Mick Ford (born 1 August 1952) is a British actor,
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
and playwright, best known for his portrayal of intellectual convict Archer in the cinema version of '' Scum''.
Early life and education
Ford was born on 1 August 1952 in
Croydon, Surrey
Croydon is a large town in South London, south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts i ...
. His father, Noel Ford, fought on the front lines as a Desert Rat during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
National Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and registered charity in London. Its aim is to develop and nurture young people through creative arts and theatrical productions. Founded in 1956 as the world's first youth th ...
, where he appeared in numerous plays, including the premieres of ''
Zigger Zagger
''Zigger Zagger'' is a 1967 play by Peter Terson which was the first work to be commissioned by the National Youth Theatre who revived it at Wilton's Music Hall in 2017 for its 50th anniversary.The Secret Rapture''.
Career
After appearing in the 1978 film '' The Sailor's Return'', Ford's best known role came in the 1979 film '' Scum''. Set in a
borstal
A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school.
Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...
, Ford plays the inmate Archer, an intelligent vegetarian trouble-maker who just wants to serve his time ''"In (his) own little way"''. Ford also had a role that year in the television film ''
The Knowledge
Taxicabs are regulated throughout the United Kingdom, but the regulation of taxicabs in London is especially rigorous with regard to mechanical integrity and driver knowledge. An official report observed that: "Little however is known about ...
'' (for which he also performed the title song) in which he stars as an unemployed man who is encouraged by his girlfriend (
Kim Taylforth
Kim Taylforth is an English actress. She is the sister of ''EastEnders'' actress Gillian Taylforth.
She trained in acting at the Anna Scher Theatre School in Islington. Her earliest TV appearance was in the BBC sitcom, ''Steptoe and Son'', when ...
) to apply to the
Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
Public Carriage Office to become a
black cab
A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or London taxi) is a carriage or car for hire. A hackney of a more expensive or high class was called a remise. A symbol of London and Britain, the black taxi is a common si ...
driver. In 1980 he was the main character in the European TV-miniseries ''
Caleb Williams
Caleb Williams (born November 18, 2001) is an American football quarterback for the USC Trojans. Williams played for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2021 before transferring to USC as a sophomore in 2022, where he won several player of the year awards, i ...
'' by
Herbert Wise Herbert Wise (31 August 1924 – 5 August 2015) was an Austrian-born film and television producer and director.
He was born as Herbert Weisz in Vienna, Austria, and began his career as a director at Shrewsbury Repertory Company in 1950. He was at H ...
. He also appeared opposite
Trevor Howard
Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...
in the film ''
Light Years Away
''Light Years Away'' (french: Les Années lumière) is a 1981 film directed by Alain Tanner. It tells the story of a young man who meets an old man who says he was taught by birds how to fly and is building a flying machine. It is based on a nov ...
'' (1981), and appeared in the play, ''The Promise''. His later film roles include ''
Kim
Kim or KIM may refer to:
Names
* Kim (given name)
* Kim (surname)
** Kim (Korean surname)
*** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties
**** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948
** Kim, Vietnamese f ...
'' (1984), ''
The Fourth Protocol
''The Fourth Protocol'' is a thriller novel by British writer Frederick Forsyth, published in August 1984.
Etymology
The title refers to the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which (at least in the world of the novel) contained four secr ...
'' (1987), ''
How to Get Ahead in Advertising
''How to Get Ahead in Advertising'' is a 1989 British black comedy fantasy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring Richard E. Grant and Rachel Ward. The title is a pun and can be literally taken as "How to Get a ''Head'' in Adv ...
'' (1989) and ''Dracula the Messiah'' (2020).
Personal life
Ford was married to the director of St Pancras Community Centre, Ruth Roberts, with whom he had two children. Roberts died in September 2010. He later married former actress
Rudi Davies
Ruth Emmanuella Davies (born 24 March 1965), known professionally as Rudi Davies, is an English actress, the daughter of Alan Sharp (1934–2013) and the writer, Dame Beryl Bainbridge (1932–2010).
Career
Davies began her acting career as Penny ...
, whose mother was novelist
Beryl Bainbridge
Dame Beryl Margaret Bainbridge (21 November 1932 – 2 July 2010) was an English writer from Liverpool. She was primarily known for her works of psychological fiction, often macabre tales set among the English working class. Bainbridge won the ...