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Tim Plester | |
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 Plester in 2021 | |
| Born | Timothy Marc Plester (1970-09-10)10 September 1970 (age 54) Oxfordshire, England |
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| Occupation(s) | Actor, playwright, filmmaker |
Timothy Marc Plester (born 10 September 1970) is a British actor,playwright, and filmmaker, best known for the documentariesWay of the Morris andThe Ballad of Shirley Collins - plus a multifarious number of cameo roles for film and TV.
Born and raised inBanbury, Oxfordshire, Plester graduated fromDartington College of Arts inDevon, with a BA in Theatre, and went on to obtain an MA (Hons) in playwriting studies fromBirmingham University.
Plester's award-winning documentaryWay of the Morris[1] premiered atSXSW 2011[2] and received a limited theatrical release in UK cinemas before being released on DVD. Co-directed withRob Curry and produced independently byFifth Column Films,[3] the feature-length documentary includes contributions fromBilly Bragg,Fairport Convention's Chris Leslie and members of TheAdderbury Village Morris Men. It was selected by the UK Film Focus as one of the "Breakthrough" British films of 2011. Plester and Curry are also responsible for the short field-recorded documentaryHere We’m Be Together (which premiered at the 2014BFI London Film Festival).The Ballad of Shirley Collins, the duo's feature-length film about the iconic English folk-singerShirley Collins, premiered at the 2017BFI London Film Festival). Partly funded by a successfulkickstarter campaign, the film also screened at theRotterdam international film festival andCPH:DOX in Denmark.Southern Journey (Revisited), Plester and Curry's third feature-length documentary together, premiered atSheffield Doc/Fest in 2020 and was screened onSky Arts in the autumn of 2021. Other work together includesHillbilly Homilies, a profile piece on the Appalachain poetMaurice Manning, andThe Battle Of Denham Ford, which won a Special Mention in the UK Competition at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2021. The directing duo are currently working with the illustrator and land-rights campaignerNick Hayes on an adaptation of his best-selling book, 'The Book of Trespass'.
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Plester's writing credits for film includeAnt Muzak (2002), a short film directed by Ben Gregor and starringNick Moran andMackenzie Crook. It was the winner of an Audience Award at the 2003Sydney Film Festival and was nominated for 'Best UK Short' at the 2003 Soho Rushes Festival and the 2002Raindance Film Festival. He also wrote and createdBlake's Junction 7 (2004) - again directed by Ben Gregor and starringJohnny Vegas, Mackenzie Crook,Mark Heap,Raquel Cassidy andMartin Freeman – which premiered at the 2004 Edinburgh Film Festival. Both films became cult hits and were released on DVD in 2008, along with a third film entitledWorld of Wrestling (2007). Again created and written by Plester and directed by Gregor, the film stars Mackenzie Crook,Kevin Eldon,Patrick Baladi,Miranda Hart andKris Marshall. In 2007, Plester also completed work on an offbeat romantic comedy entitledEnglish Language (With English Subtitles) - which marked his directorial debut. The short, in which Plester also starred (alongsideMyAnna Buring andCraig Parkinson), premiered at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival and went on to screen at over 45 film festivals worldwide, picking-up 5 awards along the way. He has also written and directed theJFK-inspired beat poemEt In Motorcadia Ego! and the award-winning 15-second filmSlapphappy[4], which premiered at theBelfast Film Festival in 2008.
Winner of the 1992/93 'National Student Playwright Of The Year' award, Plester has writing credits for the theatre including:Dakota (Edinburgh Festival 1995 and National Tour 1996);Mad Dog Killer Leper Fiend (Edinburgh Festival 1996 and London's Man In The Moon Theatre 1997); andYellow Longhair (London's Oval House Theatre 2000). A collection of his stageplays1-2-3-4 Plays was published in September 2020.
Plester's many and varied acting credits for TV and film include:Lockout (EuropaCorp),Kick-Ass (Universal),Control (Northsee Pictures),Cuban Fury (Big Talk),Closer to the Moon (Mandragora Movies),Wolf Hall (BBC),Bone in the Throat (Hello and Company),Shifty (Metrodome),Doctor Who (BBC),Life On Mars (BBC),Hustle (BBC),Murphy's Law (BBC),1066: The Battle For Middle Earth (Channel 4),Magicians (Universal Films),It's All Gone Pete Tong (Vertigo Films),Galavant (ABC),Heist (BBC),Ant Muzak (Film Club),Criminal Justice (BBC),Five Daughters (BBC),Silent Witness (BBC),The Wrong Mans (BBC),Uncle Dad (SMG),Goths (BBC),Residents (BBC), Poliakoff'sFriends and Crocodiles (BBC), both series ofPaul Whitehouse’sHappiness (BBC) and the 2009 BAFTA-winning short filmSeptember. Plester played petty thief Linus Brody in the first two series’ of theBBC Birmingham productionWPC 56. He played the role ofBlack Walder Rivers in theHBO seriesGame of Thrones[5][6] and the homeless junkie Julian inAfter Life.[7]
In 2018, he playedRoy Thomas Baker,Queen's producer, in the filmBohemian Rhapsody. In September 2019, he appeared in an episode ofDoctors as Martin Taylor. In 2020, he appeared as Mark in the independent Icelandic feature filmBackyard Village. Plester has also appeared in three episodes of Mackenzie's Crook's re-booted version ofWorzel Gummidge for the BBC.
