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Contents
Articles
Charlie Hunnam
1
Byker Grove
4
Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?
8
Queer as Folk (UK TV series)
10
Young Americans (TV series)
14
Undeclared
21
Nicholas Nickleby (2002 film)
26
Nicholas Nickleby
30
Abandon (film)
41
Cold Mountain (film)
44
Green Street
48
Children of Men
52
Sons of Anarchy
65
The Ledge (film)
82
Frankie Go Boom
83
Blackbird (2012 film)
85
References
Article Sources and Contributors
87
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
89
Article Licenses
License
90
Charlie Hunnam
1
Charlie Hunnam
Charlie Hunnam
Hunnam at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2011.
Born
Charles Matthew Hunnam
10 April 1980
Newcastle, England
Occupation
Actor
Years active
1989–present
Spouse
Katharine Towne (1999–2002)
Charles Matthew "Charlie" Hunnam (born 10 April 1980) is an English actor. He is perhaps best known to UK
audiences as Pete Dunham in Green Street Hooligans and as Nathan Maloney in the Channel 4 hit drama Queer as
Folk and to US audiences as Vice President of Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original Jackson "Jax"
Teller[1] in the FX network series, Sons of Anarchy.
Life and career
Hunnam was born in Newcastle, England on 10 April 1980. He is the second oldest of four boys. Hunnam stated that
growing up, his favorite actors have always been Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Penn.
Discovered while clowning around in a shoe shop by a production manager for the British children's show Byker
Grove, Charlie Hunnam was cast in his first role as the long-locked child model "Jason" in three episodes of the
show. His first major role came soon after as Nathan Maloney in the Channel 4 drama Queer as Folk (UK). He
followed this up with his role as "Daz" in the British film Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?. Upon completion
of both projects, Hunnam relocated to Los Angeles, California to pursue his acting career.
His career, meanwhile, expanded to include a recurring role as Gregor Ryder in a TV Series for The WB network
called Young Americans. He then appeared in the short-lived Fox series Undeclared as the British drama student
Lloyd Haythe. The series was cancelled after only one season. Following Undeclared, he appeared in Abandon,
Nicholas Nickleby (2002), and Cold Mountain.
Hunnam has stated that he does not wish to simply take any role that he is offered: "I have 60 years to make the
[2]
money, but the choices I make in the next five years are really going to define my career." This decision resulted in
his return to the United Kingdom to take the lead as Pete Dunham in Green Street (also known as Green Street
Hooligans, Hooligans, and The Yank).
Hunnam played the role of Patric, a member of "The Fishes", in Children of Men (2006) directed by Alfonso Cuarón.
Hunnam states that this role was the final part in his "trilogy of mad men". "I played the psycho in Cold Mountain,
my character in Green Street is fairly psychotic and now I've got this role."[3]
Charlie Hunnam
2
Hunnam currently stars as Vice President Jackson "Jax" Teller in the FX network series, Sons of Anarchy, a
prominent motorcycle club in a small fictional California town.
Hunnam was voted ninth in Elle Girl's top 100 sexiest men in 2005.[4]
In 2011, Hunnam appeared in The Ledge, a layered love story with themes of religious faith co-starring Liv Tyler,
Patrick Wilson, and Terrence Howard. In 2009, Hunnam sold his screenplay, Vlad, to Summit Entertainment with
Brad Pitt's Plan B Studios co-producing.[5] The film is being directed by music video director and photographer
Anthony Mandler and will focus on Dracula as a young prince.[6]
Personal life
Upon his arrival in Los Angeles in 1999, Hunnam met and married actress Katharine Towne, the daughter of
screenwriter Robert Towne and actress Julie Payne. They divorced in 2002. He currently has homes in Los Angeles,
London, and Bolton.
Filmography
List of film credits
Year
Title
Role
Notes
1989
Byker Grove
Jason
TV series
1997
My Wonderful Life
Wes
TV series
1998
Microsoap
Brad
TV series
1999
Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? Daz
1999–2000 Queer as Folk
Nathan Maloney
TV series
2000
Gregor Ryder
TV series
2001–2002 Undeclared
Lloyd Haythe
TV series
2002
Nicholas Nickleby
Nicholas Nickleby
2002
Abandon
Embry Larkin
2003
Cold Mountain
Bosie
2005
Green Street
Pete Dunham
2006
Children of Men
Patric
2008–
Sons of Anarchy
Jackson "Jax" Teller TV series
2011
The Ledge
Gavin Nichols
2011
Frankie Go Boom
2012
Blackbird
2013
Pacific Rim
Young Americans
Charlie Hunnam
References
[1] http:/ / www. imdb. com/ character/ ch0111802/ bio
[2] Charlie Hunnam: most actors his age just want to rake in the cash. He wants to take a stab at immortality - Movie Rule Breaker - Interview |
Interview | Find Articles at BNET.com (http:/ / www. findarticles. com/ p/ articles/ mi_m1285/ is_11_33/ ai_111114511)
[3] icNewcastle - Homesick in H;ollywood (http:/ / icnewcastle. icnetwork. co. uk/ sundaysun/ news/ tm_method=full& objectid=17289732&
siteid=50081-name_page. html)
[4] Charlie Hunnam Quotes and Trivia at MovieTome (http:/ / www. movietome. com/ people/ 33634/ charlie-hunnam/ trivia. html)
[5] "Sons of Anarchy Star Talks About His Vlad Script" (http:/ / www. dreadcentral. com/ news/ 34916/
sons-anarchy-star-talks-about-his-vlad-script). DreadCentral. .
[6] "Story of 'Vlad' the Impaler Won't Touch on Vampirism" (http:/ / www. bloody-disgusting. com/ news/ 18350). BloodyDisgusting. .
External links
• Charlie Hunnam (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0402271/) at the Internet Movie Database
3
Byker Grove
4
Byker Grove
Byker Grove
Genre
Teen Soap 1989-1998
Children's Drama 1998-2006
Created by
Adele Rose
Andrea Wonfor
Developed by
BBC
Zenith Entertainment
Directed by
Mervyn Cumming
Theme music composer Kane Gang
Country of origin
United Kingdom
Language(s)
English
No. of series
18
No. of episodes
344
Production
Executive producer(s)
Andrea Wonfor (1989-90)
Ian Squires (1990-92)
Ivan Rendall (1992-95)
Matthew Robinson (1995-98)
Producer(s)
Matthew Robinson (1989-95)
Helen Gregory (1995-97)
Stephen McAteer (1997-1999)
Morag Bain (1999-01) Edward Pugh (2002 -2005)
Location(s)
Newcastle upon Tyne
Running time
25 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel
BBC One
Picture format
4:3 & 16:9
Original run
8 November 1989 – 10 December 2006
External links
Website
[1]
Byker Grove was a British television series which aired between 1989 and 2006 and was created by Adele Rose. The
show was broadcast at 5.10pm after Newsround (later moved to 5pm) on CBBC on BBC One. It was one of the very
few television series to air on CBBC that was aimed at an older teenager and young adult audience as it tackled some
controversial storylines.
Byker Grove
5
Creation
The show ran between 1989 and 2006, and was set in a youth club in the Byker district of Newcastle upon Tyne,
England. Byker Grove was the original idea of late TV executive Andrea Wonfor. In 1987, Andrea approached
veteran soap writer Adele Rose. Together they created a single pilot episode featuring kids aged 8–11 at an
out-of-school club (transmitted on Tyne Tees TV in 1988). In autumn 1988, Andrea got backing from Anna Home,
then Head of drama, BBC TV. Anna gave the green light for a run of a series of six 25-minute episodes on BBC TV.
The age of the main characters was raised to 12-16 after support from first producer-director, Matthew Robinson.
The first series therefore centred on young teenagers crossing the bridge from childhood to adulthood. Although
some of the action took place outside the youth club, the series was unusual among dramas in that the characters
were rarely shown in school. One of the major settings was the foster home run by the kindly but strict Lou
Gallagher, the longest-running character.
Famous people
Byker Grove launched the careers of Anthony McPartlin ("P.J.") and Declan Donnelly ("Duncan") who are otherwise
known as Ant & Dec as well as the actress Jill Halfpenny, Donna Air, former CBBC presenter Andrew
Hayden-Smith and Emmerdale actors Dale Meeks, Charlie Hardwick and Victoria Hawkins. Also appearing in the
series was the now glamour model Francoise Boufhal ("Ellie Baines"). Founder producer/director (1989–95) was
Matthew Robinson who, after Byker Grove, became executive producer of EastEnders, Head of Drama BBC Wales
and now runs Khmer Mekong Films in Cambodia. It was also home to writers such as Catherine Johnson (who went
on to pen Mamma Mia, the ABBA musical) and Matthew Graham (This Life, Doctor Who and co-creator of BBC
One's Life on Mars). The first writer was Adele Rose - in Series 1 she wrote eps 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, her daughter, Carrie
Rose, writing ep 5 - and the most prolific was Brian B. Thompson, who wrote 50 episodes over 12 series. Tom
Hooper directed four episodes of the show in 1997[2] . Charlie Hunnam now stars in American TV series Sons of
Anarchy.
Production
Byker Grove was not filmed in the Byker area of Newcastle. The actual
youth club set was in Benwell, which is in the west area of the City,
Byker being in the east. Byker Metro station (the suburban rail network
in Newcastle and the Tyne & Wear area) and other landmarks in the
real Byker (such as the famous architecture that is the Byker Wall and
surrounding estate) are used for filming backdrops.
The "youth club" building which is what the viewers see onscreen,
known as The Mitre used to be a nightclub and a pub (which was
mentioned in a few storylines from episodes in the late 90s) before it
was bought by Zenith Television, who film the series. The building
housed the actual set, production offices, make up suite and costume
department. Currently the property is semi-vacant, and the Zenith
North Television signs have been removed outside the building.
The final series started on 7 October 2006 on the CBBC Channel.
Richard Deverell, head of CBBC, was interviewed on Newsround
[3]
about the decision to axe Byker Grove.
The eighteenth and last series of Byker Grove was produced by Tim
Holloway, who also produced Casualty from 2000 until 2002.
The Mitre, also known as Benwell Towers, acted
as the production offices and the fictional youth
club.
Byker Grove
6
On 11 March 2008, it was reported that Gallowgate Productions TV, the TV production company owned by Ant
McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, purchased the rights to Byker Grove after the production company that made it
(Zenith Entertainment) went bankrupt in 2007. According to reports, the reason Ant & Dec decided to purchase the
rights was to stop a digital channel showing repeats featuring the duo during their time in the series, though this has
neither been confirmed or denied by the duo themselves.[4]
Rival youth clubs
Until Series 10 (1998) the rival youth club was known as Denton Burn. In Series 13 (2001) rival youth club
members were known as the Denwell Burners as they were from a youth club in Denwell Burn. This is a fictitious
area of Newcastle upon Tyne, the name coming from a mixture of Benwell and Denton Burn. The leader of the gang
was Dave Richmond, a local drug dealer from Whitley Bay, his trademark act of violence was the "Whitley Smile."
Filming for Denwell Burn Youth Club for Series 15 was filmed at Raby Street Youth Club, in the buildings next to
Byker Primary School. This is, ironically, the real youth club for the children of Byker. In Series 16 (2004), a
different youth club, Jesmond Grange (pejoratively referred to by the Grovers as 'Jezzie Grange'), became a new
rival to the Grove.
Grove staff
There have been several youth leaders working at the Grove over the years. The following is a list of all the ones
shown onscreen.
Character
Actor/Actress
Duration
Geoff Keegan
Billy Fane
1989-2000 (character died)
Akili Johnson
Patrick Miller
2000–2006
Alison
Vicky Murray
1989–1996,2000 returned for Geoff's funeral Assistant Youth Leader
Sian
Charlie Hardwick 1996–1999
Tina Meredith
Lynne Wilmot
2000–2002
Dom Meredith
Daymon Britton
2002–2006
Cher Coates
Jody Baldwin
2003 (former Grove member)
Chrissie Harrison Sarah Lawton
Role
Youth leader
2004–2006
Storylines
Byker Grove has tackled some controversial subjects such as drug addiction, child abuse, homelessness, teen
pregnancy and abortion. In November 1994, Byker Grove became the first British drama to broach the subject of
coming out when Noddy Fishwick kissed his close friend Gary Hendrix at the back of a cinema. This scene caused
outrage in the British tabloids, a Sun editorial calling for producer Matthew Robinson to be sacked. However the
BBC strongly backed the storyline which received countrywide support from gay teenagers, many teachers and
parents. The 2004 series saw the character of Bradley agonising over his sexuality and eventually coming out as gay
to his girlfriend Sadie, after a romantic holiday together had failed to live up to their expectations.
The series frequently depicts life as unjust, with bad things happening to good people. One of the most shocking
episodes is when P.J. is blinded in a paintball accident. It is one of many tragedies to befall Byker Grove characters
through the years. Others include Jemma Dobson being electrocuted by a faulty electricity mains socket, Flora's
death from a brain tumour, Greg's fall from the roof of the Grove which left him paralysed from the waist down,
youth leader Geoff Keegan's death in an accidental gas explosion, and the latest tragedy, Ben Carter being knocked
down and fatally injured by a car driven by Craig on the Quayside.
Byker Grove
The bands of Byker Grove
A number of Musical acts have been spun off from the series, these include:
• Michelle Charles - "The Best Thing In My Life", "For the Good Times"
• PJ & Duncan - who became Ant & Dec for "The Cult of..." album
(singles: "Let's Get Ready To Rhumble", "Better Watch Out", "We're On The Ball")
• Byker Grooove - who evolved into the duo Crush with Jayni Hoy and Donna Air.
(Singles include "Jellyhead" and "Luv'd Up" on Telstar Records) "Jellyhead" reached #72 on the Billboard Hot 100
in 1996.[5]
• Summer Matthews - aka Emma Miller
(Single: "Little Miss Perfect")
• Boyband Point Break which included Brett Adams and David Oliver who played Noddy and Marcus
respectively.(Singles include "Freakytime" on Eternal Records)
Other bands with links to Byker Grove include:
• Freefaller - includes member of Point Break
• Kane Gang - writers of the original theme music, a development from the "Ooh Gary Davies on your radio"
jingle for BBC Radio 1.
References
[1] http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ cbbc/ yourlife/ bykergrove/
[2] http:/ / www. imdb. com/ name/ nm0393799/
[3] http:/ / newsround-bias. blogspot. com/ 2006/ 05/ richard-deverell-head-of-cbbc_13. html
[4] "Ant & Dec go to Buy-ker Grove?" (http:/ / www. thesun. co. uk/ sol/ homepage/ showbiz/ tv/ article1027551. ece). The Sun. 2008-04-11. .
Retrieved 2008-04-11.
[5] Billboard (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p295402/ charts-awards), Allmusic
External links
•
•
•
•
•
Geograph Page - The Mitre, Benwell (http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/71863)
Byker Grove (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163437/) at the Internet Movie Database
Byker Grove episode guide (http://www.tv.com/byker-grove/show/4182/episode_guide.html)
Byker Grove cast list (http://www.tv.com/byker-grove/show/4182/cast.html)
Byker Grove (http://www.tv.com/show/4182/summary.html) at TV.com
7
Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?
8
Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?
Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?
Directed by
Peter Hewitt
Produced by
David Brown
Ruth Jackson
Written by
Ben Steiner
Starring
Tom Courtenay
Michael Legge
Lulu
Laura Fraser
Stephen Fry
Music by
Harry Gregson-Williams
Distributed by Intermedia Films
Release date(s) 13 November 1999 (London Film Festival)
Running time
95 min
Language
English
Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? is a film written by Ben Steiner, directed by Peter Hewitt and released in
1999. The British movie was filmed in Sheffield.
The film is a love story set in the 1970s, showing Vince Smith's efforts to date his office colleague Joanna Robinson.
Vince attempts to get her to join him at the local disco, but unbeknown to him, Joanna is a punk. This happens
against a backdrop of Vince's father Harold becoming a minor celebrity due to his psychic powers, essentially forms
of mind reading and telekinesis.
Cast
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tom Courtenay - Harold Smith
Michael Legge - Vincent Smith
Lulu - Irene Smith
Laura Fraser - Joanna Robinson
Stephen Fry - Dr. Peter Robinson
Charlotte Roberts - Lucy Robinson
Amanda Root - Margaret Robinson
David Thewlis - Nesbit
Charlie Hunnam - Daz
James Corden - Walter