''The Murder of Stephen Lawrence'' is a British television

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...

drama film, written and directed by

Paul Greengrass Paul Greengrass (born 13 August 1955) is a British film director, film producer, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of historic events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras. His early film ' ...

, that first broadcast on ITV on 18 February 1999. It won the

BAFTA TV Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

for Best Single Drama. The film, based on the murder committed on 22 April 1993, follows Stephen's parents' Doreen and Neville's quest for justice as a gang of racists are tried for their son's murder.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste (born 26 April 1967) is an English actress. She is known for her role in the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Secrets & Lies'', for which she received acclaim and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Sup ...

and

Hugh Quarshie Hugh Anthony Quarshie (born 22 December 1954) is a Ghanaian-born British actor. Some of his best-known roles include his appearances in the films ''Highlander'' (1986), '' The Church'' (1989), ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' (1 ...

star as Doreen and Neville, with Leon Black playing

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

, and Ashley Walters, Millicent Gezi, Joseph Kpobie and Brian Bovell also amongst the main cast.

Production

The film was first conceived in 1997, with then head of drama at ITV, Nick Elliott, commissioning the project before a script had even been written. Producer Mark Readhead said a key part of the film was to "concentrate on the personal, rather than police, procedures", in order to create a "true story". The film was notable for being actress Jean-Baptiste's first British screen role since her Oscar nomination for '' Secrets and Lies''.

Cast

as Doreen Lawrence *

as Neville Lawrence * Leon Black as Stephen Lawrence * Ashley Walters as Stuart Lawrence * Millicent Gezi as Georgina Lawrence * Joseph Kpobie as

Duwayne Brooks Duwayne Lloyd Anthony Brooks (born 27 September 1974) is a former councillor in the London Borough of Lewisham. He was a friend of Stephen Lawrence and was with him when he was murdered. Early life Brooks was born in Lewisham to Jamaican paren ...

* Brian Bovell as Uncle *

Jo Martin Jo Martin (born 29 April) is a British actress. She played Natalie Crouch in the BBC One sitcom '' The Crouches'', which aired between 2003 and 2005. She joined the cast of ''Holby City'' in 2019 as neurosurgeon Max McGerry. Martin portrayed a ...

as Cheryl Sloley * Shaun Chawdhary as

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

Kenneth Cranham Kenneth Cranham (born 12 December 1944) is a Scottish film, television, radio and stage actor. Early life Cranham was born in Dunfermline, Fife, the son of Lochgelly-born Margaret McKay Cranham (née Ferguson) and Ronald Cranham, a London-bor ...

Michael Mansfield QC Michael Mansfield (born 12 October 1941) is an English barrister and head of chambers at Nexus Chambers. He was recently described as "The king of human rights work" by The Legal 500 and as a Leading Silk in civil liberties and human rights ...

* David Calder as Sir Paul Condon * Stafford Gordon as DAC Ian Johnston *

Michael Feast Michael Feast (born 25 November 1946) is an English actor of stage and screen. He was born in Brighton, and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He performed in the original 1968 London production of ''Hair''. He worked several ti ...

as DCS Ilsley * David Schaal as DS Bevan * Jenny Tarren as WDC Holden * Natasha Williams as Clara * Dona Croll as Ros Howells OBE * Ricci Harnett as Neil Acourt * Lee Colley as Jamie Acourt * Darren Morfitt as Luke Knight *

Neil Maskell Neil Maskell (born 1976) is an English actor, writer and director who is known for his appearances in British crime and horror films such as '' The Football Factory'' and ''Kill List''. Early life Maskell was born in London. As a youth, he pl ...

as Gary Dobson *

Dominic Power Dominic Power (born 5 May 1973) is an English actor. Power has portrayed Leon Taylor in the ITV police drama ''The Bill'' and Cameron Murray in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. He is currently appearing in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks ...

as David Norris

Home media

The film was released on VHS in the United States on 23 April 2002, but this remains the only home release.

Legacy and sequel

In the wake of various

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...

protests, and as part of ITV's "''Black Voices''" strand, the drama was repeated on ITV in July 2020, immediately after an hour-long debate programme titled ''Stephen Lawrence: Has Britain Changed?'' In July 2020, it was announced that a new, three-part sequel to the 1999 drama had been commissioned by ITV. The series will be set 13 years after the black teenager was killed and will depict his parents’ fight for justice. The series, entitled ''

'' was broadcast from 30 August to 13 September 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murder of Stephen Lawrence, The 1999 films 1999 television films 1999 crime drama films BAFTA winners (television series) British crime drama films Television shows produced by Granada Television ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios Films shot in London Films directed by Paul Greengrass Crime films based on actual events 1990s English-language films 1990s British films British drama television films