Mohammed Michael "Mo" George (born 11 March 1982) is a British actor who played

Gus Smith Gus Smith is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Mohammed George. He made his first appearance on 28 May 2002. It was announced in January 2008 that Gus would leave the show later in 2008, and he made his ...

on the

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 ...

'' from 2002 to 2008.

Early life

Mohammed Michael George was born to a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n mother and

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

n father, in Hackney,

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Career

Before appearing in ''EastEnders'', George made guest appearances in ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and pr ...

'', ''Bottom'' (as a young trick-or-treater in the episode ''Terror''), ''

Kidulthood ''Kidulthood'' (stylised as ''KiDULTHOOD'') is a 2006 British crime drama film directed by Menhaj Huda and written by Noel Clarke, who appeared in the film alongside Aml Ameen, Red Madrell, Adam Deacon, Jaime Winstone, Femi Oyeniran, Madelei ...

'' and ''

The Last Detective ''The Last Detective'' is a British TV comedy drama series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV between 7 February 2003 and 31 May 2007, starring Peter Davison as the title character, Detective Constable "Dangerous Davies". The series is based o ...

''. He also starred as Dennis in the children's program ''

Renford Rejects ''Renford Rejects'' is a teen sitcom produced and broadcast by Nickelodeon UK between 1998 and 2001. The show briefly aired in the United States on Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids, Nick GaS. Reruns used to be broadcast on Nickelodeon UK at ...

'' in 2000.

Personal life

George has a daughter, Olivia Destiny. His daughter was born in 2005 in

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

Legal troubles

George was arrested on 8 December 2006 for a suspected assault on girlfriend Emma Archibald during an argument outside a restaurant. She corroborated the claims, in what started as an argument over who should empty the dishwasher. George was cautioned by the police for having swung a bag of rubbish, and was subsequently suspended by ''EastEnders'' Executive Producer

Diederick Santer Diederick Santer (born 3 July 1969) is a British television producer and is best known for his work on the popular BBC television soap opera ''EastEnders'', a post which he assumed on 23 October 2006 and left on 1 March 2010. He was Chief Execu ...

for two months. He apologised to the BBC and the show's producers. It was announced on 18 January 2008 that George and ''EastEnders'' had reached a mutual agreement not to renew his contract and he left the show after six years, later in 2008. George has since stated that he was "forced" to leave ''EastEnders'' after the bosses there believed newspaper headlines which he later proved wrong. He has also admitted to suffering from depression as a result of his departure from ''EastEnders''.

Lawsuits

In March 2009, George started libel action against '' The Sun'' newspaper, claiming that they said he was "acting like a wild animal" and branded him a "woman beater" and that this was untrue. His lawyer said the reports had "damaged his prospects as an actor". The newspaper contested the claim, but George won £75,000 libel damages on 2 April 2009. In July 2010, the '' Daily Star'' apologised and paid damages to George after they incorrectly reported that he had arrived drunk to an ''EastEnders'' 25th anniversary party and acted aggressively to the programme's producers.

Other interests

George is now a full-time DJ playing around clubs across the United Kingdom. In June 2016, George was nominated for best actor alongside Idris Elba, Shone Romulus, and Emmanuel Imani at the 2016 British Urban Film festival for his role in "Murder Capital" a short film written and directed by Rob Woods.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:George, Mohammed 1982 births Living people Male actors from London Black British male actors English DJs English male film actors English people of Antigua and Barbuda descent English people of Jamaican descent English male soap opera actors People from Hackney Central