.org, access date 22 July 2022.
  7. ↑ Craig, David (13 September 2024). "Meet the cast of Nightsleeper". Radio Times. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  8. ↑ Hepburn, David (15 September 2024). "Nightsleeper television review: The most exciting thing to ever happen on a train from Glasgow to Motherwell". The Scotsman. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
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