European cast selected for hard-hitting British feature film
- Lead cast announced as: Craig Fairbrass, Stephen Odubola, Jason Flemyng
- Writer/actor Ross McCall’s directorial debut
- Second feature from Ascendant Films and Burton Fox Films collaboration, following Boiling Point. Once again made in association with Bromantics
Casting is announced for crime drama, Ire, with Craig Fairbrass and Stephen Odubola as lead cast. Jason Flemyng, Ulrich Thomsen, Zoe Tapper and Rosie Sheehy are supporting.
Ire tells the prisonlife of an institutionalised and violent criminal (Craig Fairbrass). Incarcerated for murdering his wife, his life gets disrupted when his estranged daughter requests to meet her father for the first time and a 19 year old (Stephen Odubola) serving his first sentence in a maximum security prison, is placed inside as his cell mate. We follow, as an incarcerated lifer navigates his struggle against redemption and his inner turmoil.
Steve Mackleson is a 55-year-old inmate serving life for a double murder. Having been institutionalised by the system he is now integrated in, he finds it difficult to adjust to the requests from his estranged daughter requiring a meeting for the first time since her birth. Steve is a dangerous man, living by the strict code of inmate life. When he is also pushed to have a new cell-mate for the first time since he killed his previous one, it brings him closer to the assumption that he may be an unwilling teacher to the teenager who is of age as his daughter. He questions his abilities to find redemption from a world that he has ultimately accepted to being nothing more than what he finds within the confines of a prison life.
- Craig Fairbrass (STEVE), is a well-known British actor, starring in films such as Stallone’s Cliffhanger and opposite Denzel Washington in the London thriller For Queen and Country. Craig has since gone on to star in close to fifty feature films in the UK and the U.S and is now in the top tier of British on screen hard man after powerful, award winning performances in British gangster, cult classic – Rise of the Footsoldier 1-3-4 – St Georges Day, The Bank Job, London Heist, Breakdown, Zombie horror, Devils Playground and U.S horror, White noise 2 The light. His TV roles Prime Suspect, Eastenders. U.S Guest star roles in Davis Mamet’s The Unit, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Stargate SGI and Soldier of Fortune. Craig is also one of the most iconic voices within the most successful video game franchise of all time, Call Of Duty Modern Warfare by lending his voice to Gaz, Ghost and Walcroft in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 1-2-3. Craig is currently a lead character in Battlefield V’s Motion Capture, single player mode as Mason in Under No Flag, other MO-CAP games include the Gary Oldman Epic, Squadron 42 – Star Citizen.
- Stephen Odubola (MARCUS) most recently starred as the lead in Rapman’s highly anticipated feature film Blue Story (2019). The story revolves around ’Timmy’ (Odubola), who is sent to a school in a different neighbourhood, there he strikes a friendship with ‘Marco’ (Michael Ward), whose brother is the leader of a local gang. The film was dubbed a modern day, urban, Romeo & Juliet, since it chronicles the friendship between two young men from opposing and warring postcodes. Stephen attended the Identity Drama School, whose alumni include John Boyega (Star Wars), Letitia Wright (Black Panther), and Malachi Kirby (Roots).
- Jason Flemyng (FRANK), is an actor and producer, known for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003). He also starred in Snatch (2000) and Layer Cake (2004).
- Ulrich Thomson (WARDEN GOODWILL), is a Danish actor know for The Celebration (1998), The World Is Not Enough (1999),Killing Me Softly (2002),Flickering Lights (2000), Credo (1997), The Biggest Heroes (1996), and Nightwatch (1994).
- Zoe Tapper (KEATS), is a British actress known for Liar (2017), Mr Selfridge (2013), Survivors (2008), Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky (2005).
- Rosie Sheehy (REBECCA),is a British actress, known for Chernobyl (2019), DCI Banks (2010) and Sky Comedy Shorts (2018).
- Ross McCall (IRE WRITER, DIRECTOR & STEVE’S FATHER), is a writer, director and actor who many years on the West End stage and with the BBC on various productions, he landed the role of Liebgott in Band of Brothers (2001)for HBO. This led to him coming to the US to work once more with Tom Hanks in the Robert Zemeckis film, The Polar Express (2004). He began to star in various U.S. television shows, allowing him to move to the US full time. After starring alongside Dennis Hopper in Paul Haggis and Glen Mazzara‘s Crash (2008), he went on to play the lead in many award winning films and television series including White Collar (2010), 24:Live Another Day (2014), Fear The Walking Dead, In Embryo, AutoMotive, Walk to Vegas, The Beautiful Ones and Castle.
- Robin Laing (C.O. MARTINS), is an actor, known for Band of Brothers (2001), Joyeux Noel (2005) and Outlaw King (2018)
- Philip Barantini (MORGAN), Philip is an award winning and BIFA nominated director who started his career in 1996 as an actor appearing in Sky One’s football drama Dream Team. He then went on to star in many film and television roles including, Band of Brothers (2001), Ned Kelly (2003) “Hard Boiled Sweets” (2012) Chernobyl (2019) to name just a few. In recent years Philip has developed a passion for directing and writing, including Boiling Point with Stephen Graham.
- Michael Lindall (SCOTTY), is an actor and writer, known for A Discovery of Witches (2018), Deep State (2018) and Roadside Picnic (2017)
- Lloyd Everitt (C.O. BROOKS), The youngest actor to play Othello at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Lloyd Everitt was also Nominated for Best Newcomer at the British National Television Awards 2017 for his role as ‘Jez’ in BBC1’s Casualty. He was also added to Tony Hall’s and Idris Elba’s Hot Emerging Talent list the same year and has gone on to work with Oscar Winner Anna Pacquin in new 2019 American TV Series Flack
- Thomas Dominique (DWAYNE), is an actor, known for Blood Drive (2017), Black Mirror (2011) and Daemon Mind (2021)
- Morgan Watkins (DANNY), is an actor and producer, known for Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Wild Bill (2011) and Chicken (2015)
- Roger Suubi (GREENE), is an actor, known for A Change of Heart (2017)
- Graham Kitchen (FIRST CELL MATE), Graham Kitchen is an actor and producer, known for Black Widow (2020), Cruella (2021) and The Shepherd (2019)
- Hector Bateman-Hardman (YOUNG STEVE), is an actor who appeared in a professional touring production of Madam Butterfly as Sorrow, at the age of five. His on-screen acting credits include Four Weddings and a Funeral (2019 series) and Holmes & Watson (2018).
- Hamza Siddique (C.O. Philips), Hamza Siddique is an actor, known for Glow (2015), Heartbeats House (2013) and Doctors (2000)
- Uche Gabriel Akujobi (FATCH), Uché Gabriel Akujobi is an actor, known for Born Again (2015), Blood Fruit (2014) and Fair City (1989)
Samahoma Media Advisors negotiated majority funding for IRE from Insight Media Fund, with additional financing provided by Ascendant Films. It also provided completion money for Boiling Point, another Ascendant Films and Burton Fox Films collaboration.
Ire is a co-Production between Ascendant Films and Burton Fox Films in association with Bromantics. Producers are Bart Ruspoli (Ascendant Films), Hester Ruoff (Burton Fox Films), Stefan D’Bart (Bromantics).