Lee Ross (born 1971) is an English actor known for his roles as nice guy Kenny Phillips in the classic CITV dramedy Press Gang and as the violent and sadistic Owen Turner in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He is also known for his work in the drama series Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest, Secrets & Lies, The Catherine Tate Show and BBC sitcom White Gold.
Lee Ross | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971 (age 52–53) Luton, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1983–present |
Career edit
Prior to his first acting role, Lee Ross attended Stockwood High School, Luton. He first became a familiar face on British television in 1983 as one of the children in a Colgate commercial which featured a parody of the hit Madness song Baggy Trousers. His first acting role was as Fat Sam in Micky Dolenz' West End production of Bugsy Malone. He then went on to play Dodger in the TV series Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest, which was a spin-off from the series Dramarama. The series ran from 1985 till 1986. He next played Kenny Phillips in Press Gang from 1989 to 1991.
He also had lead roles in two films in 1990, playing Bryan in Amongst Barbarians and Phil in Sweet Nothing. He also had small roles in Buddy's Song in 1990, playing Jason, and in the 1999 film Rogue Trader, playing Danny.
He had another lead role in the movie Hard Men playing the part of a gangster and in 1995 he played Gumbo in the film I.D.
In 1991 he played Justin Parrish, the son of Jim Broadbent's character, in Work!. In 1992 and 1993 he had roles in The Guilty, Between the Lines, Casualty, Westbeach, The Bill and The Upper Hand. He had many more roles in the late 1990s including Trial & Retribution
He played Paul, the boyfriend of Roxanne (Cynthia Purley's daughter) in the critically acclaimed 1996 Mike Leigh film Secrets & Lies, appearing in just white briefs in his opening scene. He provided the voice for Hawkbit in all three television series of the 1999 Watership Down series.
He has appeared on The Catherine Tate Show in many sketches, working alongside Catherine Tate and Niky Wardley. He has also had many guest roles in a variety of television shows, including Waking the Dead, Hustle, Jericho, M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team and recurring roles in Mutual Friends and Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes.
In 2018, Ross starred as retired drag queen Hugo Battersby/ Loco Chanelle in the hit West End musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie.
Filmography edit
Films edit
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Amongst Barbarians | Bryan | |
| 1991 | Buddy's Song | Jason | |
| 1992 | Life's a Gas | Short film | |
| 1994 | The Crane | Young Man 2 | |
| 1995 | I.D. | Gumbo | |
| The Hurting | Bull | ||
| 1996 | Black Eyes | Tony | |
| Secrets & Lies | Paul | ||
| Hard Men | Speed | ||
| The English Patient | Spalding | ||
| 1997 | Metroland | Toni Barbarowski | |
| The Island on Bird Street | Freddy | ||
| 1998 | Vigo | Oscar Levy | |
| 1999 | Five Seconds to Spare | ||
| Dropouts | |||
| Rogue Trader | Danny Argyropoulos | ||
| Dreaming of Joseph Lees | Harry | ||
| 2000 | Jump | Willy | |
| Secret Society | Ken | ||
| 2004 | Billy's Day Out | Dave | |
| 2005 | Goal! | Bluto | |
| 2009 | Origin | Jimmy Holmes | Post-production |
| 2010 | Centurion | Septus | |
| 2013 | Locke | PC Davids | voice |
| 2014 | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | Grey | motion capture |
| 2015 | Containment | Mark | |
| 2016 | ID2: Shadwell Army | Gumbo | |
| Dusty and Me | Bill | ||
| 2017 | Bikini Blue | Sergeant Daldry | |
| 2018 | Farming | Jack Carpenter | |
| 2021 | A Castle for Christmas | Thomas |
TV edit
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Dramarama | Dodger | 1 episode: "Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest" |
| 1985–1986 | Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest | Dodger | Series regular |
| 1989–1991 | Press Gang | Kenny Phillips | Series regular |
| 1990 | Sweet Nothing | Phil | |
| 1991 | Work! | Justin Parrish | |
| The Bill | Mace | 1 episode: "Stress Rules" | |
| Shrinks | Paul Carter | 1 episode: "1.6" | |
| 1992 | The Guilty | Tommy | |
| Between the Lines | Michael Brandell | 1 episode: "Out of the Game" | |
| Casualty | Dave | 1 episode: "Money Talks" | |
| 1993 | Westbeach | Chris Cromer | Recurring |
| The Bill | Neil Simpson | 1 episode: "Trust" | |
| The Upper Hand | Gary Grant | 1 episode: "The Price Is Right" | |
| 1995 | Shine on Harvey Moon | Roy | Recurring |
| 1996 | Casualty | Ray | 1 episode: "Land of Hopes" |
| 1997 | Trial & Retribution | Peter James | 2 episodes: "1.1" and "1.2" |
| 1998 | Only Love | Technician | |
| 1999 | Playing the Field | Ryan Pratt | Recurring from Episode "2.1" to "4.3" |
| Dockers | Andy Walton | ||
| Tube Tales | Male Reveller | ||
| Watership Down | Hawkbit (voice) | 39 episode television series | |
| 2001 | Waking the Dead | Christopher Redford | 2 episodes: "Every Breath You Take" (parts 1 & 2) |
| 2003 | Where the Heart Is | Gary Frasier | 1 episode: "The Need of You" |
| 2004 | Dunkirk | Sgt Moore | |
| Hustle | Ray Fordham | 1 episode: "The Last Gamble" | |
| 2004–2007 | The Catherine Tate Show | Paul | Series regular |
| 2005 | M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team | Andy Nash | 1 episode: "2.4" |
| Jericho | Louis | 4 part series | |
| 2006 | Life on Mars | DCI Litton | 2 episodes: "1.3" and "1.6" |
| The Family Man | Gary | ||
| Mutual Friends | Harry Seed | 6 part series; recurring | |
| 2009 | Moses Jones | Mick Mahoney | 3 part series; recurring |
| 2007 & 2009 | Robin Hood | Sir Jasper | 2 episodes: "Walkabout" and "Total Eclipse" |
| 2006 & 2009 | EastEnders | Owen Turner | Series regular |
| 2010 | The Persuasionists | Cockney Jim | 1 episode: "Cockney Cheese" |
| Ashes to Ashes | DCI Litton | 1 episode: "3.5" | |
| 2011 | Doctor Who | Boatswain | 1 episode: "The Curse of the Black Spot" |
| Coming Up | Jim | 1 episode: "Geronimo" | |
| Midsomer Murders | Sergeant Trevor Gibson | 1 episode: "The Sleeper Under the Hill" | |
| 2012 | Titanic | Barnes | 4-part series |
| Flikken Maastricht | IRA killer Gerry Utters (better known as Bran Collins) | Dutch police drama | |
| 2014 | The Driver | Kev Mitchell | 3-part series |
| 2017 | Silent Witness | Tommy McAteer | Episode: "Covenant" |
| 2017 | White Gold | Ronnie Farrell | |
| 2017 | STAR | Buddy Bruce | |
| 2018 | Farming | Jack | |
| 2021 | Andor | Kloris | Episode 4, 5 |
Video games edit
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Watch Dogs: Legion | Nigel Cass | Voice |