Alexander Nicholas Peter McSweeney (born 20 December 1966) is an English actor, writer and director, best known for playing Graham Foster in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' from 2003 to 2005, and again in 2023. Other programmes he has appeared in include ''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC that focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. The series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squa ...

'' and ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

''. He also appeared in ''

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

'', in 2007. He has also portrayed 'Captain Wilder' in the third series of the ITV show '' Primeval'' in 2009. He was also a regular guest actor on ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' between 1994 and 2003, before taking on the role of series regular David Radford in 2004.

Life and career

McSweeney was born on 20 December 1966 in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and following training at London Academy of Performing Arts (LAPA), and the Academy Drama School, he appeared in such roles as 'One Ball Bill' in

Keen Eddie ''Keen Eddie'' is an American comedy-drama police procedural television series that aired on Fox from June 3 to July 24, 2003. The series was originally scheduled to premiere during the 2002–03 television season, but was postponed and premiered ...

comedy-drama television series for the Fox network, alongside

Sienna Miller Sienna Rose Diana Miller (born 28 December 1981) is an American-British actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she began her career as a photography model, appearing in the pages of Italian '' Vogue'' and for the 2003 Pirelli Cale ...

in 2003. In 2003, he joined the cast of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera ''

'' as Graham Foster, with the character appearing until January 2005, after the character was found guilty for the rape of

Little Mo Mitchell Little Mo Mitchell (also Morgan) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Kacey Ainsworth from 18 September 2000 to 26 May 2006. Little Mo originally appears in a turbulent marriage with her abusive husband Tr ...

(

Kacey Ainsworth Kacey Ainsworth (born 19 October 1968) is an English actress, known for her roles as Little Mo Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Cathy Keating in the ITV1, ITV drama series ''Grantchester (TV series), Grantchester''. Early life ...

), which resulted in her pregnancy. He was in

Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director. As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style known as "Be ...

's groundbreaking production of ''On The Waterfront'' at the

Theatre Royal Haymarket The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

in 2008. In the summer of 2011, while performing in Steven Berkoff's "Oedipus" at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

, Alex directed a cast of young actors in the play ''

A Hero of Our Time ''A Hero of Our Time'' ( rus, Герой нашего времени, links=1, r=Gerój nášego vrémeni, p=ɡʲɪˈroj ˈnaʂɨvə ˈvrʲemʲɪnʲɪ) is a novel by Mikhail Lermontov, written in 1839, published in 1840, and revised in 1841. It ...

''. The play, written by Alex was a take on the Russian Novel by

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov ( , ; rus, Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, , mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjʉrʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲerməntəf, links=yes; – ) was a Russian Romanticism, Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called ...

and was generally received well by critics. He played the recurring role of D.S. Sykes in ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

'' from 2013 until his character was killed by gangster Fraser Black in April 2014. He played a lecturer who has a motorbike accident in BBC ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'' in 2015. In an episode of ''

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a British period drama television series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, ...

'' (March 2016), he played Joe Blacker. Alongside his acting career, he is also a

Doctor of Literature Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

and lectures at two London Universities in English & Drama. Drama at

Kingston University Kingston University London is a Public university, public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South London, South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded ...

and is a Senior Lecturer in English and Creative Writing at London Southbank University. He wrote 'Out of the Cage' a play about women munition workers in the First World War in 2013/14. It subsequently got published and premiered at the Park Theatre London in January 2015. A national tour of the play was put in motion for 2017. He then appeared in Endeavour in 2017 as 'Terence Bakewell'. In 2023, it was announced McSweeney would reprise the role of Graham in ''EastEnders'' as part of a storyline which sees the character's son Freddie Slater (

Bobby Brazier Bobby Jack Brazier (born 2 June 2003) is an English actor and model. Present in the public eye from birth due to the popularity of his mother, Jade Goody, he was frequently featured in the media throughout the formative years of his life until ...

) discover his true paternity.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* 1966 births British male soap opera actors Living people Alumni of London South Bank University Academics of Kingston University {{UK-tv-actor-stub