Shardlake

Arthur Hughes (Actor) .. Matthew Shardlake

Anthony Boyle (Actor) .. John Barak

Sean Bean (Actor) .. Thomas Cromwell

Born: April 17, 1959 in Sheffield

Best Known For: Blunt-talking soldier Sharpe.

Early-life: Born Shaun Mark Bean in Sheffield on April 17, 1959, the elder of two children. A fanatical Sheffield United supporter with '100% Blade' tattooed on his shoulder, he left school at 16 with two O-Levels. His first job was working for his father's welding firm, and while he was doing a day-release course at college he stumbled on an acting class. He was later accepted into Rada and made his professional stage debut in 1983 as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury.

Career: Sean worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company before making his TV debut in a 1984 episode of The Bill. Roles in The Fifteen Streets, Stormy Monday and Patriot Games followed before Lady Chatterley and the first Sharpe TV movies made him a household name in 1993. Other work includes A Woman's Guide to Adultery, Bravo Two Zero, GoldenEye, Ronin, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Equilibrium, Troy, National Treasure and HBO TV series Game of Thrones. He is one of Hollywood's most sought-after character actors and always has a number of productions in the pipeline.

Quote: 'I don't have any problems with women seeing me as their ideal bit of 'rough'. Why would I?'

Trivia: He has voiced characters in a number of video games.

Ruby Ashbourne Serkis (Actor) .. Alice

Joe Barber (Actor) .. Simon Whelplay

Miles Barrow (Actor) .. Brother Gabriel

Babou Ceesay (Actor) .. Abbot Fabian

Best Known For: Playing Marcus in Guerilla.

Early-life: Baboucarr Alieu Ceesay was born in England in 1979 but grew up in West Africa. He trained at Oxford School of Drama. Babou also studied Microbiology at Imperial College London. He worked as an internal auditor for accounting company Deloitte before turning to acting full-time.

Career: Ceesay's first major role was as Billy in comedy horror film Severance (2006). Two years later, he appeared on an episode of Whistleblower. He has also made guest appearances in such TV series as Silent Witness, Casualty, Luther, Law & Order: UK and Lewis. Ceesay worked on the Nigerian film Half of a Yellow Sun (2013) and the British film '71 (2014) before being cast in the American TV series A.D. The Bible Continues. Since then, he has appeared in the feature films Eye in the Sky (2015), Free Fire (2016) and Rogue One (2016) and starred in the TV film Damilola, Our Loved Boy (2016). He has also had roles in the TV dramas National Treasure and Guerilla.

Quote: On choosing roles: 'I'm interested in characters' attitudes towards life, understanding that and allowing them to have that but ultimately it comes down to their behaviour.'

Trivia: He was BAFTA-nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of Richard Taylor in Damilola, Our Loved Boy.

Peter Firth (Actor) .. Norfolk

Born: October 27, 1953 in Bradford

Best Known For: Playing Harry Pearce in Spooks.

Early-life: Peter Firth was born on October 27, 1953, in Bradford to a couple who ran a pub. His interest in acting was piqued by a girl he liked at school who was a member of a drama club, and after attending grammar school, he took weekend classes at the Bradford Playhouse. By his teens, he was a regular on the stage and became a child star thanks to the TV series Here Come the Double Deckers, in which he played Scooper. He made his film debut aged 18 in Franco Zeffirelli's 1972 offering Fratello sole, sorella luna.

Career: A year later, Firth landed his breakthrough role, that of Alan Strang in the play Equus. Although it would take until 1977 for him to reprise the role on the big screen, Firth was already an established star. His work since has cemented his reputation as a versatile and intense actor, with appearances in Tess, The Hunt for Red October, An Awfully Big Adventure and Amistad, among many others. On the small screen, Firth featured in cosy drama Heartbeat, before landing the role of Harry Pearce in spy drama Spooks, remaining for its nine-year duration. He has also notched up appearances in acclaimed drama Hawking, The Battle for Rome, and South Riding.

Quote: 'I feel I know Jenny [Agutter, his Equus co-star] as a best friend. That's what happens when you spend a long time naked together!'

Trivia: Firth has narrated a number of audiobooks, including Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong, and Pat Barker's Regeneration.

Paul Kaye (Actor) .. Brother Jerome

Born: December 15, 1964 in Dulwich

Best Known For: His character Dennis Pennis - the spoof reporter who pretended to interview celebrities so he could insult or make fun of them.

Early-life: Paul Kaye was born as Ralph Zang on December 15, 1964, in Dulwich, and raised in Wembley, where he studied theatre design and became obsessed with punk rock. Kaye became an avid fan of Arsenal FC at the age of 14. He used to be an in-house graphic designer for rival team Tottenham Hotspur in the late 1980s, but was given the boot for sticking the odd subliminal cannon into their merchandising catalogues. In real-life he's extremely well-spoken - unlike many of his alter-egos.

Career: Kaye got his TV break working on BBC Two's Sunday Show when he was 24, playing Dennis Pennis, a character he invented during evenings out with his friends, never expecting anything to come of it. Despite being a cult hit, Kaye decided to quit playing him when he found it difficult to get interviews with stars. Away from Pennis, he's appeared in comedy series Perfect World and Citizen Kaye, and hosted game show Liar. He has also starred in It's All Gone Pete Tong, Two Thousand Acres of Sky, Kingdom, Skins, Mongrels, Shameless and Being Human.

Quote: Talking to Pierce Brosnan at a celebrity bash: 'When I went to see GoldenEye, I was glued to my seat - otherwise I would have left.''

Trivia: He has starred in a number of commercials for betting website BetVictor.

Mike Noble (Actor) .. Bugge

David Pearse (Actor) .. Brother Edwig

Irfan Shamji (Actor) .. Brother Guy

Brian Vernel (Actor) .. Brother Mortimus

Anthony Cozens (Actor) .. Jacob Crump

Kimberley Nixon (Actor) .. Joan

Born: September 24, 1985 in Bristol

Best Known For: Fresh Meat and Hebburn.

Early-life: Kimberley Nixon was born in Bristol on September 24, 1985 but she was raised with her six brothers in Pontypridd. She went on to train at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff.

Career: Nixon's first break came in 2007 when she played Sophy Hutton in BBC period drama Cranford. Supporting roles followed a year later on the big screen in Wild Child (2008), Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008) and Easy Virtue (2008). She played one of the leads opposite Rupert Grint in Cherrybomb (2009) and starred in Black Death (2010). More recently, she has enjoyed success on the small screen in Fresh Meat, Kidnap and Ransom and Hebburn.

Quote: 'I love British comedy so Fresh Meat is totally my sense of humour; I've always been a massive fan of Peep Show but work wise it has always been drama whether in film, TV or theatre.'

Trivia: She is a supporter of the British Humanist Association.

Louis Goodwin (Actor) .. Mark Smeaton

Miltos Yerolemou (Actor) .. Oldknoll

Ken Nwosu (Actor) .. Snook

Roby Singh (Actor) .. Big man

Hilary Tones (Actor) .. Old Annie

Anthony Aje (Actor) .. Ned Skeels

Michael Rivers (Actor) .. Robin Singleton

Tadhg Murphy (Actor) .. Copynger

Timon Eis (Actor) .. Gatekeeper boy

Charlotte Christof (Actor) .. Orphan Stonegarden

Stephen Butchard (Writer)

John Griffin (Producer)

Alma Bacula (Producer)

Justin Chadwick (Director)

George Ormond (Executive producer)

01:55 am - 02:55 am, Wednesday, March 4 on ITV4 (26)

About this Broadcast

Season 1, Episode 4

Cast & Crew

More Information

Did You Know..

Before / After