Gary Stretch (born 4 November 1965) is a British boxer, actor, model, producer, and screenwriter. During his boxing career, Stretch won 29 of his 31 fights, 20 of those by KO. He became the WBC International Super Welterweight Champion. In his modelling career, Stretch modelled for high-end brands including

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...

and

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury elite fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as '' haute couture'' under it ...

. During his acting career, he starred in such films as '' The Heavy'' (directed by Marcus Warren) and ''

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

'' (directed by

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...

). He was also cast in the

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 ...

’ film '' Dead Man’s Shoes'' as the small-time gang leader, Sonny, for which role he was nominated for a

British Independent Film Award The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports, and promotes British independent cinema and film-making talent in the United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early Nov ...

for Best Supporting Actor.

Early life

Stretch was born in 1965 and brought up in the Haresfinch area of St Helens,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. His father was a

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, hot-water production, sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

. He attended the town's Cowley High School.

Career

Boxing

A southpaw fighter, Stretch boxed most of his career as a

light-middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in boxing but also may include other combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the Intern ...

, rising to become British champion in that division. He won the WBC International Light Middleweight title, beating Ramon Angel Alegre at the London Arena on 14 February 1990, the fight billed as Valentine's Day Massacre. Stretch, aged 24, stopped the Argentine in the 6th round of a very one sided contest. Stretch relinquished the title due to a management dispute with Frank Warren and subsequently sat out his contract. Stretch's return to the ring came in 1991 when he challenged

Chris Eubank Christopher Livingstone Eubank (also Christopher Livingstone Eubank Sr. born 8 August 1966) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1998. He held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight and super-middlewei ...

for the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

world

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

championship in London, in a fight billed as "Beauty V the Best". Stretch suffered a cut behind the ear in the first round and was shaken by an uppercut in the third. Eubank was downed twice by Stretch in the fight. In the sixth round Stretch had a point deducted for pushing Eubank onto the canvas; Stretch was shaken by a right hand from Eubank and subsequently took a standing eight count. Stretch then went through the ropes after a push from Eubank. The fight was controversially stopped in Eubank's favor, despite Stretch being up on all 3 judges score cards. Stretch fought only once more after his bout with Eubank before retiring with a career record of 29 wins 1 loss and 1 NC (an accidental clash of heads causing Stretch to be cut on the forehead).

Modelling

During his time as a boxer, Stretch also worked as a model. His clients included

and

Acting

Stretch was cast as Cleitus alongside

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...

Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A Leading actor, leading man in blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various List of awards and nominations received by Col ...

and

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

in Oliver Stone's 2004 film ''

''. Stone went on to cast Stretch again in ''

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...

'' as a paramedic, and in ''Savages''. In 2004, Stretch was cast as psychopathic gangster Sonny in

' gritty cult thriller '' Dead Man's Shoes'' (2004), for which Stretch received a BIFA nomination alongside fellow English actor

Paddy Considine Patrick George Considine (born 5 September 1973) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and musician. He is known for playing antiheros in independent films. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard British ...

. Stretch also starred in '' Freebird'' in 2008, directed by Jon Ivay. With Stretch appearing alongside

Phil Daniels Philip William Daniels (born 25 October 1958) is an English actor, musician and singer, most noted for film and television roles playing Londoners, such as the lead role of Jimmy Cooper in ''Quadrophenia'', Richards in '' Scum'', Stewart in '' T ...

and Geoff Bell, the film followed three bikers across a drug-fueled ride in the Welsh countryside.

Personal life

From 1998 to 2001, Stretch was married to actress

Roselyn Sánchez Roselyn Milagros Sánchez Rodríguez (born April 2, 1973) is a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, dancer, model, actress, producer, and writer. On television, she is best known for her roles as Elena Delgado on the CBS police procedural ''Without ...

Filmography

*''Tis a Gift to Be Simple'' (1994) ... Perry Truman *'' Final Combination'' (1994) ... Richard Welton *''Infidelity/Hard Fall'' (1997) ... Shane *''Business for Pleasure'' (1997) ... Rolf *''Shergar'' (1999) ... SAS Soldier *''Dead Dogs Lie'' (2001) ... Duck *''Final Combat'' (2003) ... Jaikra *'' A Good Night to Die'' (2003) ... Ronnie *'' Dead Man's Shoes'' (2004) ... Sonny *''

'' (2004) ... Cleitus *'' The King Maker'' (2005) ... Fernando De Gamma *''

'' (2006) ... John's Paramedic *''The Commander: Windows of the Soul'' (2007) ... Jack Bannerman *''Afghan Knights'' (2007) ... Nash *''Tied in Knots'' (2008) ... Jay *'' Freebird'' (2008) ... Fred *'' Deadwater'' (2008) ... Colin Willets *'' The Heavy'' (2010) ... Mitchell 'Boots' Mason *''Baseline'' (2010) ... Rob *''

Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus ''Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus'' is a 2010 disaster film, disaster horror film by The Asylum, released on December 21, 2010, in the United States. The film stars Jaleel White, Gary Stretch, Robert Picardo, Dylan Vox, Hannah Cowley (artist), Hannah ...

'' (2010)Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus
,

The Asylum The Asylum is an American independent film production and distribution company based in Burbank, California, known for producing low-budget, direct-to-video films, in particular mockbusters, which capitalize on the popularity of major studio f ...

*''Yellow'' *'' The Girl from the Naked Eye'' (2012) ... Frank *''The Pugilist's Son'' (short) (2012) ... Terry Hope *''Savages'' (2013) ... Bad Ass Biker *''Jurassic Attack'' (2013) ... Captain John Stakeley *''My Father Die'' (2016) ... Ivan

References

External links

Gary Stretch's website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stretch, Gary 1965 births English male boxers English male film actors Living people Sportspeople from St Helens, Merseyside Light-middleweight boxers English male models