Gary Stevenson (born 30 November 1957), better known as Gary Lewis, is a Scottish actor. He has had roles in films such as ''
Billy Elliot
''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy wh ...
'', ''
Joyeux Noël
:''Joyeux Noel means Merry Christmas in French. For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation) and Merry Christmas (disambiguation)''
''Joyeux Noël'' ''('Merry Christmas')'' is a 2005 war drama film based on the Christmas truce of December ...
'', ''
Gangs of New York
''Gangs of New York'' is a 2002 American epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1927 book '' The Gangs of New York''. The film stars Le ...
'', ''
Eragon
''Eragon'' is the first book in ''The Inheritance Cycle'' by American fantasy writer Christopher Paolini. Paolini, born in 1983, began writing the novel after graduating from home school at the age of fifteen. After writing the first draft for a ...
'', and ''
Three and Out
''Three and Out'' is a 2008 British black comedy film directed by Jonathan Gershfield and starring Mackenzie Crook, Colm Meaney, Gemma Arterton, Imelda Staunton, and Kerry Katona. It premiered in London on the 21 April 2008 and was released in ...
'', as well as major roles in the television
docudrama
Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event".
Docudramas typic ...
''
Supervolcano'' and the
Starz
Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...
series ''
Outlander''.
Early life
Gary Lewis was born Gary Stevenson on 30 November 1957 in
Easterhouse
Easterhouse is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, east of the city centre on land gained from the county of Lanarkshire as part of an expansion of Glasgow before the Second World War. The area is on high ground north of the River Clyde and south ...
, Glasgow. The middle of three children, his father was a coppersmith whilst his mother worked in a local biscuit factory.
After leaving school, he worked a series of jobs including as a street sweeper and in a library.
He completed a social science degree at Glasgow College of Technology (now
Glasgow Caledonian University
Glasgow Caledonian University ( gd, Oilthigh Chailleannach Ghlaschu, ), informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley, is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and G ...
), graduating with honours in 1983.
Encouraged by his high school English teacher, Lewis read voraciously and eventually decided to pursue a career as an actor.
Career
Theatre
In 1979, Lewis starred in writer Freddy Anderson's Fringe First Award-winning play ''Krassivy'', which was based upon the life of
Socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
school teacher
John Maclean.
Although he had pursued amateur theatrics, Lewis was 32 when he committed to acting, joining
Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...
's newly formed Raindog Theatre.
During his time with Raindog, he performed in plays such as ''
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'', ''
Ecstasy'', and ''Wasted''.
He also worked with the
7:84 Theatre Company on ''
The Grapes of Wrath
''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award
and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize ...
, ''The Arches Theatre Company's production of
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...
's ''
The Birthday Party,'' and starred in ''One Two Hey'' by Glaswegian author
James Kelman
James Kelman (born 9 June 1946) is a Scottish novelist, short story writer, playwright and essayist. His novel '' A Disaffection'' was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 1989. Kelman won ...
.
1993–2004: Film work
In 1993, with the support of his friend actor-director
Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan (; born 2 November 1959) is a Scottish actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his role in Ken Loach's ''My Name Is Joe'' (1998), for which he won Best Actor Award at 1998 Cannes Film Festival, 2000's '' The Claim'' and all thr ...
, Lewis was cast in the short film ''Close.''
After working together on the short, both actors appeared in
Danny Boyle
Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including ''Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel ''T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', '' 28 Days Later'', '' Su ...
's 1994 thriller ''
Shallow Grave Shallow Grave may refer to:
* ''Shallow Grave'' (1987 film), an American slasher film
* ''Shallow Grave'' (1994 film), a British thriller film directed by Danny Boyle
* ''Shallow Grave'' (album), a 2008 album by The Tallest Man on Earth
{{disa ...
'', alongside
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...
and
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor. A two-time BAFTA Award nominee, he is best known for his television and film work, which includes his role as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series '' ...
. Lewis went on to feature in Mullan's subsequent shorts ''Good Day for the Bad Guys'' (1995) and the award-winning ''Fridge'' (1996).
Lewis joined director
Kenneth Loach's unofficial stock company lending support to his two mentors in separate films: with
Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...
, he co-starred in ''
Carla's Song
''Carla's Song'' is a 1996 film directed by Ken Loach and written by Paul Laverty, that deals with the impact of the Contra War in Nicaragua. It is a United Kingdom–Spain–Germany co-production.
Plot
Set in 1987, Carla's Song tells the st ...
'' (1996), while he played a recovering alcoholic alongside Mullan in ''
My Name Is Joe
''My Name Is Joe'' is a 1998 British romantic drama film directed by Ken Loach. The film stars Peter Mullan as Joe Kavanagh, an unemployed recovering alcoholic in Glasgow, Scotland who meets and falls in love with a health visitor, played by ...
'' (1998). Between the two films, Lewis was featured in
Sigma Films
Sigma Films is a film production company based in Glasgow, Scotland. The company was formed in 1996 by Gillian Berrie, David Mackenzie and Alastair Mackenzie – a producer, director and actor respectively. Over the last twenty years the com ...
' short ''California Sunshine'' (1997) before again working with Mullan, who cast Lewis as over-righteous elder sibling Thomas in ''
Orphans
An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died.
In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...
'' (1998), an examination of a
dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often child neglect or abuse and sometimes even all of the above on the part of individual parents occur continuously and regularly, leading other members to accommodate suc ...
. That same year he was featured in director
Albert Pyun
Albert Pyun (May 19, 1953 – November 26, 2022) was an American film director who made low-budget B-movies and direct-to-video action films.
The Independent Film Channel said that Pyun "has carved out a unique niche as a director of low-budge ...
's independent film ''
Postmortem
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
'', director Sean McGuire's short film ''The Good Son'', director Kenny Glenaan's short ''The Whirlpool'', short film ''The Lucky Suit'' opposite
Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...
, and screenwriter Barry Gornell's short film ''Sonny's Pride''.
In 1999, Lewis starred in
Ayub Khan Din's dramatic comedy ''
East is East'', and
Bill Forsyth
William David Forsyth (born 29 July 1946). known as Bill Forsyth, is a Scottish film director and writer known for his films '' Gregory's Girl'' (1981), '' Local Hero'' (1983) and '' Comfort and Joy'' (1984) as well as his adaptation of the Ma ...
's comedy ''
Gregory's Two Girls
''Gregory's Two Girls'' is a 1999 Scottish film, set in Cumbernauld and also in various locations in Edinburgh. It is the sequel to ''Gregory's Girl'' (1981), which also starred John Gordon Sinclair and Kennie Pullen and was written and directed ...
''. He went on to star with
Max Beesley in ''
The Match'' (1999) before landing his international breakthrough in ''
Billy Elliot
''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy wh ...
'' (2000). Lewis's portrayal of a grief-stricken father, coping with the
1984-85 miner's strike and raising a son who wants to become a ballet dancer earned him a BAFTA nomination for
Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In 2000, Lewis starred in
May Miles Thomas
May Miles Thomas is a film director and screenwriter.
Biographical details
Born in Glasgow, May Miles Thomas was educated at Hillhead High School and the Glasgow School of Art, graduating in design and photography.
May Miles Thomas has worked a ...
's drama ''One Life Stand'', which premiered at the
Edinburgh Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
, and featured
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
as a boxing coach who was possibly involved in a murder in ''
Shiner,'' which screened at the
San Sebastian Film Festival. Lewis finished the year with several short films including ''
What Where
''What Where'' is Samuel Beckett's last play produced following a request for a new work for the 1983 Autumn Festival in Graz, Austria. It was written between February and March 1983 initially in French as ''Quoi où'' and translated by Beckett ...
'', a 12-minute short with
Sean McGinley
Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...
based upon
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...
's play of the same name, director
David Mackenzie's ''Marcie's Dowry'', ''The Elevator'' alongside
Ashley Walters, ''Long Haul'' alongside
Simone Lahbib
Simone Nicole Jean Lahbib Ould Cheikl (; born 6 February 1965) is a Scottish actress. She is known for her roles as Helen Stewart in the ITV drama series '' Bad Girls'', DCI Alex Fielding in the ITV crime series ''Wire in the Blood'' and Katy L ...
'','' ''Clean'' with actor
Stephen McCole
Stephen McCole is a Scottish actor. He is best known for starring in the dark comedy series ''High Times'',Paul English"High Times duo Stephen and Paul McCole find fame in unlikely places" '' The Daily Record'', 28 June 2008. Retrieved 1 June 20 ...
, and director
David McKay's ''Caesar''.
He appeared in an additional short film in 2001, ''Rob of the Rovers'', which followed a day in the life of gym teacher Rob Meadows.
Lewis worked with director Giles MacKinnon twice in 2002. Revenge thriller ''
The Escapist'', which featured Lewis in the role of Ron, was followed by a turn as Detective Inspector French in the crime drama ''Pure''. He went to Rome's
Cinecittà Studios
Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios wer ...
to join the ensemble cast of
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
's ''
Gangs of New York
''Gangs of New York'' is a 2002 American epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1927 book '' The Gangs of New York''. The film stars Le ...
'', an epic tale of gang warfare among the lower classes in 1860s
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Lewis portrayed McGloin, an
Irish-American
, image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png
, image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state
, caption = Notable Irish Americans
, population =
36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...
meant to embody the shift in mid-nineteenth century attitudes towards other immigrants.
2003 was another strong year with Lewis playing different roles. The first was Posh Pictures' ''The Fall of Shug McCracken'', which tackled the subject of employee theft and labour unions.
Next was Danish director
Soren Kragh-Jacobsen's film ''
Skagerrak
The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea.
T ...
'', a romantic drama set in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, which saw Lewis in a supporting role as a local Glaswegian. The last, a
film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...
drama from director and writer May Miles Thomas titled ''Solid Air'', which is about the relationship between a sickly father (
Maurice Roeves) and his compulsive gambler son (
Brian McCardie
Brian McCardie is a Scottish actor and writer.
Early life
Brian McCardie attended St. Brendan’s, then St. Athanasius Primary Schools. He went on to Our Lady's High School in Motherwell. His parents moved from Motherwell to Carluke while ...
).
2004–2013
Working with director Kenneth Loach again, Lewis starred in the 2004 love story ''
Ae Fond Kiss...,'' which takes its name from a
Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...
poem. That same year, he had a role in director
Friðrik Þór Friðriksson
Friðrik Þór Friðriksson (born 12 May 1954; pronounced ), sometimes credited as Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, is an Icelandic film director and producer.
Biography
Fridriksson started his film making career with experimental films and documenta ...
's drama ''
Niceland (Population 1.000.002)'' alongside
Peter Capaldi
Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...
and
Kerry Fox
Kerry Lauren Fox (born 30 July 1966) is a New Zealand actress. She came to prominence playing author Janet Frame in the movie '' An Angel at My Table'' directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and ...
. His next project was
Stephen Whittaker's ''
The Rocket Post
''The Rocket Post'' is a 2004 British drama film directed by Stephen Whittaker and starring Ulrich Thomsen, Shauna Macdonald, Kevin McKidd and Patrick Malahide. It is set on a remote Scottish island during the late 1930s. The arrival of Germ ...
''. Filmed on the island of
Taransay
Taransay ( gd, Tarasaigh, ) is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It was the host of the British television series '' Castaway 2000''. Uninhabited since 1974, except for holidaymakers, Taransay is the largest Scottish island without a p ...
, Scotland, the film explores a German scientist's idea to deliver mail via rockets in the late 1930s. Director Peter Timm's film ''
My Brother Is a Dog
''My Brother Is a Dog'' is a 2004 film directed by Peter Timm and starring Maria Ehrich, Martin Lindow and Christine Neubauer.
Cast
* Maria Ehrich as Marietta
* Irm Hermann as Oma Gerda
* Christine Neubauer as Mutter Maria
* Martin Lindow as Va ...
'', features Lewis as the Antiquitätenhändler in a film about a young girl wishing for a dog. Lewis ended the year with two films about the post
9/11
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
tension between the Western and Arab worlds. First was a supporting role in writer
Simon Beaufoy
Simon Beaufoy (; born 26 December 1966) is a British screenwriter. Born in Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire, he was educated at Malsis School in Cross Hills, Ermysted's Grammar School and Sedbergh School, he read English at St Peter's College ...
's ''Yasmin'', set in Northern England before and after the 9/11 attacks. Second was
Sally Potter
Charlotte Sally Potter (born 19 September 1949) is an English film director and screenwriter. She is known for directing ''Orlando'' (1992), which won the audience prize for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival.
Early life
Potter was born an ...
's fourth feature film ''
Yes'', which views the post-traumatic rift through the lens of two lovers caught in the divide.
In 2005, Lewis starred in
Christian Carion
Christian Carion (born 4 January 1963) is a French film director, dialogue writer and screenwriter, gaining international attention for ''Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas)'', which was nominated for several awards, including the 2005 Academy Awa ...
's international production of the film ''
Joyeux Noël
:''Joyeux Noel means Merry Christmas in French. For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation) and Merry Christmas (disambiguation)''
''Joyeux Noël'' ''('Merry Christmas')'' is a 2005 war drama film based on the Christmas truce of December ...
''. Set in WWI, the film explores the "Christmas Truce" of 1914 between the armies of three countries. In a departure from previous films, Lewis was next featured in director
Danny Cannon
Daniel John Cannon (born 5 October 1968) is a British film and television producer, director and writer, known for executive producing the 15-season show ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' series franchise (and directed multiple episodes inclu ...
's football film ''
Goal! The Dream Begins
''Goal!'' (also known as ''Goal! The Dream Begins'') is a 2005 sports drama film directed by Danny Cannon from a screenplay by Mike Jefferies, Adrian Butchart, Dick Clement, and Ian La Frenais. It is the first installment in the ''Goal!'' t ...
'', which focuses on a Mexican football player trying out for the
Newcastle United Football Club
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
. Clive Gordon's 2006 film ''Cargo'', a psychological thriller, featured Lewis opposite
Daniel Bruhl and
Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan (; born 2 November 1959) is a Scottish actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his role in Ken Loach's ''My Name Is Joe'' (1998), for which he won Best Actor Award at 1998 Cannes Film Festival, 2000's '' The Claim'' and all thr ...
. As the skipper of a bankrupt Scottish fishing trawler in ''True North'', Lewis and actor
Martin Compston
Martin Compston (born 8 May 1984) is a Scottish actor and former Association Football, professional footballer. He played Anti-Corruption Unit Detective Inspector Steve Arnott in the BBC drama ''Line of Duty'', Liam in Ken Loach, Ken Loach's '' ...
tackle the subject of migrant smuggling and the effects it has on those making the journey. At the end of 2005, Lewis starred as Hrothgar in
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
's
live action adaptation of
Christopher Paolini
Christopher James Paolini (born November 17, 1983) is an American author and screenwriter. He is best known for '' The Inheritance Cycle'', which consists of the books '' Eragon'', ''Eldest'', '' Brisingr'', ''Inheritance'', and the follow up sho ...
's hit fantasy trilogy ''
Eragon
''Eragon'' is the first book in ''The Inheritance Cycle'' by American fantasy writer Christopher Paolini. Paolini, born in 1983, began writing the novel after graduating from home school at the age of fifteen. After writing the first draft for a ...
''.
The 2008 British black comedy ''
Three and Out
''Three and Out'' is a 2008 British black comedy film directed by Jonathan Gershfield and starring Mackenzie Crook, Colm Meaney, Gemma Arterton, Imelda Staunton, and Kerry Katona. It premiered in London on the 21 April 2008 and was released in ...
'' (released as ''A Deal Is A Deal'' in Australia), from director Johnathan Gershfield, saw Lewis in the supporting role of Callaghan. The film focuses on a train conductor who tries to use a little known three strikes rule of the London train service to force an early retirement and payout for himself. Screened at the
Edinburgh Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
, Lewis's next film was director Robert Rae's debut film ''Trouble Sleeping,'' which tells the story of a Palestinian refugee's struggles in the UK. Psychological thriller ''
Dorothy Mills
''Dorothy Mills'', also known under the title ''Dorothy,'' is a 2008 psychological thriller mystery film directed by Agnès Merlet. Starring Carice van Houten and Jenn Murray, the film is about a psychiatrist assigned to work on the case of a ...
'', directed by
Agnes Merlet, featured Lewis as the brainwashing pastor of a small community on a bleak Irish island. His last film of 2008 was Mark Aldridge's drama ''
Blessed
Blessed may refer to:
* The state of having received a blessing
* Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified
Film and television
* ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...
'', alongside
James Nesbitt
William James Nesbitt (born 15 January 1965) is an actor from Northern Ireland.
From 1987, Nesbitt spent seven years performing in plays that varied from the musical '' Up on the Roof'' (1987, 1989) to the political drama ''Paddywack'' (1994) ...
and
Lil Woods
Lillian Grace Woods (born 9 April 1998) is a British actress who appeared in the film ''Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang'' as Megsie Green.
Woods' other film credits include '' Blessed'' (2008), '' Disco'' (2010) and ''Baby'' (2014). She attende ...
.
Reprising the role of Mal Braithwaite, Lewis began 2009 with the third instalment of
Andrew Morahan's football series entitled ''
Goal! III: Taking On the World''. ''Wasted'', his next film from filmmakers
Caroline Paterson
Caroline Paterson (born 1965) is a Scottish actress and director who has appeared in many Scottish television shows such as one-off STV drama, '' The Steamie'' and the BBC's '' Rab C. Nesbitt''. However, she is most recognised for her role in ' ...
and Stuart Davids, treated the subject of homelessness in Glasgow, Scotland. From there he was cast in the Danish film ''
Valhalla Rising'', alongside
Mads Mikkelson, and director Christian Carion's Cold War thriller ''Farewell'' (''L'Affaire Farewell''). Lewis returned to short films in 2010 with director Tom Shrapnel's ''Eat Me'',
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...
Judge's Award nominee ''The Terms'', Robert James Armstrong's ''Little Green Bag'', and ''Vocation'' opposite
James Chalmers''.'' He was also featured in Peter Mullan's gang drama ''
Neds''.
2011 showcased Lewis in two additional short films. The first, from director and writer Raisah Ahmed, titled ''Last Order'', featured Lewis alongside Leann O'Kasi and
David Elliot. The second was filmmaker Gregor Johnstone's comedy ''Rule of Thumb'', which saw Lewis as the school janitor during a disastrous standoff. In 2012, Lewis appeared in two feature films. ''
The Strange Case of Wilhelm Reich
''The Strange Case of Wilhelm Reich'' is a 2013 Austrian film about Wilhelm Reich directed by Antonin Svoboda and starring Klaus Maria Brandauer as Reich.
Background
The title is a reference to the article with the same name of Mildred Edie Brad ...
'', which explored psychiatrist
Wilhem Reich's career and subsequent investigation by the
FDA
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
and other government agencies. He played
Dr. Donald Cameron, who was President of the American, Canadian and
World Psychiatric Association
The World Psychiatric Association is an international umbrella organisation of psychiatric societies.
Objectives and goals
Originally created to produce world psychiatric congresses, it has evolved to hold regional meetings, to promote profess ...
s. ''
When the Lights Went Out
''When the Lights Went Out'' is a 2012 British supernatural horror film directed by Pat Holden and starring Kate Ashfield, Tasha Connor, Steven Waddington, Craig Parkinson, Martin Compston, and Jo Hartley. It was released in the UK on 13 Septe ...
'' starred Lewis as Father Clifford, a local priest who performs an exorcism on a house plagued by a
poltergeist
In ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; German for "rumbling ghost" or "noisy spirit") is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descr ...
. The film is based on the real-life experiences of director Pat Holden's mother and aunt in 1970s
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
. Lewis's next role was Andrew Griffin's short film ''The Gift'' (2012), which was screened at the New York International Independent Film Festival in 2013.
Thirteen years after first working with May Thomas Miles in ''One Life Stand'', Lewis reunited with the filmmaker in 2013 for the film version of her
BAFTA winning interactive website ''The Devil's Plantation''. Both the website and film are based on archaeologist Harry Bell's belief that
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
was laid out based upon a secret, hidden design he called the Secret Geometry. Lewis starred as Bell, opposite
Kate Dickie
Kate Dickie (born 1971) is a Scottish actress who has appeared in television series, stage plays and films. She is known for her television roles as Lex in the BBC series '' Tinsel Town'' (2000–2001) and Lysa Arryn in the HBO series '' Game ...
’s psychiatric patient Mary Ross, as their lives intertwine. He then appeared in Scottish
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
''
Not Another Happy Ending
''Not Another Happy Ending'' is a 2013 British romantic comedy film directed by John McKay, starring Karen Gillan, Stanley Weber and Freya Mavor. Produced by Claire Mundell and Wendy Griffin, and written by David Solomons, the film premiered a ...
'' as Benny Lockhart opposite
Karen Gillan
Karen Sheila Gillan (; born 28 November 1987) is a Scottish actress. She gained recognition for her work in British film and television, particularly for playing Amy Pond, a primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor in the science fiction seri ...
and fellow ''
Outlander'' alumni
Stanley Weber
Stanley Weber (born 13 July 1986) is a French actor and theatre director. He is known for his performance as Juan Borgia in the television series '' Borgia'', and for his roles in films ''The First Day of the Rest of Your Life'' and '' Thérè ...
. Director Alberto Arvelo's ''
The Liberator'', the story of Venezuelan freedom fighter
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...
, featured Lewis as Colonel Rooke of the Irish Brigade while director
John S. Baird's psychological police drama ''
Filth
Filth or The Filth may refer to:
Common uses
* Dirt, unclean matter
* Police officer, a pejorative in British slang
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Filth'' (film), a 2013 film based on the novel
* ''Filth'', an alternative title for ''S ...
,'' saw Lewis guest star as Gus. Later that year, Lewis featured in
Luca Barbareschi
Luca Barbareschi (born 28 July 1956 in Montevideo) is an Italian-Uruguayan actor, television presenter, and former member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Barbareschi is Jewish.
He was one of four actors whom the Italian police believed ha ...
's ''The Mercury Factor'', which takes on the issue of
adulterated food Adulteration is a legal offence and when the food fails to meet the legal standards set by the government, it is said to have been Adulterated Food. One form of adulteration is an addition of another substance to a food item in order to increase the ...
. Returning to independent films at the end of 2013, Lewis starred alongside Teresina Moscatiello in the German production ''Waiting'' and in Marcus McPeake's short film ''For Gracie''.
2014–present
First time British director Daniel Wolfe's thriller ''
Catch Me Daddy
''Catch Me Daddy'' is a 2014 British thriller film directed by Daniel Wolfe. It was screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. The film received its British debut screening at the 2014 London Film Fest ...
'' (2014), which screened at the
Director's Fortnight
The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festi ...
strand and focused on a teenager and her boyfriend who flee from her overbearing father, portrays Lewis as hired thug Tony, who is sent to retrieve the runaways. In 2015, Lewis appeared in short films, working twice with director Gordon Napier. The first film was the drama ''La Chasse'', in which Lewis portrayed the protagonist's deceased father through a voice over.
Second was the 25-minute short ''Tide'', which saw Lewis star as lobster fisherman Alasdaire as he watches the life he knew erode into modern practices.
Also in 2015, Lewis in featured in Joshua J. Krull's German language short film ''The Heavy Load''.
In 2018, Lewis returned to feature films with director
Marcus H. Rosenmüller's football flick ''
The Keeper''. The film is a story of German goalkeeper
Bert Trautmann
Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann EK OBE BVO (22 October 1923 – 19 July 2013) was a German professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Manchester City from 1949 to 1964.
In August 1933, (aged 9), he joined the Jungvolk, the junior ...
, who helped
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
win the
FA Cup final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...
in 1956. He also featured opposite
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as '' Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film '' Tomorrow Never ...
and Peter Mullan in Kristoffer Nyholm's 1930s era thriller, ''
The Vanishing''. In 2021, he worked on a third Cation title, a remake of the 2017 French language Mon Garcon. My Son, set in Scotland.
Television
1993–2013
Lewis's first professional role, in 1993, was in BBC's anthology series ''
Screen One
''Screen One'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and distributed by BBC Worldwide, that was transmitted on BBC One from 1989 to 1998. A total of six series were broadcast, incorporating sixty individual films, ...
,'' in a feature-length episode entitled ''Down Among the Big Boys.'' The standalone film, also starring
Douglas Henshall
Douglas “Dougie” James Henshall (born 19 November 1965) is a Scottish television, film and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Professor Nick Cutter in the science fiction series '' Primeval'' (2007–2011) and Detective Inspect ...
and
Billy Connolly
Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...
, focuses on the marriage of a policeman's son to a criminals daughter. His next project was a 1995 made-for-TV movie from writer/director David Kane. ''Ruffian Hearts'' is a romantic comedy set in a
Glasgow tenement where Lewis's character resided. Between 1995 and 1999, Lewis appeared in several episodes of series such as ''
Doctor Finlay
''Doctor Finlay'' is a British television series based on A. J. Cronin's stories about the fictional medical hero, Dr. Finlay.
It was first broadcast on 5 March 1993 on ITV.
It is a follow-up to ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'', the successful BBC ...
'', ''
Hamish MacBeth
Hamish Macbeth is the lackadaisical police constable of the fictional Scottish Highland town of Lochdubh, in a series of murder mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney).
Considered by many to be a useless, lazy moocher, Macbeth ...
'' opposite
Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...
, BBC medical drama ''Cardiac Arrest'',
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. ...
...
''.
During that time, he also appeared in director Mark Haber's made-for-TV film ''The Princess Stallion'' and
's award-winning TV film ''The Many Trials of One Jane Doe'', which is based on a true story of a
woman who challenged the police and their investigation after being raped, through a lengthy court battle. 2003 saw Lewis return to the BBC for director Antonia Bird's compelling TV film ''Rehab'', a semi-improvised film about the rehabilitation of people addicted to drugs.
That same year he featured in scriptwriter
. His next project, ''
. Lewis portrayed historical figure
erupted. Filmed in
. Between 2006 and 2008, Lewis appeared in a wide range episodic television programs, including
'', the second of two episodes he appeared in (the first was in 1999), Channel 4's mini series ''
'' the second of two episodes he appeared in (the first was in 1996), and BBC comedy ''
.
''. Lewis played Mac alongside the now star of Outlander,
, who played the 18 year old fighter pilot Wellum Lewis rounded out the year by featuring in series seven of the BBC's long-running crime drama ''
in 2011. The first was episode five of the BBC's ''
,'' which saw Lewis portraying Patrick Baxter. Next was an episode of the BBC drama ''
'' where he portrayed Jimmy West, butler to an elderly man accused of murder. Finally, Lewis appeared in the BBC mini-series ''
, in the role of Professor Quinton Gunnel. He also featured in several TV series including the enigmatic
'', and Detective Novakowski in Canada's true crime drama ''Dual Suspects''.
In 2012 Lewis starred in the two-part
, which tells the story of symbolic Olympic Games held by the prisoners and their captors while in Polish
concentration camps. He went on to feature in a season two episode of the BAFTA winning show ''
.
'' two-part episode "In A Lonely Place". This was the second of two guest starring roles on the hit series, the first was as Edwin Stickley in a 2008 two-part episode entitled "Terror". He next appeared in episode six of
'', which chronicled the lives of a group of London firefighters, and the BAFTA winning TV film ''
'', which featured Lewis as a teacher supporting his pupils in their fight to save their classmate from deportation. From 2014 to 2016, Lewis appeared in the recurring role of Colum MacKenzie, Laird of the MacKenzie clan, on
's novels of the same name.
,'' BBC's lighthearted police drama set on an island in the Caribbean, featured Lewis in the guest starring role of Bill Williams early in 2015. Later that year he starred as Mike McAvett in
of the same name. In
'' (aka ''Retribution''), a triple homicide murder mystery, Lewis featured as farm manager Alistair. From there he starred in ITV's British crime drama ''
).
Lewis ended 2016 by once again working with costar Douglas Henshall in ITV's three-part mini-series ''
'', which was based on the true story of Lanarkarshire Detective William Muncie's quest to bring serial rapist and murderer
to justice in the 1950s.
in MTG Studio's drama ''Rig 45'', set during the investigation of a fatal accident on a
oil rig, in early 2018. He next appeared in season three of
. During the first quarter of 2019, Lewis guest starred in series finale of
and their reactions to the world.
*
* https://www.gcu.ac.uk/archives/catalogues/browsebycreator/lewis/
* https://www.gcu.ac.uk/alumni/alumniprofiles/featured/garylewis/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Gary