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Steve McFadden

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Steve McFadden

Stephen McFadden (born 20 March 1959 in Maida Vale, London) is a well-known English actor best known for playing 'hard man' Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.

Biography

Early life

Steve McFadden was born "Stephen Reid" in the Maida Vale area of London on 20 March 1959, the only child of Robert and Barbara Reid. His parents separated soon afterwards and his mother later married a man called John McFadden, who adopted Steve and gave him his new surname.

He left school in 1974 and over the next few years had short stints in jobs including labouring, carrot picking, plumbing and working at a builder's merchants. None of these occupations gave him much satisfaction, so he decided to sell his motorbike and hitch-hike around Europe. He spent several months camping out in Montpellier, France, on land earmarked for development as a football stadium. He then returned to London and felt that the city was too repressive for his liking, so he went to a Job Centre and asked for a job "with a meaning".

Steve's first job after his return to London was on the "Acorn Project", a scheme for "blind" people which involved attending college. He gained 'O' and 'A' Level passes in Sociology and Politics before enrolling at North London Polytechnic University on an Economics course. Just seven weeks after starting, he withdrew himself from university on a whim and decided that he wanted to become an actor. So he joined the acting group RADA in 1984, and in his first year there won a prize for creating his own drama piece called "Best Fight" - which included many characters who were based on his own friends.

Acting career

After graduating from the RADA he made his acting debut in the television film The Firm which aired in 1988. That same year he had a uncredited role in the film Buster as a gang member. This was followed by guest appearances in the television series The Bill, Minder and Bergerac.

Steve became famous for playing 'hard man' Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He joined EastEnders at the beginning of 1990, at the same time as Ross Kemp, who played Phil's younger brother Grant Mitchell. During that time, his character has been involved in numerous ratings-pulling storylines such as Sharongate, the River Thames car crash and the most notable Who Shot Phil? storyline where his character was shot and wounded by a mystery attacker. The identity of the attacker was revealed weeks later as Phil's girlfriend Lisa, who was ironically played by Lucy Benjamin - Steve's real-life girlfriend at the time.

Since playing the role of Phil Mitchell, Steve has also made a brief appearance in the film Kevin & Perry Go Large and starred in an episode of the BBC1 anthology series Murder in Mind where he played a fireman who hired a hitman to kill his wife and her lover.

Steve left EastEnders in 2003 for a one-year break doing pantomimes. He briefly returned to EastEnders in March 2005 and then six months later he returned again on a permanent basis. He is still with EastEnders, 17 years after joining, and his character is now one of the longest-running in the program's history. Following recent claims that he is to depart, Steve has denied this saying he is very happy where he is and has no plans to leave.

He recently appeared in the film Provoked which was released in April 2007.

Personal life

Off the screen controversy

He was the recipient of much bad publicity during 2005, when he was accused of being involved in dogging with other men.[1] On November 3, 2005, he was the victim of an assault, believed to have been perpetrated by his ex-girlfriend Angela Bostock,[citation needed] who earlier in the year had also made claims about McFadden's private life in the tabloid press.[citation needed] The woman was released with a police caution. With striking coincidence, this incident took place on the same day that Ross Kemp who plays his brother Grant in EastEnders, was allegedly also assaulted by his wife.

Family

Steve McFadden has three children, Matty, Teona and Mollie. He has a home in Falmouth, Cornwall where he is the owner of a nightclub (Club International).

Future Plans

It has been confirmed that he is to become the next James Bond in the next James Bond film. This was because Daniel Craig was sacked due to the poor performance in Casino Royale

Filmography

References

  1. ^ France, Anthony. "BBC bosses back 'dogger'". The Sun. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
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