Dean Thomas Holness (born 25 July 1976) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, sports choreographer and actor best known for his roles as Campbell Hooper in ''

Dream Team Dream Team may refer to: Sport Basketball * Dream Team, the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team in Barcelona * Dream Team II, the 1994 U.S. men's national basketball team at the FIBA World Championship * Dream Team III, the 1996 ...

'' and as Danny in '' Mike Bassett: England Manager''. Holness played as a midfielder, and started out with

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

and Swedish side Umeå, before making two appearances in the Football League with Southend United. He then dropped into

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

with

Fisher Athletic Fisher Athletic F.C. were a semi-professional football club from South East London, which last played in the Conference South, which is one of the two leagues that form the sixth tier of the English football league system. The Bermondsey-based ...

and Banstead Athletic. In 2012 Dean founded the sports choreography compan
sportsfilms
working with leading brands on sports advertising campaigns for TV and film, and in 2018 Dean wrote the book
So you want to be a footballer
a guide to what it takes to become a professional footballer in England. With interviews from his former team mates and other professional footballers, managers and coaches within the professional game, it's available on Amazon.

Acting career

Holness appeared in

Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

television drama ''

'' as Campbell Hooper in 25 episodes during series four. In 2001, Holness played Danny in comedy film '' Mike Bassett: England Manager''. He also featured in television adverts for McDonald's in 2004.

Football career

Holness had spells with

and Swedish team Umeå. He signed for Southend United in July 2001, signing a short term three-month contract. Former Southend player

Andy Ansah Andrew Owusu Ansah (born 19 March 1969) is an English actor and former professional footballer. Playing career He played for six Football League teams in his career, most notably Southend United, where he played 180 games and scored 38 goals be ...

recommended Holness to manager David Webb after spending time with him in Brazil filming '' Mike Bassett: England Manager''. Holness made two appearances for Southend in the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

. His first appearance was in Southend's 1–0 home win over

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

, being replaced at half-time as a substitute for

Mark Rawle Mark Rawle (born 27 April 1979) is a former professional footballer. His last club was Southern League Premier Division side Brackley Town after being released from Conference North side Tamworth. He played in the Football League for Southend ...

. His second and final appearance for Southend was on 27 August, away against Luton Town in the 2–0 defeat, when he came on as a substitute for Daniel Webb in the 85th minute. In March 2005, Holness signed for

Southern League Division One East The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...

club

, before signing for Banstead Athletic in 2006, who played in the

Isthmian League First Division The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holness, Dean 1976 births Living people English men's footballers English male film actors English male television actors Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players Umeå FC players Southend United F.C. players Fisher Athletic F.C. players Banstead Athletic F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football midfielders Footballers from the London Borough of Lewisham People from Lewisham