Neil Morrissey: Difference between revisions

Neil Anthony Morrissey (born 4 July, 1962 in Stoke-on-Trent) is an English actor.

His most famous roles include Rocky in Boon; Tony in Men Behaving Badly; and the voice of Bob the Builder. Morrissey has invested his earnings wisely and a love of Dylan Thomas has led to a series of investments in Laugharne.

In 2006 Morrissey was awarded an honorary degree from the Staffordshire University^[1]

Biography

Morrissey was born in Stoke but brought up in Stafford, the third of four sons. His parents were of Irish Catholic decent. The boys would mess about and steal and were always in and out of trouble with the police.

Morrissey and his brothers John and Stephen were placed under a care order and legally separated from their parents and spent much of their childhood in separate foster homes. Morrissey spent most of his time at the Penkhull Children's Home. Stephen was later found dead in 1997 months before Morrissey's father also died.

While studying at Thistley Hough High School in Stoke he advertised for foster parents to allow him to gain his A Levels. He gained the results required allowing him to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Acting

On leaving Guildhall Morrissey paid off his student debts by landing a parts in the film productions; his second role shot him to fame in the mid-1980s as dim biker Rocky in the ITV drama series Boon. In 1990 he played the lead role of Noddy in the British spoof horror film I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle which involved many of the actors from Boon.

He then gained his most famous role - that of Tony in Men Behaving Badly, a role created to replace the character of Dermot after Harry Enfield left the show. The series became the one of most popular UK sitcoms of the 1990s and made Morrissey a national star and a target for the tabloid newspapers. His ongoing romance storyline with co-star Leslie Ash led to the pair later appearing in several advertisements for Homebase. In 1998 he starred in the TV series The Vanishing Man.

Morrissey also starred in the John Godber film about rugby league called Up n Under and voiced several characters in the cult children's television series Bob the Builder, including the lead character; therefore he also scored a UK Number 1 single at Christmas 2000 with Can We Fix It?. In addition, he provides the narration for Morph (in recent years) and Maisy.

In 2002, Morrissey returned to TV screens in the drama series Paradise Heights which ran for two series. He then had a starring role in the BBC sitcom Carrie and Barry in 2004.

His West End theatre work includes "Speed", "Robin Hood", "The Daughter In-Law" and his critically acclaimed West End performance in "A Passionate Woman." In 2005 Morrissey performed in Victoria Wood's musical adaptation of Acorn Antiques alongside Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston and Josie Lawrence. Morrissey took over the role of Nathan Detroit from Nigel Lindsay in the London revival of Guys and Dolls from 6 March, 2006 until June 2006.

In 2006 he was the guest host for an episode of Channel 4's The Friday Night Project before taking on the role as presenter on the BBC Two car related game show Petrolheads.

In 2007 he appeared in British TV show Skins as the father of Cassie and made a guest appearance in Neighbours as a priest, remarrying long term characters Susan (Jackie Woodburne) and Karl (Alan Fletcher) on a boat in the River Thames.

On October 11th 2007 he made his first appearance in the BBC's Waterloo Road as new deputy head teacher, Eddie Lawson.

Spoof show

On 1 April, 2006, a BBC Three spoof programme titled "Neil Morrissey's Secret" documented sides of Morrissey's life that were previously unknown to the world at large.^[2] It alleged he has a house, wife and two children in Jordan as well as a degree in Botany which he had been studying for 20 years. These studies were integral to his motivation to find a breakthrough in anti-ageing. According to the documentary he has invented a cream called 'The Essence' which contains extracts of a plant found only in a remote Jordanian village. In the documentary the cream's acolytes include celebrities such as Jane Seymour, Gloria Hunniford and Phillipa Forrester. The show followed Morrissey as he carried out his research which involved years of study and crossing continents, funded by his lucrative acting career. Ultimately Morrissey launches the cream only to have his friends concerned for his health, his laboratory broken into, and a trip to Jordan where he finds that the villagers whose trust he had gained through time spent with them, have abandoned their homes because of the fall-out of his discovery. This hoax was launched on April 1st and despite the suspicions caused by this date as April Fools Day, it still managed to convince some people that it was true.

Business

Prudent with money, Morrissey has invested his earnings successfully in various projects, including production companies and his own television advertising and production company, Cactus Media Group.

He still lives in his two bedroom flat in Crouch End, has no mortgage, and bought his first "flash" car in 2002. He has investments in Babington House, Somerset; and has money in stocks and shares. He has also bought his mother a home in Stafford.

However, his love of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas led to him and his business partner Matt Roberts buying up numerous properties in the village of Laugharne, including the Hurst Hotel, the New Three Mariners pub and Brown's Hotel in April 2004 for £670,000.^[3] In October 2006 it was announced that Morrissey had put Brown's Hotel on the market in order to finance the redevelopment of the Hurst Hotel[1], and expansion of the private members' club, Hurst House in Covent Garden, London. Bids need to be logged with the agents King Sturge by 12 January, 2007, with a suggested price of around £1.5 million.^[4]

Personal life

Morrissey was engaged to actress Elizabeth Carling when the couple were both working on "Boon" in 1986 (they parted on good terms, she later guested alongside him on Men Behaving Badly). He then married Amanda Noar in 1987, and the couple have a son born in 1989 (he also has five nieces and a nephew) - the couple divorced in 1991. His dating history since is well documented by the British tabloids, including dating Rachel Weisz after starring together in "My Summer with Des" in 1998 - they lived together at his flat in Crouch End.^[5]

However, the tabloid interest grew to its height with Morrissey's affair with actress Amanda Holden at the height of his fame and when her husband, comedian Les Dennis was taking part in Celebrity Big Brother. The affair was the primary reason for Holden's and Dennis's separation and subsequent divorce. At its height, there were 35 photographers outside his home, and he had to ask a neighbour to buy him milk and other essential food supplies - he later asked the police to help him get to his car.

Morrissey is notable for his tattoos. According to one version of how he obtained them, Neil and Stephen applied them to each other with needles and indian ink. On Neil's right arm is his Christian name and a blob that started off as his initials but had to be abandoned when it swelled up and he was rushed to the doctor for a tetanus jab. On his right is a squiggle that is a reversed version of "The Saint".^[6] Morrissey himself says the tatts were done by other boys at the children's home. The boys there saw he did not have a tattoo and so he was given the option of a tattoo or be beaten up. He took the option of the tattoo and now regrets not taking the option of a beating. ^[7]

He has also appeared as the star in a "reasonably priced car" on Top Gear, and admitted his current car was a BMW 745i.

References

External links

• Neil Morrissey at IMDb