Q1, How did you get you break or when did you decide to become an actor?

I never actually ever thought I would be an actor and in fact my line of business had always been nightclubs and restaurants where I enjoyed being the host and working the floor, making people welcome, I’d like to entertain and make people laugh and people would say I should be an actor. This eventually did come about when I was approached by talent scout and agent Camilla Storey. She put me forward for a part in East Enders which I enjoyed and found acting an instinct addiction. It’s something I seem to have found my niche for in life and sure I got discovered late but I luv every aspect of the filming industry from the production crew, to the actors and directors I adore the whole business and I wouldn’t want to do anything else but acting, believe me I am miserable when I’m not on the set performing. I really have been fortunate since what I call my apprenticeship work doing Casualty, Murder City, and Judge John Deed etc...Before my first film movie break in The Calcium Kid in what was a working title film with Orlando Bloom, Billy Piper, and Rafe Spall. It was a great cast and I got a lead role in that, Alex De Rakoff directed. It was a spoof documentary and I played a character called Pete Wright and he was a boxer which again is another dream roll for me with my boxing background. It sort of all catapulted from there, with Layer Cake, The Business, Unleashed, Football Factory, Spivs, I been very lucky that most of my work has been movies playing characters that I know I would fit.

Q2, Favourite three movies?

Raging Bull, Rainman and Papillion and if I could pick a forth then that has got to be Once Upon a Time in America.

Favourite film I’ve been in myself has got to be The Business, director Nick Love is a friend of ours, all the boys together again, Danny Dyer, Geoff Bell and co but this time were out in sunny Marbella.

Favourite actor has got to be Robert De Niro.

Q3, What did you see or think about being offered a leading role in my own film?

Obviously I knew you Cass and people had heard of you but I didn’t know your full life story. It was Stefan Haller and Jon Baird that approached my agent and we sat down and had a meeting and I’ll be truthful I felt it’s going to be another football thuggery film and after doing the football factory I would not feel the need at this stage of my career to take on that challenge. Then upon reading script and your life story it just grabbed me, it was a beautiful moving story and for me it doesn’t just portray football hooliganism though obviously there is an element of football hooliganism in the film because of who you are but for me it’s just a powerful story about a man’s life.

Q4, what was the worst thing or the funniest thing to happen to you in the making of The Football Factory?

The funniest thing has got to be the scene I had with Frank Harper with the kids playing on the pitch. I think it was one of those iconic memorable scene moments because everybody seems to want to quote the lines in that film, I think my voice going fuck this, yer fat Chelsea cunt, you cunt, you cunt this, as Frank gives it all some back somehow got picked up on and ended up all over the country on everybody’s ringtones. Frank is another pal of mine but he’s my rival in the film, we had a lot of laughs doing that and I think that was the funniest thing because I was so into the role when we was doing it. I remember the director Nick Love saying look Tam, the end fight scene when the two firms clash we got to make it show that you can’t see who wins and who doesn’t win and I’m sort of being asked to bite the bullet a little bit and swallow me pride and let Frank get on top a bit so the main fight scene evens out.

The hardest thing was this melee at the end, you know I turned up on set and there was like what I can only say were youngsters with baseball bats and wearing Burberry said listen I’m not going into battle with these kids and they sort of started going look Tam, it’s just a film. I said but this is a way of life for people, I’m representing a culture here and I live in this area and if we are to portray this in the right way I will need to go into battle with some real people. So they said ok we understand you but where will we get such people? So I got on the phone to a couple of people and they got all the right boys down. Can you picture this? You’ve got 60 non-actors behind you and you’re at the helm and you’ve got to lead these into battle. I mean I wished Nurofen sponsored that day because it was the hardest days work I had to ever do. It was so challenging, and we got a few digs, I got a few punches in the mouth, a few cuts and bruises for the cause, which for me that’s the hardest days work I’ve ever had to have.



Q5, At the time of Football Factory doing the rounds you had Green Street in production which gave us two major cinema movies both centred around the subject of being in a hooligan football firm. Some obvious rivalry and comparisons did get banded about so what was your own opinion.

Without being bias I think the Football Factory is the closest you are going to get to authenticating real situations as to how hooliganism is portrayed today. There were some flaws in Green Street and I’m sure everyone who has seen it has said it. But they’re just two different films and there’s no point in comparing it with each other or any other films. Football Factory was obviously about the Chelsea Head-hunters and Green Street obviously about the ICF or the West Ham firm that had two different stories and they are what they are and I believe both films turned out successfully commercially. I believe you Cass had a few comments or was not happy with what Geoff Bell was doing with a few hammers at the end of that film. Yet we have both agreed Geoff is a phenomenal actor which just proves with football culture you can’t please everybody, so any film of that nature is going to get criticism and I really think people should just watch them and enjoy them and don’t take them too seriously.

Q6, Right, your football team you support and why?

Obviously Millwall, I was born in New Cross, south London and although I never come from a family of ardent football supporters, I sort of slipped into it with the boys just becoming one of the lads as you do when growing up in New Cross. It was a local team, it was a stone’s throw from where I lived and though I could never afford to go in there and we would watch them on Jew Boy’s hill if anybody is old enough to remember Jew Boy’s hill , we used to slip in there at half-time as you could in those days. Watching a game of football down the New Den is still a day out and I’m still supporting them, and will still get along whenever I can today.

Q7, Your Favourite player in the game? Also what annoys you most in the game?

Maradona without question is my favourite player. You’ve still got all these greats like Pele, Zico whatever but for my time I don’t think there was any player that could create play like him, he was something else and I enjoyed watching him when I grew up.

Because I’ve played a bit of football, what really will annoy me about football truthfully are those types of fans that will criticise and scream at players all the time. You know the ones that talk a good game but sometimes you just wanna say you know what mate ‘SHUT THE FUCK UP!’

Q8, what’s the story of you appearing in the claret and blue?

Ah, the story of me in the claret and blue! Now I personally think Danny Dyer set me up for this. This Premiership All-Stars tournament involved Sky TV and I didn’t know anything about it when normally I’d have a bit of notice whenever I get invited to these charity football events. I’ve been previously invited to the Alan Ball, England v Rest of World and played the first game that was ever played at the new Wembley and as always it was all great fun. So Danny’s gone to me listen we’re playing this charity Premiership All-stars thing and I’ve put your name up so do you want to play and I said yeah fine. As it got closer I got this call from the producer saying that I was playing for West Ham, I immediately said Oh really can’t I play for Chelsea, I know a few players down there and they said no, no your only playing for West Ham that’s the only space that there is. So I said who’s in the team then? and it was Danny Dyer, Geoff Bell, McAvennie, Moncs and all the boys, so I thought all right sweet Geoff Bells Millwall and Danny’s on the phone, ‘Come on Tam do it for me, do it for this’. Ok fine until I got there and seen it’s a massive West Ham fest, as all their fans appear to have completely taken over the stadium.

The penny’s dropped with me now and to explain why, I need to take you back to one of my charity events at my football club, Greenwich Borough. There’s this friend of mine who had a son who was terminally ill and we had to get him over to Mexico for this special treatment and we held a auction event where my good friend Danny Dyer come over to lend his support. As part of the auction we’ve put in a Millwall signed shirt and someone’s bid £500 quid for it on a condition that Danny Dyer puts it on and wears it. Well Danny’s shoulders slumped and he looked at me. I said Danny the kids dying and a monkey (£500) is a monkey mate so you’ve got to put it on. He’s put this Millwall shirt on and poor Dan’s face, I did feel sorry for him because he is a avid West Ham supporter who even draws the crossed hammers when signing his name, so he’s standing there in the middle of the clubhouse, with his shoulders sunk down and as everyone’s taking pictures he’s looking at me with venom in his eyes.

So going back to this Premiership All-stars thing I’m sure that’s Danny’s way of getting me back because I’ve got there and as I’ve come out onto the pitch it’s all that West Ham banter bit, Oi! You’re fuckin Millwall ain’t yer, and what you doing in a claret and blue shirt. So I’m sort of playing the actor, It’s pretend, it’s for a bit of charity lads you ain’t got to rib me to try and take the heat out of the situation I find myself in. Now this tournament is a knockout competition, and it’s the first game and they are booing my every touch, and all of the sudden I’ve scored the goal in the dying seconds. I’ll tell you what it was one of those priceless moments, if you could just take yer mind back and picture Eric Cantona’s majestic standing pose when he would score a goal and I just stood there in that same pose and looked at them and they went ballistic, they were screaming my name, hollering and shouting. Inside I just thought you fickle bastards for you couldn’t give a fuck who I am now, could you, and Danny’s come running up as well and it’s turned out I’ve become friends with Macca and Moncs and blah, blah. Now I know them West Ham boys can hold their own and we’re playing in the quarter-final when I’ve gone in and done a tackle, the ref McDermott has missed the handball and I’ve gone ref that’s a handball and the player has gone past me so I’ve half pulled him down and that’s me blue carded so I’m off in the sin bin. All of the sudden that comedian Tonkinson he’s gone into Moncs and started clumping him, now Moncs can proper hold his own but you’re thinking what the hell’s going on here. You know how it is if you play, it’s your passion, you’re in the game and its one of your pals getting a dig and this Tonkinson I’ve half looked over at him and he’s half mugged me off so I’ve gone over to him and give him a little elbow, just to liven him up a bit, heat of the moment stuff that didn’t go unnoticed. Mr Ray Winstone and you know he’s claret and blue through and through, he’s got a box I keep trying to get in after spending a bit of time with him out in LA with Danny and he keeps telling me there’s no fuckin Millwall coming within 200 yards of my box! After that All-Stars game Uncle Raymondo got on the phone saying I’ve bleed for the cause and all that, so maybe I will get to be invited in that box now.

Q9, You and Danny Dyer are quite close mates so have you got any Danny Dyer moments to share with us?

Danny Dyer is Danny Dyer and his dialogue is second to none and if you’re asking me for Danny Dyer moments then it’s the nut, he always gets his nuts out and he’s got one big nut that’s Jurassic, it’s a beautiful thing and without sounding like a iron, it’s insane and is our little party piece, I go have you seen the nut and Danny would go have a look at that then. It’s the size of an ostrich egg and anyone that knows Danny would have seen the nut. So if you were ever to meet Danny just say to him can I see your nut and he’ll show it to yer.

Q10, Any hobbies or interests outside of acting?

I am a big fan of cars and I did the Gumball rally this year, me and Danny did a documentary about the rally and we had a film crew with us filming us in a Range Rover Sport which was sort of a upgrade because there was only 15 of them made. I slipped into a Lamborghini and drove that too but do watch it because Danny was hilarious, they wanted rock & roll and we did warn them.

My hobby is my kids and its hard of late where I’ve career and schedule that takes me here and there, but my boy is a budding footballer and he’s 16 and I’ve a daughter whose 9, the boss I call her as is the wife and anytime I do actually get to myself, it’s nice to slip away with them all.

Copyright © Cass Pennant 2007