Michael Socha

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Michael Socha
Socha in 2014
Born
Michael Robert Socha

(1987-12-13) 13 December 1987 (age 36)[1]
Littleover, Derby, Derbyshire, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationActor
Years active2006–present
Children1
RelativesLauren Socha (sister)

Michael Robert Socha (born 13 December 1987)

Our World War. He is the godson of magician’s assistant Debbie McGee
.

Early life

Socha was born in

St Benedict Catholic School.[5] Socha was a rebellious pupil.[3] He often skipped school, but when forced to attend he tried to make it fun by doing the things he was most interested in.[6] When Socha was 12, his mother read in a local newspaper about a play being cast by the Chellaston Youth Players. She asked her son and daughter if they wanted to try out for it, and both did.[7] Socha's motivation for auditioning was his anger at being denied a role in the musical and his desire to prove his teachers wrong about his acting skills.[3] He won the lead role of Bugsy Malone in the play.[8] He acted in several plays for the group, but by his own admission did not take acting very seriously.[8]

Through teachers at Socha's school the family learned about the Central Junior Television Workshop, a free actors' workshop for young people from the Nottingham area.[5] He enrolled in the course when he was 14,[3] but was almost refused admission as he had failed to learn the monologue for his audition and was put in the "reserve group". His second audition went the same way, but the programme relented and allowed him in after a time.[3] Socha says the workshop had a strong impact on him, and he began working hard at acting.[8] His first professional role came when he was cast in a small part in a short film.[3] He was quickly cast in several small parts subsequently, and hired an agent.[8]

Socha's father had a long history of alcohol abuse, and his parents separated.[3] In 2004, Robert Socha died of an alcohol-related heart attack.[3][5] According to Kathleen,[3] the death of his father made her son very independent. "Michael was walking the streets of London at 16 going to auditions. He had to because I was working. He'd go off with a map and Tube fare."[5]

Socha liked drama, English and history courses, however, and received his

GCSEs in those three subjects.[3] He credits his teacher, Mrs Urquhart-Hughes, as someone who watched over him, motivated him, and got him to do his homework after school.[6]

His first job after leaving school was in a factory.

further education college.[9] He worked at two other factories after leaving school, as well as at a car wash. He also worked as a labourer for his uncle's bricklaying firm, mixing mortar for the bricklayers, but as he was constantly taking time off work at the last moment to attend auditions he quit working full-time and dedicated himself to acting.[6]

Career

Socha's breakthrough role came early in his acting career. In 2006, he was cast as school bully Harvey in Shane Meadows's skinhead subculture film, This Is England.[8]

In 2008, he was cast in Kenneth Glenaan's BAFTA Scotland-award winning film Summer, where he acted opposite Robert Carlyle.[8] The same year, he appeared in Duane Hopkins's film Better Things and the independent small-budget comedy Dogging: A Love Story.[8] He also appeared in three episodes of the BBC One medical drama Casualty.[8] In February 2009, Socha made his stage debut at Nottingham Playhouse in Glamour, a comedy by Stephen Lowe.[3][8] The same year, he appeared in an episode of the science fiction police drama Paradox on BBC One and in the made-for-television film The Unloved for Channel 4.[10]

Despite his initial success, Socha was "penniless" and "waiting for work" for much of 2009 and early 2010, sitting at home and watching daytime television.

Lauren Pritchard.[10] In 2011, he played William Price in Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Anna of the Five Towns on BBC Radio 4.[11]

Socha appeared in

hit him and fled the scene while he was helping a friend move furniture across a road in Normanton. Although only bruised, he missed his audition and had to plead for a second chance.[10] He won the role of Tom, a young werewolf who has been brought up in the wild by his father and taught to hunt vampires.[6] During his time on Being Human, Socha says he became good friends with Russell Tovey and co-star Robson Green. Socha has admitted that he can get carried away while performing some of his more physically demanding scenes. On another occasion, acting out a werewolf transformation in a metal cage, he almost injured himself after his physical acting became too extreme. He has received at least seven minor injuries requiring medical treatment and reporting to authorities.[10]

Socha was upgraded from a recurring role to the main cast for the fourth series of Being Human, after the previous main cast, including Tovey, left the show. The fourth series started airing in February 2012.[12] He also appeared in the music video to the Jake Bugg song "Seen It All" and in the music video to the Lauren Pritchard song "Stuck".

In 2013, Socha portrayed the Knave of Hearts in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, a spin-off to the ABC fantasy series Once Upon a Time. He also starred in Chris Coghill's film Spike Island, based upon The Stone Roses gig of the same name. After Once Upon a Time in Wonderland's cancellation, it was confirmed that Socha would be a main cast member in the fourth season of Once Upon A Time.[13]

He also starred in the film Svengali in which he played a guitarist in a band and in the film Twenty8k in which he played a drug dealer.

2016 saw Socha take the lead in the E4 series The Aliens.[14]

In 2017, Socha starred in Double Date[15] and a remake of the 1973 film Papillon,[16] as well as playing King Richard III in the music video titled 'ill Ray (the king)' by British Indie rock group Kasabian.

In 2018 he played Bill Twist, the St Helens Town F.C. captain, in the film The Keeper (2018 film), a biographical story of the footballing life of Bert Trautmann.

In 2019 August, Socha played the main cast in the music videos titled “something about you” - which was written by Elderbrook and Rudimental. In which he played a member of a therapy group, which highlights struggles between males and showing the other side of masculinity to one another.

In 2021, the BBC announced that Socha had been cast as "King" David Hartley, leader of the Cragg Vale Coiners, in Shane Meadows' period drama, The Gallows Pole.[17]

Personal life

Socha has a son with his then girlfriend, Faye. In an interview with the Evening Standard in 2016, Faye was mentioned as his ex-partner and it is not publicly known whether they have reconciled.[18][19][20]

Filmography

Film and television

Year Title Role Notes
2006
This is England
 		Bully (Harvey)
2007 Lady Margaret Danny
2008 Better Things Mike
Summer Daniel
2008–2009 Casualty Ryan 6 episodes
2009 Dogging: A Love Story Jim
The Unloved Michael Television film
Harvest Yebsley Television film
Paradox Zac Henley Miniseries; 1 episode
2010 Cut Jimmy/Food Dude
Married Single Other Spud 1 episode
Shank Craze
Bonded by Blood Donny Svenson
Dive Alex Television miniseries
This Is England '86 Harvey 4 episodes
2011 This Is England '88 Harvey 3 episodes
2011–2013 Being Human Tom McNair 18 episodes
2012 Twenty8k Tony Marchetto
2013 Svengali Tommy
Spike Island Carl Film
2013–2014 Once Upon a Time in Wonderland Will Scarlet/The Knave of Hearts Season 1 (series regular; 13 episodes)
2014 Silent Witness David Bennetto Episode: "Coup de Grace" (2 parts)
Inspector George Gently Joe Turner Series 6, episode 4 – "Gently Going Under"
Our World War
 		Private Andy Andrews Episode 2 – "Pals"
2014–2015 Once Upon a Time Will Scarlett/The Knave of Hearts Season 4 (series regular; 15 episodes)
2015 This Is England '90 Harvey
2016 The Aliens[21] Lewis Garvey
2017 Double Date[15] Alex
2017 Papillon[16] Julot
2017 Electric Dreams Noah Episode:Crazy Diamond
2018
Walk Like a Panther
 		Ricky Rickson
2018 The Keeper Bill Twist Film
2019 Killers Anonymous Leandro
2019 Chernobyl Mikhail 3 episodes
2019 Break Clause Nick
2019 A Guide to Second Date Sex Dan Film
2021 Time Kenny Meadows 3 part series
2020 Big Boys Don't Cry Paul 'Jacko' Conolly Film
2022 Skint Jambo Episode 2
2023 The Gallows Pole "King" David Hartley Television series
2023 Changing Ends Adam Television series
TBA Jericho Ridge † Post-production[22]

Stage

Year Title Character Venue
2009 Glamour[23][3][8] Jimmy Nottingham Playhouse
2016 This Is Living[24][25][26] Michael
Trafalgar Studios

Radio

Year Title Character Broadcast On Notes
2016 Northern Lights[27] Tom BBC Radio 4
2011 Anna of the Five Towns[28] William Price BBC Radio 4 Adaptation by Helen Edmundson

Music video

Year Title Artist
2011 "Stuck"[29]
Lauren Pritchard
2012 "Bad Lad"[30] Thee Deadtime Philharmonic
2013 "Seen It All" Jake Bugg
2017 "Ill Ray (The King)"[31] Kasabian
2019 "Something About You"[32] Elderbrook & Rudimental

References

  1. ^ "Better Things | Cast – Page 6 : Joel | Mike". betterthingsthefilm.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 June 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  2. ^ England and Wales births. Retrieved 12 October 2015
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Scott, Jennifer (5 February 2009). "Michael Socha, Glamour, Nottingham Playhouse". This is Nottingham. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d "ACTOR Michael Socha has revealed that he was broke and sitting at home watching the Jeremy Kyle Show when he got a call that would make 2010 his best year yet". This is Derbyshire. 4 September 2010. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Our family had to conquer heartbreak on the road to stardom". This is Derbyshire. 27 May 2011. Archived from the original on 18 June 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Hot new star of Being Human: Michael Socha – In This Issue". GayTimes. 30 June 2011. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Do you fancy being in a play? How Lauren and Michael caught the acting bug". This is Derbyshire. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "A touch of Glamour". This is Derbyshire. 13 February 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  9. ^ Merry, Louise (6 July 2011). "Burton and South Derbyshire College guide". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  10. ^ a b c d e "LIFE will never be the same for Michael Socha. Every time there's a full moon, whether he's shopping in Asda or drinking in a pub in Friar Gate, he gets an irresistible urge – to transform into a werewolf". This is Derbyshire. 30 April 2011. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  11. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Classic Serial, Arnold Bennett - Anna of the Five Towns, Episode 1". Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  12. ^ Rebecca Denton. "Being Human Blog: Toby's Blog is Back". BBC. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  13. ^ "'Once Upon a Time' to Add 'Wonderland' Star as Series Regular". The Hollywood Reporter. 1 April 2014. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  14. ^ Socha, Michael; Howick, Jim; Coel, Michaela; Gravelle, Trystan (8 March 2016), The Aliens, retrieved 28 December 2016
  15. ^ a b Double Date (2016), retrieved 19 October 2016
  16. ^ a b Papillon (2017), retrieved 28 December 2016
  17. ^ "Star studded cast for Shane Meadow's new Yorkshire drama series is announced". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  18. ^ Razaq, Rashid (16 March 2016). "This Is England actor Michael Socha puts US plans on hold for his son". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  19. ^ "onceuponatimeinwonderland.com". Archived from the original on 28 September 2013.
  20. ^ "Luckily I've had some amazing people on my side". Western Daily Press.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ "The Aliens (TV Series 2016–?)". IMDb. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  22. ^ "Brilliant Pictures acquires survival thriller 'Jericho Ridge' as production wraps". Screen Daily.
  23. ^ "Glamour Boy Michael's amazing acting journey". 5 February 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  24. ^ "Michael Socha and Tamla Kari to star in This is Living at Trafalgar Studios". Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  25. ^ "Review: This is Living, Trafalgar Studios – A Younger Theatre". 22 May 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  26. ^ Marlowe, Sam. "Theatre: This Is Living at Trafalgar Studios, SW1". Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  27. ^ "Northern Lights, Drama – BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  28. ^ "Arnold Bennett - Anna of the Five Towns". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  29. ^ "Video Spotlight: Lauren Pritchard *Stuck* | Music :: Dropout UK". Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  30. ^ "The Hairy Dog Events – Thee Deadtime Philharmonic | The Hairy Dog – Live music in Derby". The Hairy Dog Events – Thee Deadtime Philharmonic | The Hairy Dog – Live music in Derby. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  31. ^ "Watch Kasabian's Ill Ray (The King) Video With GOT's Lena Headey". Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  32. ^ "Watch Elderbrook & Rudimental - Something About You (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 9 August 2019.

External links

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