Mick Ford (born 1 August 1952) is a British actor, screenwriter and playwright, best known for his portrayal of intellectual convict Archer in the cinema version of Scum.[1]
Early life and education
editFord was born on 1 August 1952 in Croydon, Surrey. His father, Noel Ford, fought on the front lines as a Desert Rat during World War II.[2] He attended John Ruskin Grammar School as a teenager and later joined the National Youth Theatre, where he appeared in numerous plays, including the premiere of Zigger Zagger.
Career
editAfter appearing in the 1978 film The Sailor's Return, Ford's best known role came in the 1979 film Scum. Set in a borstal, Ford plays the inmate Archer, an intelligent vegetarian trouble-maker who just wants to serve his time "In (his) own little way". Ford also had a role that year in the television film The Knowledge (for which he also performed the title song) in which he stars as an unemployed man who is encouraged by his girlfriend (Kim Taylforth) to apply to the Metropolitan Police Public Carriage Office to become a black cab driver.[3] In 1980 he was the main character in the European TV-miniseries Caleb Williams by Herbert Wise. He also appeared opposite Trevor Howard in the film Light Years Away (1981), and appeared in the play, The Promise. His later film roles include Kim (1984), The Fourth Protocol (1987), and How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989) .
Ford is also a writer. He wrote episodes of William and Mary, Ashes to Ashes and several Netflix miniseries adaptations of Harlan Cobden's novels. In 2010, Ford wrote the four-part drama Single Father, starring David Tennant. In 2017, Ford adapted the memoir The Boy with the Topknot into a BBC TV movie. In 2024, ITV broadcast Ford's crime mystery thriller series After the Flood.[4][5]
Personal life
editFord was married to the director of St Pancras Community Centre, Ruth Roberts, with whom he had two children. Roberts died in September 2010.[6] He later married former actress Rudi Davies, whose mother was novelist Beryl Bainbridge.
References
edit- ^ admin (15 July 2009). "British Cinema – Scum (1979)". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ "History of the British 7th Armoured Brigade – Green Jerboa". desertrats.org.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ The Knowledge, retrieved 14 August 2022
- ^ "Peaky Blinders' Sophie Rundle leads new ITV mystery After the Flood". Radio Times. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "Sophie Rundle to Star in New Mystery 'After The Flood'". Tellyvisions. 18 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "Camden New Journal, 30 September 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2012.