Daniel Mays

Mother’s Day

Daniel Mays is currently in production on the BBC single drama “Mother’s Day” a new factual drama for BBC Two about the events, aftermath and public response to the Warrington bombing of March 1993.  This 90 minute factual drama is directed by Fergus O’Brien (Against the Law).

From the BBC Press Site:

Filming has begun on Mother’s Day, a new factual drama for BBC Two about the events, aftermath and public response to the Warrington bombing of March 1993. Casting includes Anna Maxwell Martin, Vicky McClure, Daniel Mays and David Wilmot.

  • Casting includes Anna Maxwell Martin, Vicky McClure, Daniel Mays and David Wilmot
  • Filming is now underway in Belfast

Written by Nick Leather (Murdered For Being Different, Broken) Mother’s Day focuses on two ordinary women living either side of the Irish Sea, brought together in the wake of the tragedy.

Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland, Good Omens) plays Wendy Parry, the mother of 12 year old Tim Parry who lost his life in the attack which left two boys dead and many others injured. Vicky McClure (Line of Duty, The Replacement) plays Susan McHugh, the Dublin mother of two so outraged by the loss of young life that she organised one of the largest peace rallies in Irish history, leading thousands through the streets in protest at the continued violence of the Troubles. Daniel Mays (Against The Law, Rogue One) will play Tim’s father Colin Parry, with David Wilmot (The Alienist, Black Sails) as Arthur McHugh. Further casting includes Simone Kirby and Conor Mullen.

Anna Maxwell Martin says: “I know that many will recall the bravery and dignity shown by the families affected by the Warrington bombings. It’s a real honour to be telling their story.”

Vicky McClure says: “Susan McHugh’s actions back in 1993 remain just as inspirational today as they were 25 years ago. I feel truly privileged to play her in this incredibly moving new film.”

Writer Nick Leather says: “As someone who grew up in Warrington and was on my way into town on the day of the bombing, bringing this astonishing story to the screen has been a career-long mission. Over the last year, I’ve been fortunate to work with a wonderfully supportive team at the BBC, including the director Fergus O’Brien, and have found the Parry and McHugh families to be even more inspiring than I did as a kid. I hope people are as moved and affected by this drama as we have been making it.”

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, says: “It is with great power and poignancy that Mother’s Day looks at how the worst of tragedies can affect both those directly involved and communities further afield, inspiring them to act. We’re immensely proud to tell this story. ”

Patrick Holland, Channel Controller of BBC Two, says: “Nick Leather’s script takes us into the heart of a family’s grief whilst also following the extraordinary unwillingness to let another death be in vain. With the outstanding Anna Maxwell Martin and Vicky McClure this promises to be a remarkable and powerful film.”

Aysha Rafaele, Executive Producer for BBC Studios, adds: “From my previous work with Nick Leather and Fergus O’Brien, I can’t think of a better team to bring this powerful story to the screen. Working closely with the real families involved, Nick has written a remarkable script and it’s a real joy to assemble such a first rate cast to play these roles.”

Mother’s Day (1×90’) is produced by BBC Studios for BBC Two, and will be directed by Fergus O’Brien (Against The Law) and produced by Scott Bassett (Murdered For Being Different). It was commissioned by Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, and Patrick Holland, Controller of BBC Two. Executive Producers are Tommy Bulfin for the BBC and Aysha Rafaele for BBC Studios.

Best of luck to the cast and crew as they begin filming this important factual drama.

Stay tuned for updates from filming.

Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9

©DanielMays.co.uk

Sky Urban Myths: The Sex Pistols Vs. Bill Grundy

We are happy to announce that Daniel Mays will star in an episode of Sky Arts Urban Myths.

Daniel stars as Mike Housego in Urban Myths: The Sex Pistols vs. Bill Grundy

This is the reimagined story behind The Sex Pistols’ infamous appearance on Bill Grundy’s show in 1976, a year before their legendary debut album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols was released. The foul-mouthed encounter catapulted The Sex Pistols into the public eye and signalled the arrival of mainstream punk, while simultaneously destroying Grundy’s career – and all because of a last minute cancellation by Freddie Mercury.

Starring Daniel Mays (Mike Housego), Steve Pemberton (Bill Grundy), Kieran Hodgson (Malcolm McLaren), Kayvan Novak (Freddie Mercury) Frankie Fox (Johnny Rotten) and cast members from the National Youth Theatre. Written by Simon Nye. Directed by Simon Delaney. Produced by Spelthorne Community TV.

The eight episodes will be available on demand via the SkyGo and NOW TV platforms from Thursday 12th April, with the episodes broadcasting weekly from that day in a 9pm slot.

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Look for Daniel’s episode to air on Thursday, 31 May.

We will have more information on this episode of Urban Myths soon!

Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9

©DanielMays.co.uk

BBC Sport Relief – Swimming With Men

We can’t wait to see Daniel Mays and the Swimming With Men crew in the pool for BBC’s Sport Relief on Friday 23 March!

Rob Brydon’s Swimming With Men

Comedian Rob Brydon brings us a hilarious sketch with the cast of his upcoming film, Swimming With Men. Prepare to be mesmerised as we watch the all-male, middle-aged, amateur synchronized swimming team show us what they’re made of for Sport Relief! A few of those joining Rob are actors Jim Carter, Thomas Turgoose, Daniel Mays and Rupert Graves.


BBC’s Sport Relief is the weekend, every two years, when the British public get active, have fun and raise cash to help people living tough lives both in the UK and around the world.

Tune in on Friday 23 March from 7PM to see the Swimming With Men crew’s performance.

BBC Sport Relief runs from 17-23 March online and on the BBC.

The film will be released in UK cinemas on 29 June 2018.

Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9

©DanielMays.co.uk

Born to Kill – Royal Television Society Awards Nomination

It was announced earlier today that Born to Kill has been nominated for two Royal Television Society (RTS) Awards. Best Mini-Series and Best Actor for Jack Rowan.

Born To Kill aired  on Channel 4 in April 2017 and was a haunting four-part drama exploring the mind of Sam, a teenager on the verge of acting out suppressed psychopathic desires. As this chilling coming of age drama unfolds, decades of deceit are revealed and Sam’s family’s long buried past returns with a vengeance.

Starring Romola Garai (The Hour, Suffragette) and Daniel Mays (Made in Dagenham, Line of Duty, Rogue One: A Star Wars story,) as the single parents of two out-of-control teens, Born to Kill is the first commission for female writing duo Tracey Malone (Rillington Place) and first time TV writer and BIFA-nominated actress Kate Ashfield.

Born To Kill was directed by Bruce Goodison (Murdered By My Father, Doctor Foster).

It is executive produced by Jake Lushington (The Devil’s Whore) for World Productions (Line of Duty) and commissioned for Channel 4 by Head of Drama Beth Willis and Head of International Drama Simon Maxwell.

 

The RTS Awards ceremony is held Tuesday 20 March at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Congratulations on the two RTS nominations and best of luck to everyone involved with Born to Kill!

Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9

©DanielMays.co.uk

Working Class Heroes at the BFI

Daniel Mays will be taking part in the BFI‘s Working Class Heroes event on Saturday, 14 April at BFI Soutbank in London. This will be a unique live celebration of working class screen talent – and the next generation.

A highlight will be the 10th anniversary screening of Shifty with Q&A session.

Actors appearing at the event are Daniel Mays, Vicky McClure (Line of Duty), Johnny Harris (Welcome to the Punch), Maxine Peak, and others.

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Booking opens 16 March at 11:30am

Shifty 10th anniversary screening and Q&A with Daniel Mays, Eran Creevy, and Jay Simpson.

BFI Southbank

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©DanielMays.co.uk

BritBox- Against the Law – US Premiere

Against the Law starring Daniel Mays, Richard Gadd, Mark Gatiss and directed by Fergus O’Brien premieres in the USA today, 14 February, on BritBox.

This critically acclaimed docu-drama first aired in the UK on BBC Two  in July 2017 as part of the BBC’s Gay Britannia season, Against the Law is an emotional look into lives of homosexual men in 1950’s and 1960’s Britain.

2017 saw the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, which decriminalised homosexual acts in England and Wales between adult males, in private. While it would take several decades before homosexuals would reach anything like full equality in this country, this legislation marks the beginning of this journey.

But the dramatic events that led to this Act took place over ten years before and are at the heart of Against the Law, a powerful factual drama starring Daniel Mays and Mark Gatiss. Mays plays Peter Wildeblood, a thoughtful and private gay journalist whose lover, under pressure from the authorities, turned Queen’s evidence against him in one of the most explosive court cases of the 1950s – the infamous Montagu Trial. Wildeblood, and his friends Lord Montagu and Michael Pitt-Rivers, were found guilty of homosexual offences and jailed. But the public thought the trial unfair and forced a reluctant government to set up a committee to investigate whether homosexuality should be legalised. The committee was led by Sir John Wolfenden. With his career in tatters and his private life painfully exposed, Peter Wildeblood began his sentence a broken man, but he emerged from Wormwood Scrubs a year later determined to do all he could to change the way these draconian laws against homosexuality impacted on the lives of men like him. He was the only openly gay man to testify before the Wolfenden committee about the brutal reality of being gay in this country at that time. In 1957 the committee recommended that the laws be changed. It would take a further ten years before these recommendations would become law.

Woven through this powerful drama is testimony from a chorus of men who lived through those dark days, when homosexuals were routinely imprisoned or forced to undergo chemical aversion therapy in an attempt to cure them of their ‘condition’. There is also testimony from a retired police officer whose job it was to enforce these laws and a former psychiatric nurse who administered the so-called cures. All these accounts amplify the themes of the drama and help to immerse us in the reality of a dark chapter in our recent past, a past still within the reach of living memory.

BritBox: Indulge your Inner Brit – Direct from the UK’s top channels, BBC & ITV, you’ll be connected like never before with expert curation and an inside view only these programmes can provide. 

If you live in the USA and are not already signed up, you can begin a 7 day free trial of BritBox. Fees apply after the initial free trial period.

Against the Law had it’s world premiere at BFI Flare in March 2017

Against the Law review roundup

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©DanielMays.co.uk

Daniel Mays Named Old Vic Theatre Bicentenary Ambassador #OV200

The Old Vic Theatre announced today that Daniel Mays is one of their bicentenary ambassadors.  Daniel joins Bertie Carvel, George MacKay (co-star in ‘The Caretaker’ in 2016), Andrew Scott, Maxine Peak, John Boyega, Dame Judi Dench, and many others.

DANIEL MAYS:

‘My experience of working at The Old Vic remains one of my absolute theatre highlights to date. It fuses the history and majesty of the place with exciting, fresh and dynamic productions for a modern day audience. I remember walking out onto the stage for the first time and looking out at the auditorium. Its scale and beauty hit me right between the eyes. ‘Imagine performing Aston’s monologue from The Caretaker in this setting’ I thought? It surpassed all my expectations. The theatre’s capacity to generate intimacy with the audience is quite extraordinary. I relished every performance.’

As the countdown to our 200th birthday continues, we’re proud to announce our Bicentenary Ambassadors – friends from stage and screen who will lend their support to this momentous occasion by celebrating the past, present and future of our beloved theatre.

The Bicentenary Ambassadors will variously curate monologues, appear on stage, share their reflections on the theatre, attend special events around the birthday itself and throughout the year, and help to raise awareness of the education and community programmes that serve 10,000 young people each year.

Daniel Mays starred as Aston  in The Old Vic Theatre‘s revival of Harold Pinter’s ‘The Caretaker‘ in 2016. The play also starred Timothy Spall and George MacKay. 

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©DanielMays.co.uk

The Two Shot Podcast – Daniel Mays

We could not be more excited to announce that Daniel Mays is this week’s guest on The Two Shot Podcast. Check back Thursday morning 23 November (usually released around 7AM/8AM UK time) to listen to what is sure to be an amazing chat with Danny about his experiences as an actor – and perhaps a little reminiscing over the time when he and Craig were flatmates…

Available via iTunes (UK link) worldwide and online via PodBean, acast, etc.,  The Two Shot Podcast is a podcast about acting hosted by Craig Parkinson (Line of Duty, Misfits, Four lions). Each week, Craig sits down with brilliant guests to discuss the highs and sometimes extreme lows of becoming and being an actor. Sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking….Always a great listen!

Named one of 2017’s Top 10 Buzziest Podcast by The Guardian.

If you are a fan of great podcasts and actors, then The Two Shot Podcast is defintely for you! Past guests include Vicky McClure, Amanda Abbington, Michael Balogun, Kate Ashfield, Susan Lynch, and many more.

While you’re listening, please consider becoming a patreon to support Craig & producer Griff as they self-produce The Two Shot Podcast. You get some excellent extras if you sign up – trust us, they are superb!

See you back here on Thursday AM!

Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9

©DanielMays.co.uk

Neighbours of Zero – BBC Radio 4 – Friday 17 Nov

Tune in to BBC Radio 4 Friday 17 November at 3:45PM to listen to Daniel Mays read Neighbours of Zero by Peter Bradshaw.

In Neighbours of Zero by Peter Bradshaw, the perils of the betting shop are comically revealed:

“Now here’s the thing: I lose as well.. Just a bit.. Let me explain..” – and so the narrator does, which involves a neat new system, a betting shop heist, and moral retribution of sorts..

Reader Daniel Mays

Producer Duncan Minshull.

Neighbours of Zero is part of BBC Radio 4’s Short Works Series.

If you miss it, it airs again at 00:30 on 19 November and will be available via iPlayer for 30 days.

Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9

©DanielMays.co.uk

Daniel Mays Named to The Evening Standard Progress 1000 List

It was announced today (19 October) that Daniel Mays has been named to The Evening Standard’s Progress 1000 List:  London’s most influential people 2017 – Performers: Screen

Here’s what they say:

Daniel Mays

Actor

A graduate of Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and Rada, Mays is a versatile and multi-faceted performer on the stage, film and cinema. In recent years, he has enjoyed roles in Vera Drake, Line of Duty and Byzantium, but made a particular impression in Born to Kill, Channel 4’s tense drama about a schoolboy with psychopathic desires. He’ll be back in cinemas next year in Swimming With Men, a comedy about a male synchronised swimming team that could be the next Full Monty.

Congratulations to Danny on this second year in a row inclusion!

You can read the about the rest of the Progress 1000 List at the Evening Standard.

Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9

©DanielMays.co.uk