FIVE TIMES CRAIG FAIRBRASS WAS THE DADDY OF BRITFLICK BADASSES

06 Aug FIVE TIMES CRAIG FAIRBRASS WAS THE DADDY OF BRITFLICK BADASSES

by Matthew Martino

As his new film LONDON HEIST flies off the shelves on DVD we look back at the UK film career highlights of our most fearsome screen tough guy CRAIG FAIRBRASS. From the moment he made big screen waves opposite Sylvester Stallone in Cliffhanger, Fairbrass has been an actor to watch, mixing a convincing screen physicality with immaculately delivered one liners throughout a brilliant career in action and horror films.

1. RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER

In perhaps his most iconic role, Fairbrass steals the film as unhinged roid raging career criminal Pat Tate in Julian Gilbey’s cult classic. Explosive, unpredictable and utterly convincing, the height of Tate’s one man assault on the Essex fast food industry comes when he attacks a cocky restaurant manager with a pizza shredder after growling the immortal line “we’re talking about cheese you cunt”

2. DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND

Surprisingly the only film in which Fairbrass shares screen time with fellow London hardman actor Danny Dyer, this slick action/horror film from 2009 sees Fairbrass unleash his full hardman repertoire as he cuts a swathe through an army of zombies with little more than a hammer, a chainsaw and sheer brute strength.

3. FREIGHT

Not the best known (or indeed best) film on this list, Freight (originally known as Bogfather!) sees Billy Murray’s daughter kidnapped by some hammy Romanina gangsters. Rather than calling the police, Murray unleashes one man army sidekick Fairbrass, who flits between shooting at speeding cars and bare knuckle fighting in his dogged quest to save Laura Aikman.

4. LONDON HEIST

Co-written by as well as starring Fairbrass, his latest film is a heady mix of Sexy Beast and Heat and Fairbrass is on top form as bank robberl Jack Creegan. If he wanted to rob your bank, then trust us you’d just give him the pin numbers.

5. JUST FOR THE RECORD

Another one that’s nobody’s idea of a classic, but another show-stealing performance from Fairbrass as Malcolm ‘Mentalfists’ Wickes, an unlikely, disgruntled film financier. Confronted by Sean Pertwee’s karate master Wickes demands to know why he’s wearing pyjamas before flattening him with a devastating headbutt.