Mick Ford

Last updated

Mick Ford (born 1 August 1952) is a British actor, screenwriter and playwright, best known for his portrayal of intellectual convict Archer in the cinema version of Scum . [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Ford was born on 1 August 1952 in Croydon, Surrey. His father, Noel Ford, fought on the front lines as a Desert Rat during World War II. [2] He attended John Ruskin Grammar School as a teenager and later joined the National Youth Theatre, where he appeared in numerous plays, including the premiere of Zigger Zagger .

Career

After appearing in the 1978 film The Sailor's Return , Ford's best known role came in the 1979 film Scum . Set in a borstal, Ford plays the inmate Archer, an intelligent vegetarian trouble-maker who just wants to serve his time "In (his) own little way". Ford also had a role that year in the television film The Knowledge (for which he also performed the title song) in which he stars as an unemployed man who is encouraged by his girlfriend (Kim Taylforth) to apply to the Metropolitan Police Public Carriage Office to become a black cab driver. [3] In 1980 he was the main character in the European TV-miniseries Caleb Williams by Herbert Wise. He also appeared opposite Trevor Howard in the film Light Years Away (1981), and appeared in the play, The Promise. His later film roles include Kim (1984), The Fourth Protocol (1987), and How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989) .

Ford is also a writer. He wrote episodes of William and Mary , Ashes to Ashes and several Netflix miniseries adaptations of Harlan Coben's novels. In 2010, Ford wrote the four-part drama Single Father, starring David Tennant. In 2017, Ford adapted the memoir The Boy with the Topknot into a BBC TV movie. In 2024, ITV broadcast Ford's crime mystery thriller series After the Flood . [4] [5]

Personal life

Ford was married to the director of St Pancras Community Centre, Ruth Roberts, with whom he had two children. Roberts died in September 2010. [6] He later married former actress Rudi Davies, whose mother was novelist Beryl Bainbridge.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damian Lewis</span> British actor

Damian Watcyn Lewis is a British actor, musician and producer. He rose to prominence portraying U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. Lewis won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of U.S. Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody in the Showtime series Homeland, and received nominations for his performance as Henry VIII of England in Wolf Hall. He portrayed Bobby Axelrod in the Showtime series Billions in six out of seven seasons, and appeared in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) as actor Steve McQueen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Watson</span> English actress (born 1967)

Emily Margaret Watson is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya at the Donmar Warehouse, and was nominated for the 2003 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the latter. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her debut film role as a newlywed in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves (1996) and for her role as Jacqueline du Pré in Hilary and Jackie (1998).

<i>Scum</i> (film) 1979 British drama film by Alan Clarke

Scum is a 1979 British prison drama film directed by Alan Clarke and starring Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Julian Firth and John Blundell. The film portrays the brutality of life inside a British borstal. The script was originally filmed as a television play for the BBC's Play for Today series in 1977. However, owing to the violence depicted, it was withdrawn from broadcast. Two years later, director Alan Clarke and scriptwriter Roy Minton remade it as a film, first shown on Channel 4 in 1983. By this time the borstal system had been reformed. The original TV version was eventually allowed to be aired eight years later in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keeley Hawes</span> English actress (born 1976)

Clare Julia "Keeley" Hawes is an English actress. After beginning her career in a number of literary adaptations, including Our Mutual Friend (1998) and Tipping the Velvet (2002), Hawes rose to fame for her portrayal of Zoe Reynolds in the BBC series Spooks (2002–2004), followed by her co-lead performance as DI Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes (2008–2010). She is also known for her roles in Jed Mercurio's Line of Duty as DI Lindsay Denton (2014–2016) and in BBC One drama Bodyguard (2018), in which she played Home Secretary Julia Montague.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Macfadyen</span> English actor (born 1974)

David Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he gained prominence for his role as Mr. Darcy in Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice (2005). He gained wider recognition for playing Tom Wambsgans in the HBO drama series Succession (2018–2023), for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards, two BAFTA TV Awards, and a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clive Owen</span> British actor

Clive Owen is an English actor. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for playing the lead role in the ITV series Chancer from 1990 to 1991. He received critical acclaim for his work in the film Close My Eyes (1991) before earning international attention for his performance as a struggling writer in Croupier (1998). In 2005, he won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in the drama Closer (2004).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Clay</span> English actor (1946–2000)

Nicholas Anthony Phillip Clay was an English actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Compston</span> Scottish actor

Martin Compston is a Scottish actor and former professional footballer. He played Anti-Corruption Unit Detective Inspector Steve Arnott in the BBC drama Line of Duty, Liam in Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen, Paul Ferris in The Wee Man, Ewan Brodie in Monarch of the Glen, and Dan Docherty in The Nest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Dunbar</span> Irish actor, director (born 1958)

Adrian Dunbar is an Irish actor, director, and singer, known for his television and theatre work. He co-wrote and starred in the 1991 film Hear My Song, nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the BAFTA awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Glenister</span> British actor (born 1963)

Philip Haywood Glenister is an English actor. He is known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in the BBC series Life on Mars (2006–2007) and its sequel Ashes to Ashes (2008–2010). He also played DCI William Bell in State of Play (2003) and Reverend Anderson in Outcast (2016–2018).

Linda Valiris is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Yvonne Atkins in the ITV prison drama series Bad Girls and Shirley Carter in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She had previously appeared in EastEnders as the original Lorraine Salter, the mother of Mandy Salter, from 1991 to 1992. Her other acting credits include Cracker (1995), Prime Suspect (1997) and Trial & Retribution (1998). She has also appeared in the films Beautiful Thing (1996) and The Business (2005).

Jonas Armstrong is an Irish-English actor who rose to prominence playing the title character on the BBC's Robin Hood (2006–2009). He has since appeared in miniseries such as Dark Angel (2016), Troy: Fall of a City (2018), The Drowning, Hollington Drive, After the Flood and Coma, and starred as Sean Meredith on the first season of ITV's The Bay (2019). Armstrong won critical acclaim for his portrayal of Barry Bennell in the 2022 television film Floodlights. His feature film credits include Book of Blood (2009), Twenty8k (2012), and Edge of Tomorrow (2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Charnock</span> English actor (b. 1968)

Mark Charnock is an English actor. He is best known for his role in ITV's Emmerdale as Marlon Dingle, a role he has played since 1996. Charnock and Emmerdale co-star Dominic Brunt, who plays Paddy Kirk, produce a yearly Zombie Film Festival in the Leeds Cottage Road Cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Lieven</span> German actor (1906–1971)

Albert Lieven was a German actor.

Celia Daisy Morna Haggard is a British actress and writer. She is known for her roles in the BBC sitcoms Uncle and Episodes. Haggard stars in BBC Three’s comedy-drama, Back to Life, which she also created and co-wrote with Laura Solon. Since 2020, she has appeared alongside Martin Freeman as Ally in the FX series Breeders, a role for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance.

Daniel Mays is an English actor having had television roles in EastEnders (2000), Rehab (2005), Red Riding (2008), Ashes to Ashes (2010), Outcasts (2011), Mrs Biggs, Line of Duty, Des and White Lines (2020), and film roles in Pearl Harbor (2001), All or Nothing (2002), Vera Drake (2004), Shifty, Made in Dagenham, Byzantium (2012), and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Ford</span> American actor (born 1996)

Colin Lee Ford is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Josh Wheeler in Daybreak, Joe McAlister in Under the Dome, the voice of Jake on Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Mikey on Can You Teach My Alligator Manners?, which earned him a Young Artist Award, young Sam Winchester in Supernatural, and Dylan Mee in the family film We Bought a Zoo.

Sophie Rundle is an English actress. Her television roles include portraying Ada Thorne in Peaky Blinders, Ann Walker in Gentleman Jack, Vicky Budd in Bodyguard, code-breaker Lucy in The Bletchley Circle, Labia in Episodes, Alice in Jamestown and Eva Smith in An Inspector Calls

<i>Brief Encounters</i> (TV series) UK TV series (2016)

Brief Encounters is a British comedy-drama series created by Oriane Messina and Fay Rusling. The series is loosely based on Gold Group International CEO Jacqueline Gold's 1995 memoir, Good Vibrations, and details the beginning of the Ann Summers retailer company, through four women who see the potential of finding happiness and fulfillment by selling lingerie and sex toys to women in the privacy of their own homes. The series was produced by CPL Productions for broadcast on ITV and aired from 4 July to 8 August 2016. Filming took place between January and April 2016 in Sheffield. It was well received by critics. The show was cancelled by ITV two months after the airing of last episode.

After the Flood is a 2024 British crime mystery thriller series created by Mick Ford and directed by Azhur Saleem. It stars Sophie Rundle as a police officer investigating the death of an unidentified man after a flash flood strikes a small English town. The first series began broadcast on 10 January 2024. On 15 November 2024, it was announced that the series has been commissioned for a second season.

References

  1. admin (15 July 2009). "British Cinema – Scum (1979)". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  2. "History of the British 7th Armoured Brigade – Green Jerboa". desertrats.org.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  3. The Knowledge , retrieved 14 August 2022
  4. "Peaky Blinders' Sophie Rundle leads new ITV mystery After the Flood". Radio Times. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  5. "Sophie Rundle to Star in New Mystery 'After The Flood'". Tellyvisions. 18 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  6. "Camden New Journal, 30 September 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2012.