Neil Morrissey

Neil Anthony Morrissey (born 4 July 1962) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Tony in ''Men Behaving Badly''. Other notable acting roles include Deputy Head Eddie Lawson in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'', Nigel Morton in '' Line of Duty'', and Rocky in ''Boon''. Morrissey also provides the voice of many cartoon characters, including Robert McGraw (Bob the Builder), Roley, Lofty, Mr. Angelo Sabatini, Mr. Fothergill, Farmer Pickles and Scrufty in the original UK version of ''Bob the Builder''.

Early life

Morrissey was born on 4 July 1962 in Stafford, Staffordshire, the third of four sons of Irish parents who were both psychiatric nurses. He and his youngest brother Stephen spent much of their childhood in separate foster homes, Morrissey spending most of his time at Penkhull Children's Home, under the care of Margaret Cartlidge.

He attended Thistley Hough High School in Penkhull, where he discovered a love for acting through the encouragement of teacher Sheila Steele. He studied for his A-levels at the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College. It was there that he realised that his time in care would end at the end of his first year, aged 17, with the bleak prospect of a move to a working boys hostel that could end his academic and dramatic career. A solution was found through the family of his friend, Mark Langston, who fostered Neil until the summer of his 18th birthday.

Morrissey had developed his skills and reputation as an actor through his teenage years at Stoke Schools Theatre, Stoke Repertory Theatre and Stoke Original Theatre, performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1979. His application to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama resulted in an unconditional offer, which paved the way for the next steps in his theatrical growth. Arriving with no educational grant and no living funds, he was helped by the school to obtain an educational grant, and he 'sofa-surfed' for his first year with friends. During this time he and a fellow student started a street theatre act, which gained them an agent, and hence the required 40 hours of bookings to gain an Equity card.

Career

Acting

Offered the leading role as Robin Hood in The Theatre Chipping Norton's 1982 pantomime, Morrissey agreed to leave the Guildhall School in the first term of his third year. He quickly paid off his student debts by landing parts in film and theatre productions. In 1984, Morrissey played Able Seaman Matthew Quintal in '' The Bounty'' alongside Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins and Laurence Olivier. In the same year, he also appeared in episode 5 (of series 5) of the police drama ''Juliet Bravo'', shown on BBC1, and had an uncredited role in the nuclear war film '' Threads''.

Morrissey shot to fame in 1987 as dim biker Rocky in the ITV drama series ''Boon''. In 1990, he played the lead role of Noddy in the British spoof horror film ''I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle'', which involved many of the actors from ''Boon''.

His role as Tony in ''Men Behaving Badly'' was created to replace the character of Dermot after Harry Enfield's departure from the series. The series became one of the most popular UK sitcoms of the 1990s and turned Morrissey into a national star and a target for the tabloid newspapers. His ongoing romance storyline with co-star Leslie Ash led to the pair appearing in several advertisements for Homebase. In 1997, he starred in the Comedy Premiere '' The Chest'' and in 1998 two TV productions: the one-off ''My Summer with Des'' for the BBC and ''The Vanishing Man'' for ITV.

Morrissey also starred in a two-part TV comedy drama released on 23 April 2000 ( traditionally William Shakespeare's birthday), ''Happy Birthday, Shakespeare'', in which he portrayed a coach driver. One of his colleagues (played by Amanda Holden) was the object of his desire.

Morrissey also starred in the John Godber film about rugby league '' Up 'n' Under''. Neil would also voice Wilfred Toadflax and Dusty Dogwood in ''Brambly Hedge'', which was produced by HIT Entertainment. Because of this, Neil voiced several characters in the children's television series ''Bob the Builder'', including the lead character, between 1999 and 2011, which was produced by HIT. During his voice acting role, he achieved two UK number 1 singles, with " Can We Fix It?" (which was the 2000 UK Christmas No 1), and " Mambo No 5" in 2001. After the original series ended, he later provided the narration for Morph (in recent years) and Maisy.

In 2002, Morrissey returned to TV screens in the drama series '' Paradise Heights'' which ran for two series. He then had a starring role in the BBC
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