Alexander Nicholas Peter McSweeney (born 20 December 1966) is an English actor, writer and director, best known for playing Graham Foster in EastEnders from 2003 to 2005, and again in 2023.[1] Other programmes he has appeared in include Silent Witness and Holby City. He also appeared in Lewis, in 2007. He has also portrayed 'Captain Wilder' in the third series of the ITV show Primeval in 2009. He was also a regular guest actor on The Bill between 1994 and 2003, before taking on the role of series regular David Radford in 2004.[2]
Alex McSweeney | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alexander Nicholas Peter McSweeney 20 December 1966 |
| Alma mater | Academy Drama School |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1994–present |
Life and career
editMcSweeney was born on 20 December 1966 in Lambeth, London and following training at London Academy of Performing Arts (LAPA), and the Academy Drama School, he appeared in such roles as 'One Ball Bill' in Keen Eddie comedy-drama television series for the Fox network, alongside Sienna Miller in 2003. In 2003, he joined the cast of the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Graham Foster, with the character appearing until January 2005, after the character was found guilty for the rape of Little Mo Mitchell (Kacey Ainsworth), which resulted in her pregnancy.[3] He was in Steven Berkoff's groundbreaking production of On The Waterfront at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2008.[4][5] In the summer of 2011, while performing in Steven Berkoff's "Oedipus" at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Alex directed a cast of young actors in the play A Hero of Our Time. The play, written by Alex was a take on the Russian Novel by Mikhail Lermontov and was generally received well by critics.[6] He played the recurring role of D.S. Sykes in Hollyoaks from 2013 until his character was killed by gangster Fraser Black in April 2014.[7] He played a lecturer who has a motorbike accident in BBC Doctors in 2015. In an episode of Call the Midwife (March 2016), he played Joe Blacker.[8]
Alongside his acting career, he is also a Doctor of Literature and lectures at two London Universities in English & Drama. Drama at Kingston University and is a Senior Lecturer in English and Creative Writing at London Southbank University.[9] He wrote 'Out of the Cage' a play about women munition workers in the First World War in 2013/14. It subsequently got published and premiered at the Park Theatre London in January 2015.[10] A national tour of the play was put in motion for 2017. He then appeared in Endeavour in 2017 as 'Terence Bakewell'.[11]
In 2023, it was announced McSweeney would reprise the role of Graham in EastEnders as part of a storyline which sees the character's son Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier) discover his true paternity.[12]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Rumic World: The Laughing _target | Student (voice) | Uncredited |
| 1988 | Demon City Shinjuku | Chibi (voice) | Credited as Alan Sherman |
| 1997 | Table 5 | Bill Chamberlain | |
| 1999 | The Escort | Taxi Driver | |
| 2000 | Gangster No. 1 | Bloke In Tailor's | |
| 2001 | Sunday Morning | Hustler | Short film |
| 2003 | Courts mais GAY: Tome 6 | Hustler | |
| 2004 | Secrets | Robert | Short film |
| 2007 | Shoot on Sight | PC Brian Andrews | |
| 2008 | Hellboy II: The Golden Army | Policeman | |
| Brixton 85 | Ward Policeman | Short film | |
| 2011 | A Little Bit of Grief | Peg | Short film |
| 2012 | Oedipus | Shepherd / Ensemble | Video |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Violence Jack | Thug (voice) | Episode: "Violence Jack, Part 3: Hell's Wind" |
| 1990 | Genocyber | Scientist (voice) | Episodes: "Vajranoid Attack" and "Global War" |
| 1994–2004 | The Bill | Lighterman (1994) / Eddie Peacock (1998) / Hall (2000) / Chris (2003) / David Radford (2004) | 22 episodes |
| 1999 | Maisie Raine | Ski Mask 2 | Episode: "European Forty Five" |
| 2000 | The Apocalypse | Lucius | Television film |
| 2001 | Submerged | Seaman Lawrence Gainor | Television film |
| 2002 | Get Carman: The Trials of George Carman QC | Geoff Knights | Television film |
| 2003–2004 | Keen Eddie | One Ball Bill | Episodes: "Horse Heir", Sticky Fingers" and "Keeping Up Appearances" |
| 2003 | In Deep | Ian | Episodes: "Full Disclosure: Part 1" and "Full Disclosure: Part 2" |
| 2003–2005, 2023 | EastEnders | Graham Foster | Regular role |
| 2003, 2012 | Silent Witness | DS Rufus Smith (2003) / Frank McAteer (2012) | Episodes: "Fatal Error: Part 1 and Part 2" and "Domestic: Part 1 and Part 2" |
| 2004, 2015 | Doctors | Colin Murphy (2004) / Iain Johnson (2015) | Episodes: "Primary Care" and "In Search of Happiness" |
| 2005 | The Commander | PC Mick Camel | Episodes: "Blackdog Part 1 and Part 2" |
| The Last Detective | Warrant Officer Tony Monkford | Episode: "Towpaths of Glory" | |
| 2005, 2009 | Holby City | Derek Johns (2005) / Sean Andrews (2009) | Episodes: "The Long Goodbye" and "Take Her Breath Away" |
| 2007 | Inspector Lewis | Paul | Episode: "Old School Ties" |
| 2009 | Primeval (TV Series) | Captain Wilder | 4 episodes |
| 2011 | Sirens | Dennis Bayldon | Episode: "Cry" |
| 2012 | Crime Stories | Patrick Johnson | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Call the Midwife | Joe Blacker | 1 episode |
| 2017 | Endeavour | Terence Bakewell | Episode: "Lazaretto" |
| 2018 | The Athena | Tony (Sam's Dad) | 1 episode |
References
edit- ^ Dray, Kayleigh (5 November 2015). "EastEnders cast: Everything you need to know about the characters". Closer online. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ "Going Native". Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- ^ "EastEnders: who was Graham Foster and is he returning?". Closer. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ "Alexander Nicholas Peter McSweeney". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ Fricker, Karen (29 April 2008). "On the Waterfront". Variety. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ Jones, Eleanor (24 August 2011). "A Hero of our Time @ Zoo". theskinny. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (10 April 2014). "Hollyoaks: Ste, Fraser clash again". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- ^ "Series 5, Episode 7 Credits". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ "Dr Alex McSweeney Senior Lecturer". lsbu.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ Palleschi, Mel (15 January 2015). "Interview with Alex McSweeney , Writer & Director of Out Of The Cage at the Park Theatre Jan 20th". eastlondonradio.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ Wheeler, Gem (24 January 2017). "4.3 Lazaretto". 24 January 2017. denofgeek.com. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ "Alex McSweeney returning to EastEnders as villain who raped Little Mo". Daily Mirror. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
External links
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