Joe Gilgun

At 40 years old, Joe Gilgun has this physical status:

Joseph William Gilgun (born 9 March 1984) is an English actor known for many roles, including that of Eli Dingle in ITV's Emmerdale, Woody (2006) and its subsequent spin-off series, and Rudy Wade in E4's Misfits with Matt Stokoe.

He appears in the AMC's television adaptation of the Vertigo comic Preacher as the Irish vampire Cassidy.

Early life

Gilgun was born in Chorley, Lancashire, to Judith and Andrew Gilgun. He grew up in Rivington, Lancashire, with his two younger sisters, Jennie Seddon and Rosie Thomson. Gilguns were enrolled at Rivington Middle School and Southlands High School. He has dyslexia and ADHD, which he describes as the "largest pain of [his] life," and has openly discussed depression and anxiety in interviews. Following an educational psychologist's suggestion, he began drama classes at the age of eight and was characterized as having "exceptional potential." He also worked at the Laine Johnson Theatre School and the Oldham Theatre Workshop. He appeared in Coronation Street for the first time when he was ten years old. He remained with the show until he was thirteen years old.

Gilgun obtained his A-Levels at Runshaw College, outside of odd jobs and a few small theater productions, he spent time as a plasterer until returning to Emmerdale full time in 2006.

Personal life

Gilgun has had a strong connection with his co-stars from the This Is England series, referring to them in interviews as "the gang."

He has spoken out on podcasts and other media outlets about his bipolar disorder and the effects it has had on his life. He has stated that many of the stories within Brassic are based on his personal experiences.

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Career

Gilgun appeared as a child actor in Coronation Street from 1994 to 1997. After the actress playing his on-screen mother left the soap, he left the program. In an ITV special The Kids from Coronation Street (2004), Gilgun revisited the scene. He performed a feature on Wish You Were Here in 1998, when he was 14 years old. Where he stayed in Phantasialand, one of Germany's largest theme parks, Phantasialand.

Gilgun took a break in his teens and appeared in local and national theatre productions, including the Salford-based Hanky Park the Musical at The Lowry. In a critically acclaimed tour of Borstal Boy, which culminated at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, he played Charlie Millwall.

Gilgun discovered the change in his behavior when telling The Guardian in December 2011 that "I] went off the fucking rails" and became lost on what to do with his life. He ended up as a plasterer.

He returned to acting full time in 2006, after winning the roles of both trouble-prone Eli Dingle and kind-hearted skinhead Woody in This Is England, his debut as a film actor. This Is England was released in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2007 and has since received numerous accolades, one in particular for Best British Film.

In a locally produced feature-length film entitled Chorley: Where People Go to Fight, Gilgun starred alongside welterweight boxing champion Michael Jennings in 2007. All funds went to Derian House Children's Hospice, with Gilgun assisting with the presentation. In addition, he appeared in a Dingle-centred episode of Ghosthunting with... hosted by Yvette Fielding.

Gilgun was given time off from Emmerdale to shoot Harry Brown, a British crime drama in which he starred drug dealer Kenny Soames. Gilgun announced that he would leave Emmerdale on November 10, 2009, feeling that the time was right to move forward. His last appearance was on April 30, 2010. An Emmerdale representative said that the program had not ruled out a return for the character. Gilgun later said that he had no such plans at the time.

Woody's character was revived in this Is England spin-off series titled This Is England '86 by Gilgun. This Is England 90'88 and This Is England '90, which premiered in September 2010, December 2011, and 2015 respectively, on September 10, 2010. In 2010, Shane Meadows, an England writer-director, recommended Gilgun to perform in longtime collaborator Paul Fraser's music video for the song "Dead American Writers" by Tired Pony.

In the third series of Misfits, Gilgun had been cast as newcomer Rudy Wade on May 9, 2011. Rudy's character can be portrayed as a clone of himself that roughly represents his conscience. He appeared in the first episode of the third series in late October 2011. Following Robert Sheehan's departure, he was recalled as the lead character in Nathan. Nathan Young's resignation and Rudy's arrival were covered in a web short called Vegas Baby. Gilgun said that replacing Sheehan had "been scary." You'd expect it to be a complete ballache, considering that it's new and stuff and Rob doing such a good job."

Gilgun appeared in the 2012 American science fiction film Lockout, co-written and produced by Luc Besson and starring Guy Pearce, as well as the final two series of Misfits. He appears in the music video for Then Thickens' "Tiny Legs" in 2014. Joe decided to appear in the film after being friends with a few members of the band from growing up around Chorley. Among other things, it required him to have makeup, flour, and eggs applied to his face, which required several, lengthy attempts to get right.

In Breck Eisner's The Last Witch Hunter, Gilgun performed Ellic, as well as Michael Caine, Vin Diesel, and Elijah Wood.

Gilgun played drug-addicted Irish vampire Cassidy, one of the main characters in AMC's Preacher's March 2015 film. "It's one of those things that happens only a few times in your career, where you just go "Oh, it's you." You're the one who writes on the page, and Joe's probably done some shit you may not like to hear about, but at the same time, he's one of the most fun, loving people you'll ever meet. And it was just what the character wanted to be."

Gilgun produced the pilot episode of Preacher, as well as The Infiltrator, a 2016 crime thriller starring Bryan Cranston, in Spring 2015.

Gilgun appeared on all four seasons of Preacher, which premiered on May 22, 2016 and concluded on September 29, 2019. In addition, Gilgun was also an executive producer of the show, delivering half of the show's third season and the majority of its fourth.

Gilgun produced, executive produced, and appeared in the Sky One comedy series Brassic in 2019. Vinnie, a working-class petty criminal living in Northern England, is played by Gilgun. On August 22, 2019, the six-episode series premiered. The series had been well-reviewed and received a second season extension before the first season premiered. In October 2021, the show's third series was released. In August 2021, filming for Brassic's 4th season began, and it is expected to premiere in 2022.

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