Fans of The Full Monty are in for a real treat as it is back with a bang on Disney Plus in a series format. In a rare occurrence, all the main actors that shot to fame in the blockbuster 1997 film will also appear on screen in the Disney Plus version.
Although filming started in March in Manchester and Sheffield, the premiere date for the new sequel has yet to be finalised. The original movie focused on the exploits of a group of Sheffield steelworkers hit with unemployment who resort to stripping.
It will focus on what life is like 25 years after the working class heroes took to the stage and wowed the nation with their gumption. New cast members playing various children and grandchildren will join TV royalty Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, Lesley Sharp, Hugo Speer, Paul Barber, Steve Huison, Wim Snape and Tom Wilkinson.
The film spoke to millions by incorporating dark humour into the very real topic of the stigma of unemployment. The Full Monty not only scooped the BAFTA Award for Best Film in 1997, it beat Titanic and L.A. Confidential.
It was also nominated for four Academy Awards of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Original Screenplay. As reported by YorkshireLive the cast have been busy since the film made its debut 25 years’ ago.
Here is what the cast have been up, since starring in one of Britain’s favourite comedies of all time.
Robert Carlyle – Gaz
Robert Carlyle won the BAFTA for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance as Gaz, just a year on from his iconic role of Begbie in Trainspottting. After the Full Monty, Carlyle continued to grace the silver screen in hit films including Bond movie The World Is Not Enough, Angela’s Ashes, The Beach and 28 Weeks Later.
Then in 2017, Trainspotting fans rejoiced as Carlyle joined Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller and the rest of the original cast for the T2 Trainspotting sequel. In 2019 he was uncredited in Yesterday for an appearance playing John Lennon and also played Ogilvy in the BBC’s TV adaptation of H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds.
Since 2020, Carlyle has starred in Sky’s original drama Cobra, playing prime minister Robert Sutherland. The series follows the PM and his cabinet as they navigate life-threatening national emergencies and their own personal dramas.
Mark Addy – Dave
(Image: BBC/Rollem/Colin Hutton)
Mark Addy played the lovable self-conscious sidekick to Gaz in The Full Monty, one of his first major film roles. The York actor went on to play Fred Flintstone in The Flinstones in Viva Rock Vegas, starred in A Knight’s Tale with the late Heath Ledger, Friar Tuck in Robin Hood with Russell Crow and played Mr Bakewell in the 2019 Downton Abbey film.
The post-Monty role that saw Addy shoot to global stardom was of course Robert Baratheon in HBO hit series Game of Thrones. While he only appeared in the first series, he made a big impression and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award.
After that, he appeared on our TV screens in Trollied, Atlantis and Remember Me. He won acclaim for his role as DS Stan Jones in 2020’s White House Farm about the Jeremy Bamber murders.
Paul Barber – Horse
Paul Barber is of course best known as Denzil in Only Fools and Horses but was also hilarious as Horse in The Full Monty. After the 1997 film he went on to have a number of TV roles including parts in Coronation Street, Sky’s Sinbad (which was sadly axed after one series) and Death in Paradise.
He reunited with Full Monty co-star Robert Carlyle for the 2001 film The 51st State with Samuel L Jackson. In 2019 he starred in festive family film A Very British Christmas, with another credit in Casualty that same year.
In 2020 he played Brother Thierry in the horror/thriller The Small Hand. In 2021 he was cast in the TV series Matchmakers, still in production.
Tom Wilkinson – Gerald
(Image: YorkshireLive)
Household name Tom Wilkinson was a TV star before taking the role of former boss Gerald in The Full Monty. He has a raft of top films under his belt and award nominations for his memorable performances.
The Yorkshire actor appeared in Shakespeare in Love, The Patriot and starred opposite Jackie Chan in Rush Hour in 1998. He got an Oscar nomination for his performance as Matt Fowler in In The Bedroom.
You may also have seen him in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Batman Begins, Valkrie and Burke and Hare. In 2021 he appeared in action film SAS: Red Notice, where he starred alongside Andy Serkis and Noel Clarke.
On the small screen, he’s since appeared in HBO miniseries John Adams and US series The Kennedys. He has also starred as the Earl of Brockenhurst in ITV’s Belgravia in 2020.
Steve Luison – Lomper
(Image: Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Leeds actor Steve Luison played loveable Lomper in The Full Monty. Since then he’s appeared in Ken Loach film The Navigators in 2021 and recently played Captain Kynan in futuristic film Brigantia.
Coronation Street fans will of course remember Luison as schemer Eddie Windass, a role he played for three years. He has also had roles in Dinnerladies, The Royle Family and Scott and Bailey and CBBC’s 4 O’Clock Club which first aired in 2012.
William ‘Wim’ Snape – Nathan
(Image: Mirror)
Sheffield’s William ‘Wim’ Snape won hearts as Gaz’s adorable but cheeky son Nathan in The Full Monty. Now the Sheffield actor is all grown up, he has appeared in a few TV series including Casualty in 2018 and Coronation Street.
In 2019 played William Bell in the HBO/BBC series Gentleman Jack. In 2021 he was back on the big screen in comedy the comedy Me, Myself and Di.
Hugo Speer – Guy
(Image: YorkshireLive)
The Full Monty was Hugo Speer’s first major film role, and he went on to bag roles in Deathwatch, Boudica, Late Bloomers and more recently 2019 film Trick or Treat. He’s had a busy TV career, and you may have seen him in a number of big shows including Bleak House, Silent Witness, Taggart, Midsomer Murders, Death in Paradise and Vera.
From 2013 to 2020 he starred as Inspector Valentine/Chief Inspector Valentine in BBC’s Father Brown and from 2017 to 2019 he played Lucius in Amazon Prime fantasy drama Britannia. You will have also seen him as Frank Young in Netflix/ITV’s Marcella.
Lesley Sharp – Jean
(Image: Channel 4)
Lesley Sharp’s performance as Jean in The Full Monty bagged her a BAFTA award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Before Monty she’d appeared in several films including Rita Sue and Bob Too in 1986.
Her film career continued with roles in From Hell in 2001, Vera Drake in 2004 and in 2008’s Inkheart and she also went on to bag major roles on the small screen. She starred in BBC One series Playing The Field and Clocking Off, and also took the lead in Bob and Rose on ITV.
She was also in Afterlife on ITV and starred in Scott and Bailey as DC Janet Scott from 2011-2016. More recently she starred in 2017 BBC drama Three Girls, about the Rochdale child sex abuse ring, and appeared in Fate: The Winx Saga on Netflix in 2021.
She also starred in Channel 4 thriller Before We Die as DI Hannah Laing in the same year.
Emily Woof – Mandy
Emily Woof played Gaz’s ex-wife Mandy – it is unclear if she will return for the new series as she is missing from the cast photo released with the announcement. After Monty, Woof appeared in films Photographing Fairies, Velvet Goldmine and The Woodlanders, and also bagged TV roles in Middlemarch, and Oliver Twist.
Corrie fans may remember her as a copper investigating the murder of Callum Logan in 2016. In 2020 she appeared in Casualty and also played Emily in ITV’s Finding Alice. Woof is also a published author.
