Jeff Stewart (actor)
Jeffrey Stewart (born 28 October 1955) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for playing PC Reg Hollis on the ITV drama series The Bill from 1984 to 2008.
Jeff Stewart | |
|---|---|
 Stewart on the set of The Bill in October 2012 | |
| Born | Jeffrey Stewart 28 October 1955 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1964–present |
Early life
Stewart was born in Aberdeen. He and his family moved to Southampton, Hampshire, when he was three months old. His father worked in shipyards and then for Fawley Refinery.[1]
Career
Stewart has played numerous roles in television series, including Harry Fellows in Crossroads in 1981 and Dukkha in the 1982 Doctor Who story Kinda. He played a police constable in Hi-De-Hi! in 1983, the same year "Woodentop" (the pilot episode of The Bill) aired. His character on The Bill, Reg Hollis, is his best known role to date, regularly appearing opposite Chris Ellison. Reg is mentioned but not seen in "Woodentop", so Stewart's first appearance in the series was in the first regular episode, "Funny Ol' Business - Cops & Robbers". By March 2007, Stewart was the last member of the cast remaining from that first episode.
In 2001, Stewart appeared on Lily Savage's Blankety Blank.[2] In 2009, Stewart appeared in the music video for "Black and Blue" by Miike Snow. The video starred him as a reclusive musician with a penchant for creating animatronic performers in his dingy apartment, and presented the long hair and a large beard he had grown in the year since he left The Bill. In 2011, he portrayed a German-Russian man in a Soviet prison in Under Jakob's Ladder.[3] He won a best actor award at the 2011 Manhattan Film Festival for the role.[4] He is often confused with the storyboard artist who also voices characters such as Mr. Tickle in The Mr. Men Show.[5]
Personal life
On 8 January 2008, Stewart cut his wrists after being told that his contract for The Bill would not be renewed. He survived the suicide attempt after calling for help and being taken to hospital by an ambulance.[6] He later said of the incident: "I love being an actor. My work as an actor is very important to me – it's my life, and the thought of this suddenly changing had an extremely serious effect on me."[7]
Stewart is fond of the Hotel Chelsea in New York City, having stayed there on a number of occasions. He is friends with a number of the building's permanent residents. He was staying at the Chelsea in 2011 when the hotel changed ownership and closed to transient guests. He initially refused to leave, even calling in the police to assist him, but was persuaded by hotel staff to leave.[4]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | The Nightmare Man | Drummond | Television film |
| 1996 | The Bill: Target | PC Reg Hollis | Television film |
| 2004 | The Bill Uncovered: Des and Reg | PC Reg Hollis | Television film |
| 2004 | The Bill @ 21 | PC Reg Hollis | Television film |
| 2006 | A Dogges Tale | Man | Short film |
| 2008 | Phlegm Noir | Man 1 | Short film |
| 2009 | Alice & the Bear | Maître d' | Short film |
| 2009 | Dead Man Running | Tiffany's Client | |
| 2010 | Tomorrow | The Chef | Short film |
| 2011 | Under Jakob's Ladder | Jakob | Manhattan Film Festival Award for Best Actor[8] |
| 2011 | Blood on the Border | Agent Martinez | |
| 2011 | Lords of Magic | Reverend Ayton | |
| 2011 | Billy | ||
| 2011 | 1066 | Earl Siward | |
| 2012 | Hot Wings | Bobby | |
| 2012 | Lake Placid: The Final Chapter | Deputy Nermal | Television film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Crossroads | Harry Fellows | Episode: "26 May 1981" |
| 1982 | Doctor Who | Dukkha | Serial: Kinda |
| 1983 | Reilly: Ace of Spies | Jenkins | Episode: "Endgame" |
| 1983 | Angels | Zac | Episode: "Episode #9.20" |
| 1983 | Hi-de-Hi! | Police Constable | Episode: "Save Our Heritage" |
| 1984 | Minder | Mick | Episode: "The Car Lot Baggers" |
| 1984–2008 | The Bill | PC Reg Hollis | 872 episodes |
| 1985 | Lytton's Diary | Boxer | Episode: "Come Uppance" |
| 1988 | Help! | Tinsnip Eddie | Episode: "The Milk of Human Kindness" |
| 2004 | Harry Hill's TV Burp | PC Reg Hollis | Episode: "#3.1" |
| 2007 | The Dame Edna Treatment | PC Reg Hollis | Episode: "#1.6" |
| 2010 | Bloody Foreigners | Belland | Episode: "Great Fire of London" |
Music videos
| Year | Artist | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Sam Brown | "Can I Get a Witness" | Defendant |
| 2009 | Miike Snow | "Black and Blue" | Reclusive Musician |
Awards
| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Under Jakob's Ladder | Manhattan Film Festival Award | Best Actor | Won |
References
- Liam Rudden (18 August 2010). "Interview: Jeff Stewart, actor, The Bill". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
- Lily Savage's Blankety Blank. 4 March 2001. ITV.
- "Independent Filmmakers". Cubecity.org. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- Cara Buckley (1 August 2011). "The Chelsea Guest Who Wouldn't Leave". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Sacked Bill star out of hospital". BBC. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
- Schmidt, Veronica (11 January 2008). "The Bill's Jeff Stewart explains self-harm incident". London: Times Online. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
- Zauderer, Alyssa (1 August 2011). "Manhattan Film Festival Concludes With Awards Ceremony". WPIX-TV. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
External links
- Jeff Stewart at IMDb