Andrew Shim (born 18 August 1983) is an American-born English actor best known for his appearances in the films and TV shows of

Shane Meadows Shane Meadows (born 26 December 1972) is an English director, screenwriter and actor, known for his work in independent film, most notably the cult film ''This Is England'' (2006) and its three sequels (2010–2015). Meadows' other films inc ...

, especially ''

This Is England ''This Is England'' is a 2006 British drama film written and directed by Shane Meadows. The story centres on young skinheads in England in 1983. The film illustrates how their subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture ...

'' (2006–2015). Although a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

citizen, he has lived most of his life in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

since 1989.

Early life

Shim was born in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

to his

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

mother and Chinese father. He is of African-American and Chinese descent. When Shim was 6 years old, his family moved from United States to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in 1989.Wilson, Jared
Interview with Andrew Shim
''LeftLion.co.uk'' He started at

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

Central Junior Television Workshop The Television Workshop, formerly known as the Central Junior Television Workshop is a British organisation that offers training for young people in performance skills for television, film, radio and theatre. Open to anybody between the ages of seve ...

when he was 14. His sister, Shauna Shim, was already attending and, although not initially keen, before Shim joined with his grandmother. Shim was on the verge of leaving when he auditioned for a local film project to be directed by Shane Meadows. Repeated callbacks resulted in him being cast as the title character in ''A Room for Romeo Brass''.

Career

Since starring as Romeo in ''

A Room for Romeo Brass ''A Room for Romeo Brass'' is a 1999 British teen comedy-drama film directed by Shane Meadows, who also co-wrote the film with Paul Fraser. The film was mainly shot in Calverton, Nottinghamshire between 5 September and 17 October 1998. The loc ...

'', Shim has appeared in subsequent Meadows' features ''

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands ''Once Upon a Time in the Midlands'' is a 2002 British romantic comedy film directed by Shane Meadows, and co-written with Paul Fraser. The film stars Robert Carlyle, Rhys Ifans, Kathy Burke, Ricky Tomlinson, Shirley Henderson and Andrew Shim ...

'' (2002), '' Dead Man's Shoes'' (2004) and ''

'' (2006) as well as the spin-off TV series '' This Is England '86'' (2010), ''

This Is England '88 ''This Is England '88'' is a 2011 British drama miniseries written by Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne as a spin-off from the 2006 film ''This Is England''. It is also a sequel to the 2010 television sequel-series ''This Is England '86'', set two ...

'' (2011) and ''

This This may refer to: * ''This'', the singular proximal demonstrative pronoun Places * This, or ''Thinis'', an ancient city in Upper Egypt * This, Ardennes, a commune in France People with the surname * Hervé This, French culinary chemist Art ...

'' ''Is England '90'' (2015). He was also in the quarter-minute film "The Stairwell", which was Meadows' 2005 entry in the Nokia Shorts competition. Additionally, Shim has appeared in several advertisements. He played a salesman in an Act On commercial, and also appeared in an Orange Mobile advert which was filmed in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

. He played the role of Jamie in British prison film ''Screwed'' (2011) and played the character of Sam in ''Airborne'' starring

Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards ...

Personal life

Away from acting, Shim has a passion for

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

s and

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruisin ...

s. Having also worked for an IT software company, he regards himself as "a bit of an

Arthur Daley ''Minder'' is a British comedy-drama series about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television, and shown on ITV for ten series between 1979 and 1994. T ...

", being quite successful at buying and selling used vehicles. He has stated that his dream car would be a black Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster. Shim is also an amateur

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

, competing in the

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division and training under

Jim Wallhead Jim Wallhead (born 14 March 1984) is an English professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. He has competed for BAMMA, Bellator, and M-1 Challenge and the UFC . Wallhead is a member of Team Rough House and Le ...

and has also taken part in some motorcycle races. On October 21, 2020, Shim was arrested in Málaga,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

charges. He was held on remand in Alhaurin de la Torre prison awaiting sentencing. In July 2021, Shim was given a suspended sentence and was released.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shim, Andrew 1983 births American emigrants to England American male actors of Chinese descent American male film actors American male mixed martial artists American male television actors American sportspeople of Chinese descent English male film actors English male mixed martial artists English male television actors English people of African-American descent English people of Chinese descent Featherweight mixed martial artists Living people Male actors from Miami Male actors from Nottinghamshire Prisoners and detainees of Spain Sportspeople from Miami Sportspeople from Nottingham