Steve McFadden
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| Steve McFadden | |||||||
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| Born | Steve McFadden 20 March 1959 Maida Vale, London, England |
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| Occupation | Actor | ||||||
| Years active | 1988-present | ||||||
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Stephen McFadden (born 20 March 1959) is an English actor who is well-known for his starring role as Phil Mitchell in the British BBC TV drama EastEnders, since 1990.
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Biography
Early life
Steve McFadden was born "Stephen Reid" in the Maida Vale area of London on 20 March 1959, the only child of Robert and Barbara Reid. His parents separated soon afterwards and his mother later married a man called John McFadden, who adopted Steve and gave him his new surname.
He left school in 1975 and over the next few years had short stints in jobs including labouring, carrot picking, plumbing and working at a builder's merchants. None of these occupations gave him much satisfaction, so he decided to sell his motorbike and hitch-hike around Europe. He spent several months camping out in Montpellier, France, on land earmarked for development as a football stadium. He then returned to London and felt that the city was too repressive for his liking, so he went to a Job Centre and asked for a job "with a meaning".
Steve's first job after his return to London was on the "Acorn Project", a scheme for blind people which involved attending college. He gained 'O' and 'A' Level passes in Sociology and Politics before enrolling at North London Polytechnic University on an Economics course. Just seven weeks after starting, he decided that the course was not for him, and withdrew himself from university. He decided that he wanted to become an actor, and joined the acting group RADA in 1984, and in his first year there won a prize for creating his own drama piece called "Best Fight" - which included many characters who were based on his own friends from school.
Career
After graduating from the RADA he made his acting debut playing a small role in the 1988 television film The Firm. That same year he had an uncredited role in the film Buster as a gang member. This was followed by guest appearances in the television series The Bill, Minder and Bergerac.
Steve then became famous for playing 'hard man' Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He joined EastEnders at the beginning of 1990, at the same time as Ross Kemp, who played Phil's younger brother Grant Mitchell. During that time, his character has been involved in numerous ratings-pulling storylines such as Sharongate and the most notable Who Shot Phil? storyline where his character was shot and wounded by a mystery attacker. The identity of the attacker was revealed weeks later as Phil's girlfriend Lisa, who was ironically played by Lucy Benjamin - Steve's real-life girlfriend at the time.
Since playing the role of Phil Mitchell, Steve has also made a brief appearance in the film Kevin & Perry Go Large in 2000 and starred in an episode of the BBC1 anthology series Murder in Mind in 2001.
Steve left EastEnders in late 2003 for a one-year break to concentrate on pantomimes. His character was briefly written out of the series after being framed for an armed robbery by Den Watts (played by Leslie Grantham), and going on the run after breaking out of prison.
During his break from EastEnders he presented the reality television fighting series Britain's Hardest which aired on Sky One.
He briefly returned to EastEnders in March 2005, but his comeback lasted just one week as Phil had returned to Walford in need of financial help, only to be arrested and returned to prison. In October 2005, he returned again on a permanent basis. He is still with EastEnders, almost two decades after joining, and his character is now one of the longest-running in the programme's history. In 2007 he appeared in the fact-based film Provoked'.
Personal life
Off the screen controversy
He was the recipient of much bad publicity during 2005, when he was accused of being involved in dogging with other men.[1] On November 3, 2005, he was the victim of an assault, believed to have been perpetrated by his ex-girlfriend Angela Bostock,[citation needed] who earlier in the year had also made claims about McFadden's private life in the tabloid press.[citation needed] The woman was released with a police caution. With striking coincidence, this incident took place on the same day that Ross Kemp, who plays his brother Grant in EastEnders, was allegedly assaulted by his wife. In July 2007, Steve was involved in a brawl with painter and decorator Michael McIntyre which took place outside the Royal British Legion in Falmouth, Cornwall. Sadly, Michael McIntyre later died, though this was not due to injuries following the fight.[2]
Family
Steve McFadden has three children; Matthew, Teona and Mollie. He currently lives in Falmouth, Cornwall.
Filmography
- Provoked (2007) .... DS Ron Meyers
- Murder in Mind (2001) .... Joe Waterman
- Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000) .... Bouncer 2
- EastEnders (1990-2003, 2005-) .... "Philip" Phil Mitchell
- Bergerac (1990) .... Jones
- The Bill (1989) .... Gun Dealer
- Minder (1989) .... Mickey
- Buster (1988) (uncredited) .... Gang Member
- The Firm (1988) .... Billy
References
- ^ France, Anthony. "BBC bosses back 'dogger'", The Sun. Retrieved on 2007-05-02.
- ^ Evening Standard article
