John Henshaw | |
|---|---|
 Henshaw in 2011 | |
| Born | John Joseph Henshaw August 1950 (age 73) |
| Occupation | Actor |
John Joseph Henshaw (born August 1950) is an English actor, best known for his roles as Ken Dixon the landlord in Early Doors , Wilf Bradshaw in Born and Bred and PC Roy Bramwell in The Cops. Often associated with characters who are "hard men", he played John Prescott in the 2007 ITV drama Confessions of a Diary Secretary.
One of 12 siblings, he was born in August 1950 [1] and grew up in Ancoats, Manchester's "Little Italy" community. He was a binman for ten years before deciding, at the age of 40, to become an actor.[ citation needed ]
His first big break in acting was as a minder to Robert Lindsay's character Michael Murray in the acclaimed Channel 4 series G.B.H. . He had roles in the Steve Coogan film The Parole Officer and in the BBC Three sitcom The Visit , first shown in July 2007. In 2002 he appeared in the Scottish Gaelic drama, Anna Bheag (Wee Anna), although not as a Gaelic-speaking character. [2]
Other credits include Nice Guy Eddie, When Saturday Comes plus appearances in The Royle Family , Last of the Summer Wine , Life on Mars and the comedy series Early Doors. In September 2007, at the Lowry in Salford, he starred in the world premier of the play King Cotton .
He played the role of Ken, the deputy manager in the Post Office adverts, in 2007 to 2008. March 2008 saw Henshaw return to the Manchester area playing the lead in Jim Cartwright's play Road at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton. Summer 2009 saw Henshaw play Meatballs in the film Looking for Eric , directed by Ken Loach and starring Eric Cantona. The character was a workmate and friend of the lead character Eric Bishop played by Steve Evets. In 2008 he played Albert Ross in The Heart Of A Man, the 12th episode of the 17th series of Heartbeat.
In 2010 he played Mr Pony in Terry Pratchett's Going Postal and in 2011 he portrayed the character of John Holt, one of the original founding fathers of the Co-operative movement, in a feature film The Rochdale Pioneers . [3] In 2013 he played Arthur Potts in Series 15 Episode 5 ("The Sicilian Defence") of Midsomer Murders . He also played the role of Harry, a mentor and friend to the main character, in Ken Loach's 2012 Scottish comedy-drama The Angels' Share and Danny in Chris Shepherd's 2013 film The Ringer .
In 2013 he played Stan Bond in By Any Means and in 2014 played the judge in Closer to the Moon . In 2015 he played Murphy in "Charlie's Plan" directed by John McCormack. [4]
In 2017, he appeared in the BBC series Father Brown as Barney Butterfield episode 5.12 "The Theatre of the Invisible" and returned to playing Ken the landlord in the Early Doors live stage show.
He had a small role in the 2018 film Stan and Ollie as Nobby Cook, a British comedian who briefly stands in for Oliver Hardy when Hardy is taken ill. [5]
He also appeared as Disco Des in the 10000th episode of Coronation Street.
Henshaw was Director of the 24:7 Theatre Festival, an annual festival of new writing for theatre based in Manchester, which started in 2004. [6]
Henshaw is also a patron of the Ancoats Dispensary Trust which campaigns to save and restore for community use the Grade II listed Ancoats Dispensary close to his birthplace. [7]
Stan Laurel was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 short films, feature films, and cameo roles.
The Wednesday Play is an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic adaptations of fiction also featured. The series gained a reputation for presenting contemporary social dramas, and for bringing issues to the attention of a mass audience that would not otherwise have been discussed on screen.
Jim Norton is an Irish stage, film and television character actor, known for his work in the theatre, most notably in Conor McPherson's The Seafarer, and on television as Bishop Brennan in the sitcom Father Ted.
Early Doors is a BBC sitcom written by Craig Cash and Phil Mealey. Both writers appear in the series, playing the characters Joe and Duffy, who are best friends. Early Doors is set at The Grapes, a small public house in Stockport, where daily life revolves around comical issues of love, loneliness and blocked urinals.
Way Out West is a 1937 Laurel and Hardy comedy film directed by James W. Horne, produced by Stan Laurel, and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was the second picture for which Stan Laurel was credited as producer.
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Anthony Samuel Selby was an English actor. He was best known for his roles as Clive Mitchell in EastEnders, Corporal Percy Marsh in Get Some In!, and Sabalom Glitz in Doctor Who.
Brian Trevor John Murphy is an English actor and comedian. He is best known as the henpecked husband George Roper in the popular sitcom Man About the House and its spin-off series George and Mildred. He also played Alvin Smedley in Last of the Summer Wine. Other notable roles include Stan the shopkeeper in the 1990s children's series Wizadora and in the comedy drama series The Booze Cruise.
David John Threlfall is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series Shameless. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In April 2014, he portrayed comedian Tommy Cooper in a television film entitled Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This. In 2014, he starred alongside Jude Law in the thriller Black Sea. In 2022, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance in the Martin McDonagh play Hangmen.
Ronald Henry Pember was an English actor, stage director and dramatist. In a career stretching over thirty years, he was a character actor in British television productions in the 1970s – 1980s, usually in smaller parts or as a support playing a worldly-wise everyman.
Our Relations is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Harry Lachman starring Laurel and Hardy, produced by Stan Laurel for Hal Roach Studios. This is the third of three films in which they play a dual role: the first was Brats and the second was Twice Two. The story is based on the short story "The Money Box" by W.W. Jacobs, author of "The Monkey's Paw".
Swiss Miss is a 1938 comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy. It was directed by John G. Blystone, and produced by Hal Roach. The film features Walter Woolf King, Della Lind and Eric Blore.
Laughing Gravy is a 1931 short film comedy starring Laurel and Hardy. It was directed by James W. Horne, produced by Hal Roach and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Stephen "Steve" Marsh is a British actor, former co-host of the CBeebies programme Big Cook, Little Cook, and co-host of Space Hoppers. Marsh plays the part of the big cook, Ben. He and his Big Cook, Little Cook co-host Dan Wright form the comedy duo Electric Forecast. He also appeared in Wright's documentary F*** Off, I'm Ginger and as himself in Sky One's Crash Test Dummies during 2007.
James Allen was an English socialist playwright, best known for his collaborations with Ken Loach.
Looking for Eric is a 2009 British-French film about the escape from the trials of modern life that football and its heroes can bring for its fans. It was written by screenwriter Paul Laverty and directed by the English director Ken Loach. The film's cast includes the former professional footballer Eric Cantona and Steve Evets, former bass guitarist with The Fall.
Steve Evets is an English actor and musician, who found fame for his leading role in the 2009 film Looking for Eric.
Freddie Fletcher is an English actor best known for playing Jud, in Ken Loach's 1969 film Kes. He also appeared in the ITV series Fox.
Kenneth Charles Loach is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialism are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty, homelessness, and labour rights.
Stan & Ollie is a 2018 biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jon S. Baird. The script, written by Jeff Pope, was inspired by Laurel and Hardy: The British Tours by A.J. Marriot which chronicled the later years of the comedy double act Laurel and Hardy; the film stars Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly as Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The film focuses on details of the comedy duo's personal relationship while relating how they embarked on a gruelling music hall tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland during 1953 and struggled to get another film made.
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