Derek Thompson (actor)

HOME

TheInfoList

Click Here for Items Related To - Derek Thompson (actor)

OR:

Derek Thompson (actor) on: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Amazon]

Derek Thompson (born 4 April 1948) is a British

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 ...

, most notable for playing

Charlie Fairhead Charlie Fairhead, played by Derek Thompson, is a fictional character from the BBC British medical drama ''Casualty''. He is the longest-serving character, having played the role of Charlie for over 36 years, and the only remaining original ch ...

in the long-running

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. ...

...

television medical drama series ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'', playing the role since the series' inception in 1986, and his performance as Jeff in the British gangster film ''

The Long Good Friday ''The Long Good Friday'' is a 1980 British gangster film directed by John Mackenzie from a screenplay by Barrie Keeffe, starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. Set in London, the storyline weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, ...

''.

Early life

Thompson was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

and has a twin sister
Elaine Johns
(née Thompson). During their teenage years, they combined to form the singing duo ''Elaine and Derek''. They recorded four albums and 15 EPs together, singing in harmonies, and released one eponymously titled album on the

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

label in 1961. They then formed the folk trio Odin's People wit
Larry Johns
and recorded two singles in 1967. Derek appeared in the feature film '' Gonks Go Beat'' (1965).

Career

In the mid-1960s, Thompson worked as Stage Manager in the Nonentities Theatre in

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it ha ...

. and in rep. In the 1970s he appeared in several productions at the National Theatre. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Thompson became a regular face in BBC and ITV dramas. Appearances included '' Softly Softly'', ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'', and ''

Rock Follies ''Rock Follies'' (together with its sequel, ''Rock Follies of '77'') was a musical drama shown on British television in the 1970s. The storyline followed the ups and downs of a fictional female rock band called the Little Ladies, as they strugg ...

of 77''. He got a big break in ''

Harry's Game ''Harry's Game'' is a British television drama mini-series made by ITV Yorkshire, Yorkshire Television for ITV (TV network), ITV in 1982, closely based on the 1975 novel ''Harry's Game'' by Gerald Seymour, a former journalist. Apart from brief sc ...

'', where he played the lead IRA gunman on the run following the assassination of a government minister. Later he played another IRA hitman in the TV series ''The Price'' and for a British mercenary gang in the ''

Wild Geese II ''Wild Geese II'' is a 1985 British action-thriller film directed by Peter Hunt, based on the 1982 novel '' The Square Circle'' by Daniel Carney, in which a group of mercenaries are hired to spring Rudolf Hess from Spandau Prison in Berlin. The ...

'', both filmed in 1985. During late 1970s and early 1980s Thompson had minor film roles in ''

Yanks ''Yanks'' is a 1979 drama film directed by John Schlesinger, and starring Richard Gere, Vanessa Redgrave, William Devane, Lisa Eichhorn and Tony Melody. The film is set during the Second World War in Northern England and features no combat scen ...

'' (1979) and '' Breaking Glass'' (1980), and also played Jeff, Harold Shand's lieutenant, in the box office hit movie ''

''. Before he appeared in ''Casualty'', he had a recurring role, as DS Jimmy Fenton, in the ITV police drama ''

The Gentle Touch ''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police drama television series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a female police of ...

''.

''Casualty''

Thompson began portraying

in ''Casualty'' in 1986. The following year he met his future wife, Dee Sadler, an actress playing the role of Maggie in an episode of the show's second series, a potholer who had to be rescued from a cave before hospitalisation. Thompson has currently played the role of Charlie for over 30 years, and is the only remaining character from the original cast. In 2004 his character went on a six-month sabbatical, which remains his most notable absence from the show. Currently, he is allowed a few months off from filming per year. Apart from ''Casualty'', he has also played Charlie in the spin-off shows '' Holby City'' and ''

HolbyBlue ''HolbyBlue'' (also known as ''Holby Blue'') was a British police procedural drama series. The show revolves around the daily lives of a number of police officers working at Holby South police station. The cast for series one included Jimmy Ak ...

''. It was revealed in July 2017, that Thompson was the BBC's highest-paid actor, earning between £350,000 and £400,000 over the last financial year.

Family

As of 2010, Thompson and his wife, Dee, lived in a rented flat in Bristol and also own a house in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

. The couple have a son, who appeared as a baby in one 1990 episode of ''Casualty'' as the son of regular character Duffy, and he also has an older son by a previous marriage to Christine, a theatre director. A sufferer of

dystonia Dystonia is a neurological hyperkinetic movement disorder in which sustained or repetitive muscle contractions result in twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal fixed postures. The movements may resemble a tremor. Dystonia is often inten ...

, Thompson became patron of the Dystonia Society in 2006.

Theatre

* ''Strawberry Fields'' * ''WC/PC'' * ''The Bells of Hell'' * ''The Garden of England'' * ''Serjeant Musgrave's Dance'' * ''The Cherry Orchard'' * ''The Passion'' * ''Dispatches'' * ''The Mysteries'' * ''Weapons of Happiness'' * ''Lavender Blue'' * ''Has Washington Legs'' * ''

School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sn ...

Selected filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Derek 1948 births Male film actors from Northern Ireland Male television actors from Northern Ireland Living people Male actors from Belfast 20th-century male actors from Northern Ireland 21st-century male actors from Northern Ireland