Geoff Bell is an English actor. He has appeared in Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001), Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003), The Long Firm (2004), Making Waves (2004), King Arthur (2004), The Business (2005), Green Street (2005), Stardust (2007), Freebird (2008), RocknRolla (2008), Brighton Rock (2010), War Horse (2011), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), North v South (2015), Suffragette (2015), Rogue One (2016), The Man with the Iron Heart (2017), King Arthur (2017), The End of the F***ing World (2017), Tin Star (2017), Once Upon a Time in London (2018), and His Dark Materials (2019).

Early life

Bell was born in Peckham, London,^[1] and had a tough upbringing in the working class high rise flats^[2] of Lambeth Walk.^[3] His first experience of entertainment industry had been at the age of ten, entering caravan holiday talent competitions.^[3] Bell married and raised a family, whilst running a cleaning business, until the age of 28, when he and his wife separated.^[3] He decided to pursue acting at Morley College in Westminster, later graduating at age 30.^[2] He returned to the drama education environment to teach acting at The Flats Film School in Deal in 2012.^[2]

Career

Bell has appeared in many films, such as Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003),^[4] Stardust (2007),^[4] The Long Firm (2004), Making Waves (2004), The Business (2005), and RocknRolla (2008).^[4]

In 2001, he played the captain of England's football team, Gary Wackett, known as Wacko, an extremely violent centre back, a parody of Stuart Pearce, in the film Mike Bassett: England Manager.^[4]

In War Horse he starred as Sergeant Sam Perkins of the British Army, who looks after the horses Joey and Topthorn at the start of the film.^[4] Another of his most notable roles was in the film Green Street, where he played a main role as Tommy Hatcher, the rival of the main characters.^[4]

In 2008, Bell starred in the UK film Freebird, directed by Jon Ivay.^[4] Appearing alongside Gary Stretch and Phil Daniels, the film followed three bikers across a drug fuelled ride in the Welsh countryside.^[4]

In 2009, he appeared in the British film Tormented, as the sports teacher, alongside Alex Pettyfer, April Pearson and Calvin Dean.^[4] He has appeared in a supporting role in Wild Target as Dixon's assistant, alongside Rupert Grint, Bill Nighy and Martin Freeman.^[4]

In spring 2010 Bell appeared in Five Daughters as DC Roy Lambert in the drama about the five prostitutes murdered in Ipswich, Suffolk.^[4] In 2011, Bell appeared in Channel 4's four part drama series Top Boy. In 2012, Bell played John Morgan in Comes a Bright Day.^[4]

In 2019, Bell played Jack Verhoeven in the television adaptation of the novel series His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.^[4] In 2020, Bell appeared in the Louis Tomlinson ‘Don’t Let It Break Your Heart’ music video.^[5]

Personal life

He lives in Deal, Kent.^[2] Bell played for charity in the Premier League All Stars football in 2008, alongside fellow actors Danny Dyer, Leo Gregory, and Tamer Hassan.^[6] Bell is a supporter of Millwall F.C.^[6]

Filmography

Television

Film