Noel Clarke

Clarke was born in Notting Hill, West London, to Trinidadian parents Gemma (née Clarke), a nurse and part-time laundrette worker, and Alphaeus Baptiste "Alf" Clarke, a carpenter. He has an older half-brother. His parents divorced shortly after he was born, and he was brought up by his mother on a council estate on Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, where his mother still lives. In 2018, when appearing on the BBC genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?, Clarke discovered that his maternal great-grandparents emigrated to Trinidad from Saint Vincent, while his paternal grandmother, Menelvia Clarke (née Bedeau), emigrated there from Grenada.[6]

Clarke studied Media at the University of North London, and worked as a personal trainer before going on to take acting classes at London's Actors Centre.[7]

Clarke lives in London with his wife Iris (née Da-Silva), with whom he has three children.[8]

He has had recurring television roles as Wyman Norris in the revived series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (2002–2004) and as Mickey Smith in the first two series of the revival of the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who (2005–2006). He became the series' first black companion in the episode "School Reunion", and reprised his role as Mickey in the episode "Journey's End" in 2008 and in 2010 in "The End of Time" Part 2, and also starred in the Doctor Who audio series Dalek Empire: The Fearless, which was released from September to December 2007.[9]

His other television work includes appearances in Casualty and Metrosexuality. He has also acted on the stage, and won the Laurence Olivier Award for "Most Promising Newcomer" in 2003 for his performance in the play Where Do We Live at the Royal Court Theatre. Clarke starred in the film Doghouse,[10] directed by Jake West and produced by Carnaby Films International. The film was shot primarily in Midhurst, a small town in West Sussex, on the grounds of the old King Edward VII Hospital. He also participated in Neil Marshall's film Centurion, about which Clarke said, "it's about the Roman Legion and I'm one of the soldiers".[11]

Clarke began his writing career in 2005 when he wrote the screenplay for the film Kidulthood which was released in 2006. He also directed and starred in the sequel, Adulthood, which was released in 2008. On directing his first film, Clarke described his experience, "Directing for the first time was definitely a challenge and tiring at times. It was a steep learning curve and if you're willing to do stuff and go with it, then it pays off."[12] His other writing credits include "Combat" which is an episode of the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood, and West 10 LDN, a pilot for BBC Three which is about kids on a rough housing estate.

In 2008, he starred in the video for The Prodigy single "Invaders Must Die".[13]

In 2009, Clarke was awarded a BAFTA award in the category of Orange Rising Star Award.[14] As a result of the success of Kidulthood, Adulthood, and his BAFTA win, he was ranked at number 83 in the MediaGuardian 100, an annual ranking of media people in The Guardian.[15]

He also played the role of A.J., opposite Jim Sturgess, in Philip Ridley's cult film, Heartless. Clarke has worked with BBC Blast, a project for teenagers that aims to inspire and get people being creative. Shortly after his BAFTA win he gave a talk to inspire young people telling them to "broaden your mind".[16] His next project, 4.3.2.1., a heist movie, was released on 2 June 2010, and starred Tamsin Egerton, Emma Roberts and Adam Deacon. The film was shot in London and New York.[17] He has also played an uncredited role in 2012's Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance as a priest. The scene was cut from the movie, but can be seen in the Deleted Scenes in the Special Features of the DVD. He played Thomas Harewood in Star Trek Into Darkness, a family man with a wife and a young daughter.[18][19] The film was released on 15 May 2013.[20]

In 2015, Clarke created a short-lived superhero series, The Troop, for Titan Comics. The first issue was released in December 2015,[21] and received critical acclaim.[22][23][24][25]

In 2016, Clarke wrote, directed, and starred in Brotherhood, a sequel to Adulthood that went on to earn £1.98m in its opening week.[26][27]

• 2003: Where Do We Live at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Noel Clarke.

• Noel Clarke at IMDb
• Noel Clarke on Twitter