Derek Thompson

Birth : 1948-04-04, Belfast, Northern Ireland

History

Derek Thompson (born 4 April 1948) is a Northern Irish actor, most notable for playing Charlie Fairhead in the long-running BBC television medical drama series Casualty for 37 years, from its first episode in 1986 to his final episode in 2024. In 2017, it was revealed that this role has made Thompson the highest paid actor within the BBC with a salary of £350,000-£399,000 per annum. Following his exit from the show, Thompson joined the cast of hit Northern Irish police drama Blue Lights for its second season. Prior to the lead role in Casualty he starred in several films including The Long Good Friday, TV series such as Harry's Game and The Gentle Touch and several celebrated stints at The National Theatre. As a musician, he was also part of a folk duo with his twin sister Elaine in the 1960s. He is married to the actress Dee Sadler and they have one son, Charlie.

Profile

Movies

Resurrection Man

Herbie Ferguson

Belfast, in 1970s. Victor Kelly is a young protestant man who hates the Catholics so much that one night he begins to brutally murder them. A reporter soon tries to uncover the murder and obtained prestige for himself, while Victor sinks deeper into madness.

Fighting Back

Bruce Curran

A single mother returns to her home town after fifteen years of unhappy marriage and fights to make a better life for herself and her children.

Wild Geese II

Hourigan

A group of mercenaries is hired to spring Rudolf Hess from Spandau Prison in Berlin.

The Price

Frank Crossan

Geoffrey Carr is a wealthy, key player in Britain's emerging computer industry, and newly married to Frances , a much younger woman, with wilful daughter Clare from a previous marriage. He'll do anything to make them happy, including stretching his finances to buy a Georgian estate in County Wicklow, where Frances grew up. Frank Crossan is an Irish Republican hitman on the run from British authorities. Seeking refuge with old girlfriend Kate, he creates a plan to kidnap a wealthy Brit for a ransom to fund a major arms deal. Their two worlds collide when Frances and Clare are brutally snatched away to a bleak hideaway and taken hostage. Geoffrey initially wants to cave in to the kidnapper's demands “ but nothing is simple when a personal crisis plays out against the forces of political intrigue, high finance and with the eyes of the media on them.

The Long Good Friday

Jeff

In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.

Breaking Glass

Andy

Breaking Glass is the story of punk singer Kate and her meteoric rise to stardom. Starting out in the rock pubs of London, Kate, assisted by her manager Danny, becomes a huge star overnight. Once at the top the pressure is immense as Kate's band are squeezed out and she is left to cope alone in the spotlight.

Yanks

Ken

During WWII, the United States set up army bases in Great Britain as part of the war effort. Against their proper sensibilities, many of the Brits don't much like the brash Yanks, especially when it comes to the G.I.s making advances on the lonely British girls. One relationship that develops is between married John, an Army Captain, and the aristocratic Helen, whose naval husband is away at war. Helen loves her husband, but Helen and John are looking for some comfort during the difficult times.

Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Skinner

A repressed night-school teacher, secretly homosexual, struggles to cope with his demanding, eccentric mother.

A Photograph

Chet

A man's life is turned upside down when he receives a mysterious photograph in the post.

Gonks Go Beat

A swiftly assembled musical fantasy movie made to capitalise on the mid-Sixties, British craze for gonks (a sort of soft, furry toy). Today it is of more interest for featuring music by such artists as Lulu, The Nashville Teens, and The Graham Bond Organisation.

Penny From Heaven

Homeless Man

Penny is dead. She can't really remember how it happened. All she knows is she has to save the souls of 1000 people on the verge of suicide before she can get her wings and become a fully fledged angel.