Period drama Black Velvet Band takes us back to Victorian times when a gang of petty crooks find themselves sentenced to transportation to Australia, their ship, however, docks in South Africa and the gang manage to make their escape. The film starred Nick Berry, Chris McHallem and Todd Carty, who had all previously appeared in EastEnders together. The initial idea came from McHallem, whilst Nick Berry, thanks to being the darling of ITV at the time because of his hit show Heartbeat, had the clout to get it made.
12-24-1997
1h 30m
THIS
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Todd Carty is a British actor best known for playing Tucker Jenkins in Grange Hill and its spin-off Tucker's Luck, Mark Fowler in EastEnders and Gabriel Kent in The Bill.
Born in 1960, Christopher McHallem is a British actor, writer, musician and director who began his career in 1977 with the punk rock/post-punk band the Transmitters under the pseudonym "Dexter O'Brian". He left the band shortly after its formation to pursue a career in acting and his best known role is arguably that of roadie Rod Norman in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 1987 to 1990.
John Carson was an English actor known for his appearances in film and television. Not to be confused with the American TV entertainer John "Johnny" Carson.
Alex Ferns is a Scottish actor who is perhaps best known for playing abusive husband Trevor in BBC soap EastEnders. His film credits include Joyeux Noël, The Legend of Tarzan and the lead role in 2004's Man Dancin'. In 2019, Ferns starred as mining crew leader Andrei Glukhov in HBO/Sky miniseries Chernobyl.
Ronald France is a British-born actor, known for The Fall (2006), Dirty Games (1989) and Flood (2007). He settled in Cape Town, South Africa and has been active in local theater productions, in addition to occasional movie roles.
*Not to be confused with French-Canadian actor Ronald France (1936-2011).
Ken Gampu (born 28 August 1929 in Germiston, South Africa; died 4 November 2003 in Vosloorus, South Africa) was a South African actor. Before he began his career, Gampu was a physical training instructor, salesman, interpreter and police officer. His first acting job was in Athol Fugard's play, No Good Friday (1958). His big break came in the 1965 film Dingaka by Jamie Uys. The same year, he had a significant role in Cornel Wilde's African adventure film, The Naked Prey.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Ken Gampu, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
David was born in 1971. David's career started in theater in South Africa in 1990. His most recent stage credits include :"I love you, You're perfect, Now change"; "The Official Tribute to the Blues Brothers"; "The Return to the Forbidden Planet" and "The Rocky Horror Show".
He has an extensive list of commercial credits, a few of which have garnered awards world-wide. "Final Solution" is his first major film credit. His performance in the film has stirred up enough interest in The United States to land him a top U.S. Agent. He has just completed a co-starring role in the hit television series "Fastlane" on the Fox network for Warner Bros. and guest appearance in the series “Charmed”. He recently returned home to star in the “Isidingo” mini series “THE TRUTH” and will be shooting in Maputo on Ed Zwick’s film “Blood Diamond”.
Stephen Jennings is a voiceover artist and an actor. He has been a Corporate branding and retail voiceover artist on award-winning commercials, and International-award-winning “sound-movies”. Stephen has been a narrator on documentaries and award-winning short films; and was the establishing voice of several Brand-Launch Campaigns.
Robin B. Smith is a South African former wrestling manager and actor. He is most famous for participating in the 2009 film Invictus. He was known in the WWF as the Commandant, who managed the South African Truth Commission for a short time in 1997.
Born in South Africa, his film career started in 1987 in the film Scavengers. He appeared in many South African movies throughout the late 1980s to the 2000s.
Wrestling career
Smith became a manager in professional wrestling in early 1997. Bret Hart visited South Africa and met Smith. Hart recommended him for a role in the World Wrestling Federation, however he never fought as a wrestler. Smith made his wrestling debut in Tennessee in the US Wrestling Association (USWA). He wrestled under the name Commandant, and managed a group of wrestlers including "Interrogator", "Tank" and "Recon" as the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission".
This tea won the USWA Tag Team Championship three times. In June 1997, the Truth Commission made their WWF debut. Smith made promos on WWF about the Truth Commission and attacking the United States for not having discipline. He was hated by the fans. "Sniper" replaced "Tank" on the commission. He was interviewed by Sunny, but scared her by yelling at her. During the summer of 1997 the group lost only to "Legion of Doom". In September, Smith was replaced by Don Callis, the "Jackyl"; the WWF wanted someone who could participate physically in the matches. Smith returned to South Africa, ending his wrestling career.
Acting
Smith appeared in 2006's The Fall, a film about Los Angeles based in the 1920s. In 2009 he played Johan De Villers in Invictus, about a South Africa rugby team fighting to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Personal
As of 2011 he lived in South Africa, as a freelancer.
Ian Yule was a professional soldier for much of his adult life; a career soldier who saw service all over the world. He broke into films after working as an uncredited stunt man on two classics: Ben-Hur (1959) and The Longest Day (1962). His ease and familiarity with firearms, and his thorough knowledge of fighting men made him perfect for casting in action films and as a 'tough guy,' and he landed his first early parts in the late 1960s.
