Alexander Ferns (born 13 October 1968) is a Scottish actor and television personality, best known for his ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' role as Trevor Morgan, who was described as "Britain's most-hated

soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are us ...

villain" when he played the role between 2000 and 2002. He is also known for his role as Rick Harper in

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Irela ...

soap opera, '' River City'', between 2017 and 2018. For his performance as coal miner Andrei Glukhov in the 2019 miniseries ''

Chernobyl Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about n ...

'' he received a

BAFTA Scotland Award The British Academy Scotland Awards are presented annually at an awards ceremony organised by BAFTA Scotland. History The annual British Academy Scotland Awards were launched in 2004 to recognise outstanding achievement by individuals working in t ...

Career

Alex Ferns is the oldest of three children of his family, who left Scotland for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, when Ferns was 11 years old.Susan Swarbrick:
EastEnders' Alex Ferns on leaving River City and his Lennoxtown thriller
'. In: heraldscotland.com, Januar 13, 2018. The family took up residence in Secunda, where Ferns′ father worked as an electrician during the construction of a power plant. After he finished school, he joined the South African Defence Force and fought in

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

between 1987 and 1989. Afterward he studied drama at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

.
Alex Ferns
'. In: apm.co.za, access date July 22, 2022. In the mid 1990s he moved back to the United Kingdom and started his career in acting. 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. 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 The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

and the BAFTAs. In 2003, Ferns appeared as

Draco Malfoy Draco Lucius Malfoy is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' series. He is a student in Harry Potter's year belonging in the Slytherin house. He is frequently accompanied by his two cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goy ...

in a ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at ...

'' sketch for ''

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

''. 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 ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

''. He has also appeared in the 2006 movie '' Shadow Man'', as Schmitt, also starring

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...

. 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 Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

murder mystery ''

And Then There Were None ''And Then There Were None'' is a mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, described by her as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939, a ...

'', 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. He also made a brief appearance in the Smirnoff Vodka advert in 2009. Ferns took part in TV series ''

Celebrity Coach Trip ''Coach Trip'' is a British reality game show originally broadcast on Channel 4 from 7 March 2005 to 30 June 2006. The programme returned after a three-year break, from 25 May 2009 to 9 March 2012. In early 2013, the show went into hiatus agai ...

'', partnered with friend Ricky Groves. He starred as Luther in the 2011 London revival and subsequent UK tour of ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

''. In 2013, he starred as Lee in '' True West'' at Glasgow's

Citizen's Theatre The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and is based in Glasgow, Scotland as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and has also included various s ...

. In 2014, he starred in '' 24: Live Another Day''. In 2016, Ferns starred in ITV's ''

Vera Vera may refer to: Names * Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarr ...

'' series 6 episode 4 ("The Sea Glass") as Michael Quinn. He also appeared in BBC's ''

Wallander Wallander may refer to: TV, film, books * Kurt Wallander Kurt Wallander () is a fictional Swedish police inspector created by Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell (1948 – 2015). He is the protagonist of many thriller/mystery novels set in and ...

'' series 4 episode 1 ("The White Lioness") as Axel Hedeman. He played the leader of Tula coal miners Andrei Glukhov in the HBO 2019

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

''. For this performance, he received a

for Best Actor in Television.
Scotland: Actor – Television in 2019
'. In: awards.bafta.org, access date July 22, 2022. Ferns appeared in

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

's ''

The Irregulars ''The Irregulars'' is a British mystery adventure crime drama streaming television series created by Tom Bidwell for Netflix. Based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, it features the Baker Street Irregulars working for Dr. Watson saving ...

'' (2021) as Vic Collins. He plays Gotham Police Commissioner Pete Savage in the superhero film ''

The Batman Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman or The Batman may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Characters * Batman (Terry McGinnis) * Batman (Thomas Wayne) * Batman (Earth-Two) * Bat ...

'' (2022).

Personal life

Ferns has been married to South African-born actress Jennifer Woodburne since 1996. They currently live in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

with their two sons, Cameron and Mackenzie. He won the final of ''

Kitchen Burnout ''Kitchen Burnout'' is a British cookery reality show airing on ITV, and was created by ITV Studios, which features prospective chefs competing with each other for a final prize. The series aired in April 2010, presented by Marco Pierre White ...

'' in May 2010.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferns, Alex 1968 births Living people People from Lennoxtown British Buddhists British male film actors British male soap opera actors British television personalities South African Buddhists South African male film actors South African male soap opera actors South African male television actors South African television personalities South African people of Scottish descent Scottish Buddhists Scottish male soap opera actors Scottish male television actors Scottish television personalities University of Cape Town alumni