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Gary Hailes (born 4 November 1965 in
London
London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
) is an English
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
.
Hales attended
Holloway School
Beacon High is a coeducational secondary school for 11-16-year-olds in the Tufnell Park area, located in the London Borough of Islington, England. Beacon High is a member of the Islington Futures Federation of Community Schools and the Islington ...
.
[ The Old Camdenians Club]
Retrieved 31 January 2015 During the 1980s he starred in several successful television series, including ''
Woodentop'', ''
Grange Hill
''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...
'' and the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
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 ...
'', where he played
Barry Clark from 1986-89. He originally auditioned for the role of
Mark Fowler
Mark Fowler is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Mark, an original regular character when the series started in February 1985, became a semi-regular after his original portrayer David Scarboro was written out of the ro ...
when the series began in 1985, but the role went to
David Scarboro
David Timothy Scarboro (3 February 1968 – 27 April 1988) was an English actor, best known for portraying Mark Fowler in the British soap opera ''EastEnders'' from the programme's inception in February 1985 until that April before appearing int ...
instead. Hailes' character was notable for being one half of the soap's first
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
couple, introduced as the partner of the yuppie graphic designer,
Colin Russell (played by
Michael Cashman
Michael Maurice Cashman, Baron Cashman (born 17 December 1950), is a British actor, politician, and LGBT rights activist. A member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands from 1999 to 2014. H ...
).
In 1987, Hailes' character Barry Clark caused a great deal of controversy after ''EastEnders'' screened the first male-to-male kiss on a UK,
prime time
Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
soap. The kiss prompted a multitude of complaints from angry viewers and a hostile
backlash
Backlash may refer to:
Literature
* '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi
* ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston
* Backlash (Marc Slayton), comic book character
* ''Backla ...
from the
right wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...
press
Press may refer to:
Media
* Print media or news media, commonly called "the press"
* Printing press, commonly called "the press"
* Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers
* Press TV, an Iranian television network
People
* Press (surname), a fam ...
.
Despite the fact that Hailes is heterosexual, he suffered from severe
homophobia
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...
because of the homosexual role he played in ''EastEnders''. He was attacked several times by members of the public who could not separate fact from fiction, which included being assaulted in a supermarket by a disapproving woman and strangled by a man at a petrol station. Even after he left the show he lost a job as a children's television presenter because of the so-called "gay tag".
Since leaving ''EastEnders'' in 1989, he has gone on to appear in films such as ''
The Killing Zone
''The Killing Zone'' is an unauthorised James Bond novel by James Hatfield, Jim Hatfield. It was privately published in paperback in 1985 under the guise that it was officially sanctioned by Ian Fleming Publications, Glidrose Publications (later ...
'' (1999); ''
Murder with Mirrors
''Murder with Mirrors'' is a 1985 British-American television film starring Helen Hayes (in her final film role) and Bette Davis. It is based on Agatha Christie's novel '' They Do It with Mirrors'', using the novel's American title. The novel has ...
'' and ''Waiting for a Killer''. On television he has appeared in
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
police drama ''
The Bill
''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983.
The programme focused on ...
'' (2001–02); ''
Horizon
The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...
''; ''Nobody’s Hero'' and ''
Sorry''.
Theatre appearances include ''Strip Poker''; ''Doctor on the Boil''; ''Gollocks'' and numerous
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
s. He has also performed several plays for BBC radio and voice-overs.
As well as acting, Hailes also drove a London
taxi
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
.
[Gary Hailes profile]
", ''catspaw.uk.com''. URL last accessed on 2 January 2007.
Hailes is involved with the worldwide Star Wars costuming group, 501st Legion. In his position of Commanding Officer of the UK Garrison, Hailes spends much of his time traveling the country helping to raise money for charities. Hailes appeared as a Stormtrooper, along with five other members of the 501st Legion, in ''
Star Wars: The Force Awakens''.
References
External links
*
1965 births
Living people
People educated at Holloway School
English male soap opera actors
English male film actors
English male stage actors
{{England-actor-stub