Joseph Gilgun has been making quite the positive stir in 2024 with his lead role in Brassic. Although the show began in 2019 and quickly became a hit with UK audiences, it has recently gained popularity overseas too. Born in Chorley, Lancashire on March 9, 1984, the enigmatic actor has been impressing audiences since he was young.
Despite crossing over to Hollywood, sharing the screen with the likes of Bryan Cranston and working under the direction of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Gilgun has stayed rooted to his home turf as Brassic has continued to gain popularity. In 2024, his traction is far from wavering as his hit show has been renewed for a seventh season. So, to celebrate this ever-rising talent, here are 6 things interesting facts about Joseph Gilgun.
Joseph Gilgun Began Acting at a Tender Age
Joseph Gilgun became interested in acting at a young age, using it as a way to offset his scattered nature as a person with ADHD and dyslexia. When he was 8 years old, an educational psychologist recommended he try his hand at acting. Gilgun’s parents obliged and enrolled him into the Laine Johnson Theatre School and later the Oldham Theatre Workshop. During his time training as an actor, he was described as an “exceptional talent”, something that clearly boded well for him when he landed his first professional role at the tender age of 10. In 1994, he joined the popular UK soap opera, Coronation Street, starring as Jamie Armstrong. Gilgun stayed on the show for 3 years, totalling 107 episodes.
He Took An Extended Break from Acting
Despite finding success with Coronation Street, Gilgun gave up on acting for close to a decade after leaving the show. He kept himself afloat with odd jobs until his desire to act came back in full force. He began acting in small stage productions and then returned to the small screen in 2005 with a small role in an episode of Shameless. However, a year later, his next big role landed. In 2006, Gilgun joined the cast of Emmerdale, starring as Eli Dingle, a penniless drifter who is fresh out of prison and heads back to the village of Emmerdale Farm to reconnect with his family. Gilgun quickly became a fan favourite on the show and featured in a total of 290 episodes until he departed in 2010.
His Feature Film Debut Set Him Up for Big Things
Shane Meadows‘ coming-of-age drama This Is England propelled the careers of many of its cast members, including Jack O’Connell, Vicky McClure, and Stephen Graham. Released in 2006, Gilgun was already on his way to being an established British talent, however, his role as Woody launched him further into the mainstream. In the film, Gilgun portrayed Woody with tremendous nuance, depicting a skinhead with a heart of gold underneath his intimidating presence. His character takes the young protagonist Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) under his wing when he learns he is grieving the loss of his father and being bullied at school.
This Is England was critically praised and won Best British Film at the BAFTAs in 2008. In 2010, Shane Meadows carried on the story with the mini-series, This Is England ’86, which proved to be a huge hit in the UK. This Is England ’88 followed in 2011 and This Is England ’90 closed off the narrative in 2015. Portraying Woody across many different periods of his life, Gilgun showcased his depth as an actor and became an even bigger name in the industry as a result.
This Hollywood Role Caused Major Health Problems for the Actor
Joseph Gilgun first ventured to Hollywood in 2012 with a villainous role in Lockout. He then starred in a supporting role in The Last Witch Hunter before appearing alongside Bryan Cranston in The Infiltrator, in 2016. However, it would be a different role that year that would see him breakout to US audiences.
Gilgun joined the cast of Preacher as Cassidy, a drug abusing, 119-year-old Irish vampire who lives for chaos. Gilgun has said himself that he has a proclivity for self-destructive behaviour, so, it’s not wonder he embodied the character so well. When speaking with Vice, Gilgun explained how although he loved the filming process, it caused him that much stress that he lost 87% of the vision in his left eye. He said: “Now I’ve got a f****** scar inside my eye – there’s nothing they can do for it. You’ve got to chill out.”
Brassic Is Loosely Based on Joseph Gilgun’s Real Life
Gilgun’s occasional outbreaks of ailments are a common side effect of his struggles with ADHD and Bipolar disorder, something his character Vinnie also suffers from in Brassic. This is no coincidence as Gilgun is the co-creator of the show and much of its contents are based on his real life. Brassic centres on a tight-knit group of thieves who are all secretly nice people (thievery aside). Gilgun has stated that his character is heavily based upon himself but also many of the schemes are as well. Of course, he has been somewhat ambiguous around what is based on real life and what is pure fiction, but he has stated that they are an amalgamation of things he has witnessed or been involved with.
When speaking about the show with Lancs Live, Gilgun explained Brassic‘s connection to his real life in a little more detail. He said: “I remember a lot of my own b******t, to be honest. I was never a big time criminal, I was never a violent guy. I was involved in a network of people that were just trying their luck, really. For example, I went for a walk with a lad, and he said, ‘Let’s go over here. I can hear chainsaws’. There were a lot of blokes up a tree, cutting it back, so we stole a f***ing massive chainsaw right in front of them.”
The Story Behind His Tattoos
One thing that is impossible to miss when watching Brassic is how Vinnie has more and more tattoos with every season. These are Gilgun’s real tattoos. Instead of covering them up, he leaves them on show. Interestingly, in This Is England, Woody has ‘Lol’ tattooed on his hand to demonstrate his love for his girlfriend Lol (Vicky McClure). Gilgun actually got the tattoo done for real as a way to always remember his time working on the project. When featuring on Live the Buzz, Gilgun went into great depths about mental health and explained how his tattoos are possibly a form of self-harm to distract himself from his struggles.
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