Mohammed Michael "Mo" George (born 11 March 1982) is a British actor who played Gus Smith on the soap opera EastEnders from 2002 to 2008.
Mohammed George | |
|---|---|
 George in 2009 at Wendy Richard's funeral service | |
| Born | Mohammed Michael George 11 March 1982 |
| Education | Sylvia Young Theatre School |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1994-present |
Early life
editMohammed Michael George was born to a Jamaican mother and Antiguan father, in Hackney, London, England.
Career
editBefore appearing in EastEnders, George made guest appearances in Holby City, Bottom (as a young trick-or-treater in the episode Terror), Kidulthood and The Last Detective. He also starred as Dennis in the children's program Renford Rejects in 2000.
Personal life
editGeorge has a daughter, Olivia Destiny. His daughter was born in 2005 in Barnet, Greater London.[1]
Legal troubles
editGeorge was arrested on 8 December 2006 for a suspected assault on girlfriend Emma Archibald during an argument outside a restaurant.[2] She corroborated the claims, in what started as an argument over who should empty the dishwasher.[3] George was cautioned by the police for having swung a bag of rubbish,[4] and was subsequently suspended by EastEnders Executive Producer Diederick Santer for two months. He apologised to the BBC and the show's producers.[5] It was announced on 18 January 2008 that George and EastEnders had reached a mutual agreement not to renew his contract and he left the show after six years, later in 2008.[6] George has since stated that he was "forced" to leave EastEnders after the bosses there believed newspaper headlines which he later proved wrong. He has also admitted to suffering from depression as a result of his departure from EastEnders.[7]
Lawsuits
editIn March 2009, George started libel action against The Sun newspaper, claiming that they said he was "acting like a wild animal" and branded him a "woman beater" and that this was untrue. His lawyer said the reports had "damaged his prospects as an actor". The newspaper contested the claim,[8] but George won £75,000 libel damages on 2 April 2009.[9] In July 2010, the Daily Star apologised and paid damages to George after they incorrectly reported that he had arrived drunk to an EastEnders 25th anniversary party and acted aggressively to the programme's producers.[10]
Other interests
editGeorge is now a full-time DJ playing around clubs across the United Kingdom.
In June 2016, George was nominated for best actor alongside Idris Elba, Shone Romulus, and Emmanuel Imani at the 2016 British Urban Film festival for his role in "Murder Capital" a short film written and directed by Rob Woods.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Never Play with the Dead | ||
| 2013 | Forget the Pact | Frankie | Short film |
| 2015 | Murder Capital | Reaper | Short film |
| 2016 | Remembrance Day | Kofi | Short film |
| 2016 | The Naked Poet | Martin | |
| 2019 | A Man Down | Paul Drummond | Short film |
| 2024 | Here | Winston | |
| TBA | Thirteen Cars | Bez | Pre-production |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Bottom | Small Devil | Episode: "Terror" Credited as Mohammad George |
| 1995 | The Biz | Max | Unknown episodes |
| 2000 | The Bill | Mark Okin | Episode: "White Lies" |
| 2000-2001 | Renford Rejects | Dennis Quayle | Unknown episodes |
| 2002 | Holby City | Dean Flynn | Episode: "Birthday" |
| 2002-2008 | EastEnders | Gus Smith | Main cast 319 episodes |
| 2003 | The Last Detective | Warren | Episode: "Pilot" Credited as Mohammad George |
| 2007 | Children in Need | Himself (performer) | Episode: "#1.28" |
| 2011 | Postcode | Rob | Television movie |
| 2012 | Crime Stories | Peter Green | Episode: "#1.19" |
References
edit- ^ Births England and Wales 1984-2006
- ^ "British TV star arrested on suspicion of assaulting girlfriend". 9 December 2006. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2006.
- ^ "Girlfriend denies assault by British TV star boyfriend". 11 December 2006. Retrieved 11 December 2006.
- ^ "Eastenders star cautioned by police". 27 March 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2007.[dead link]
- ^ "EastEnders suspends star after assault caution". Ireland On-Line. 28 March 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2007.
- ^ BBC – EastEnders – News – Two departures from Walford
- ^ Millar, Paul (28 February 2010). "Mo George: 'Enders Axe Made Me Suicidal". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ "EastEnders' Gus sues in abuse row". BBC News. 23 March 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
- ^ "Eastenders' Mo George wins libel payout from The Sun". Press Gazette. 2 April 2009. Archived from the original on 7 April 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
- ^ "Mohammed George". Daily Star. Northern & Shell. 25 July 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2010.