Midlands on the Move: Midlanders Who Made The Move
The Midlands is home to a huge pool of talent – both on and off-screen – and although many famous names are synonymous with the region, others, who definitely hail from the area, may be more of a surprise to hear about.
These local creatives moved onwards in their careers, building upon their local upbringing and education in the arts and headed to larger projects and some even delved into the world of glitzy Hollywood.
So, away from the legends such as Lenny Henry (Dudley), Julie Walters (Smethwick), John Hurt (Chesterfield) and director Shane Meadows (Uttoxeter, Staffs) we’re going to look at a few recognisable names who, sadly, don’t always make you think of our marvellous Midlands. Yet you definitely should do!
Jason Statham
The most cockney man of all time, right? The tough, voice-like-grit East Londoner who was Bacon in Lock Stock and then Turkish in Snatch. Pure diamond geezer. Well, he’s a Midlander. Born in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, Statham was raised by his dancer mum and coal miner dad but sadly didn’t stay too long in the area. Later, he began a diving career representing England at the Commonwealth Games, then became a model and bit-parts in music videos came next. (Check out this a-mazing video from 1993 by The Shamen).
Eventually he crossed paths with director Guy Ritchie and the rest is wideboy-action history. Derbyshire Times says he’s also worth an estimated £73.4 million making him the richest Derby actor of all time but the actor still has fond memories of the area. In 2012 he spoke to Great British Life saying “I do miss those childhood days - you go for a walk in the Peak District and you realise you’re such a small part of something that is so awesome."
"I can’t imagine what it would be like not to have experienced the kind of childhood I had where you really did explore your surroundings... and in Derbyshire the boundaries were endless. I did a trip up there a year or so ago, however, around the Pennines. We took in Buxton, Glossop, and on to Leek. It was great to lose ourselves totally”.
Lennie James
Speaking of Snatch – the most southern gangster film of all time, of course – another of its alumni is also from the Midlands! Lennie James plays jewellery dealer Sol and was born in Nottingham in 1965 to Afro-Trinidadian parents. And like Statham, James aspired to be a sportsman in his youth (this time rugby) but pivoted to acting after moving to London.
Hollywood was next on the horizon with roles in Lost in Space (1998), Sahara (2005) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and he played Morgan Jones in The Walking Dead. Co-star Andrew Lincoln isn’t from his city-namesake though.
But if we return to Snatch, there’s another Midlands actor/musician who appears in the same scene with Lennie. Goldie! Born in Walsall in 1965, the DJ then moved to Wolverhampton and was a member of a breakdance crew based in Whitmore Reans.
Gareth Edwards
Well, here’s a biggie. Can you imagine moving from bedroom editing to a monster-sized summer blockbuster costing $160 million to helming a Star Wars movie in just 2 leaps? Well director Gareth Edwards did just this, as he jumped from the Midlands to Skywalker Ranch across just 6 years. Like many local filmmakers starting out, Edwards had to be a jack of all trades for his debut feature Monsters (2010), where he served as writer, director, cinematographer and VFX artist.
Edwards was born on 1 June 1975 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire and wanted to direct his own films since childhood. He attended Higham Lane School, followed by college at North Warwickshire College of Technology and Art (now NWSLC). And like most filmmakers I know in the region, he was forced to create the effects for Monsters using off-the-shelf equipment and filmed using a small crew of just five people. After that he was chosen to helm Godzilla which made $530million (!) and I remember in 2015 when I approached his agent for an interview. I sadly got no reply and the next day he was announced as the director of Star Wars: Rogue One. Ah, he’s probably *a bit* tied up this week.
And so Edwards is a bit of a poster-boy for the region which gave him a solid footing before (very quickly) helming the biggest franchise in cinema. And he’s not been forgotten either, as he was given the freedom of Nuneaton, saying "I really miss the sarcasm and everyone always insulting each other and so it's nice to come home and be put in my place by my sister. [And] One of the things you learn when you tell stories is that every story in a movie is essentially, in its simplest form, a character leaving home, going on an adventure and then returning back home hopefully better off.” (BBC News, 2024) Well said, Gareth.
