Born:
July 21, 1964
in
Barking, Essex
Best Known For:
Dodging the bullets on the field of battle and for playing EastEnders' hard man Grant Mitchell.
Early-life:
Ross James Kemp was born on July 21, 1964, in Barking, Essex. His mother was a hairdresser, his father a policeman. His brother Darren is a documentary producer. Kemp excelled at sports at school, but knew from an early age he wanted to be an actor after appearing as a shepherd in a nativity play. He later enrolled at the Webber Douglas Academy in London, making ends meet by working as a labourer and waiter.
Career:
Kemp has rarely been out of work since graduating in 1985. His first credited TV appearance was in Emmerdale in 1986. He also appeared in a string of Kellogg's adverts and featured in such series as Birds of a Feather and London's Burning, before landing the role of Grant in EastEnders - the part that made him a household name. He left in 1999 after nine years. He then appeared in A Christmas Carol, Ultimate Force, In Defence, Hero of the Hour, A Line in the Sand, and a TV remake of Spartacus. In 2005, he featured in an episode of Extras and made a brief, but much-publicised return to EastEnders. He has also hosted a number of hard-hitting documentaries for Sky1, including the Bafta-winning Ross Kemp on Gangs.
Quote:
"I never fail to get a buzz from setting off to work early in the morning and settling into that make-up chair. Mind you, I've done an awful lot of rubbish."
Trivia:
He has written several books, including the novel Moving Target.