‘Gangs of London’: Meet Michelle Fairley, Joe Cole from ‘GoT’ and ‘Peaky Blinders’ who play powerful gangsters in the AMC+ series
What if ‘Peaky Blinders’ was set in modern time? Created by award-winning filmmaker Gareth Evans and his creative partner Matt Flannery, a new TV series will get your pulses racing. With a pinch of brutality, betrayal and backstabbing, ‘Gangs of London’ slides a knife in your heart as its barbaric scenes play out.
Set in the heart of London, ‘Gangs of London’ tells the story of the city being torn apart by the turbulent power struggles of the international gangs that control it and the sudden power vacuum that's created when the head of London's most powerful crime family is assassinated. For 20 years, Finn Wallace (Colm Meaney) was the most powerful criminal in London. Billions of pounds flowed through his organization each year. But now he's dead and nobody knows who ordered the hit.
As the series — that first premiered on Sky Atlantic in the UK — comes to America through AMC +, here's a look at the brilliant cast from hit TV shows like ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Peaky Blinders’ who made the nail-biting scenes even better with their presence.
Joe Cole as Sean Wallace
Joe Cole plays Sean Wallace, the oldest son of Finn and Marian Wallace and heir to his criminal empire. Born on November 28, 1988, in Kingston, London, he is the oldest of five boys in his family who rose to prominence with his role as John Shelby in ‘Peaky Blinders’. His brother Finn Cole is also an actor and co-starred alongside him in the hit BBC show.
Apart from that, he also played notable parts as Luke in ‘Skins’, Tommy in ‘Offender’, Marzin and Beckwith in ‘Secret in Their Eyes’, Reece in ‘Green Room’, Billy Moore in ‘A Prayer Before Dawn’ and Frank in the ‘Black Mirror’ episode ‘Hang the DJ’. Did you know he got a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor for the small part in ‘Black Mirror’? Not just that, he also won Best Actor at the 2018 British Independent Film Awards for ‘A Prayer Before Dawn’.
Colm Meaney as Finn Wallace
Colm Meaney plays Finn Wallace, the head of an organized crime syndicate based in London. Born in Glasnevin, Dublin, he is an Irish actor known for his roles as Miles O'Brien in ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ (1987–1994) and ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ (1993–1999). Ranked #24 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors, he was also a part of TV shows like ‘Law & Order’, ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Hell on Wheels’.
Michelle Fairley as Marian Wallace
Michelle Fairley can be seen in the role of Marian Wallace, the wife of Finn Wallace. Born in Coleraine, she was raised by her parents Brian and Teresa Fairley and was the second oldest of six children. The actress is best known for parts where she joined the cast as a replacement. Michelle is popular for her role as Catelyn Stark in ‘Game of Thrones’, where she replaced Jennifer Ehle who played the character in the original pilot episode.
Moreover, she also took over the role of Mrs Granger from Heather Bleasdale in the ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ after the latter played it in ‘Chamber of Secrets’. She is also known for her roles in ‘Suits’ and ‘24: Live Another Day (2014)’.
Brian Vernel as Billy Wallace
The youngest son of Finn and Marian Wallace is played by Brian Vernel as Billy Wallace, a recovering heroin addict. Born in 1990, he is known for his roles as Bala-Tik in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ where he spoke in Glaswegian accent as Odda the Younger in ‘The Last Kingdom’ and was also seen in the 2017 film ‘Dunkirk’.
Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù as Elliot Finch
Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù plays the role of Elliot Finch, an enforcer for the Wallaces and an undercover cop. Born in 1991 in Edgware, London, to Nigerian parents, he made his debut with ‘Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre’. Thereafter, he starred in a number of other shows like ‘The Mill’, ‘Utopia’, ‘Humans’, ‘The Casual Vacancy’, ‘Siblings’ and ‘Undercover’. He was also seen in three 2016 films, ‘Criminal’, ‘The Huntsman: Winter's War’, and ‘Sand Castle’. Did you catch him in the ‘Black Mirror’ episode ‘Nosedive’?
Lucian Msamati as Ed Dumani
Lucian Msamati plays one of the pivotal characters, Ed Dumani. As per his official character description, he is a witty strategist and businessman. Ed met Finn Wallace at a young age and became his right-hand man, helping him build a massive criminal empire. A British-Tanzanian actor, he was the first Black actor to play Iago at the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2015 production of ‘Othello’. What's more, he is best known for playing Salladhor Saan in ‘Game of Thrones’.
Narges Rashidi as Lale
Narges Rashidi plays Lale, a Kurdish PKK militant who imports and oversees the selling of heroin in parts of London. An Iranian-German actress, she was born in Iran as her father was an army colonel. When the family moved to Germany, she studied acting in Berlin and came to Los Angeles in 2005. Apart from her role in ‘Gangs of London’, she has been seen in many independent films and television productions.
Get set to watch the show once it premieres on AMC Plus this October 1, 2020. The first three episodes will air on the premiere date and the rest of the ten-part series will be followed by weekly episodes on Thursdays. Following its April 2020 UK debut, the show also premieres on April 4, 2021, on AMC for the US audience. If you are an AMC+ subscriber, this is the same season that streamed last year, though there is a second season coming at some point.