Shane Meadows facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shane Meadows
Meadows in October 2009
Born	(1972-12-26) 26 December 1972 (age 52) Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England
Occupation	Director screenwriter actor
Years active	1994–present
Spouse(s)	Joanne Wilkinson

Shane Meadows (born December 26, 1972) is an English film director, writer, and actor. He is famous for making independent films that feel very real. His best-known movie is the cult film This Is England (2006), which was so popular it led to three TV follow-up series.

Meadows has directed many other films, including Small Time (1996), Twenty Four Seven (1997), A Room for Romeo Brass (1999), Dead Man's Shoes (2004), and the music documentary The Stone Roses: Made of Stone (2013).

Early life

Shane Meadows was born in Uttoxeter, a town in Staffordshire, England. When he was a boy, his family went through a very difficult and public event. Because of this, Meadows was often picked on at school. These tough experiences later influenced many of his films. When he was 20, he moved to the city of Nottingham.

Career

Getting Started

Meadows went to Burton College to study Performing Arts. There, he met his good friend and future co-worker, Paddy Considine. They even started a band together called She Talks to Angels, where Meadows was the singer.

Meadows decided he wanted to be a filmmaker after watching Martin Scorsese's movie Mean Streets. He said it was the first time he realized that you could make a movie about your own life and the people you grew up with, not just about made-up stories.

Films Inspired by Life

Many of Meadows's films are based on his own life growing up in the Midlands. They often show the lives of ordinary, working-class people.

• Twenty Four Seven was inspired by his time at a boxing club as a kid.
• A Room for Romeo Brass was based on a time when his best friend and writing partner, Paul Fraser, had a serious accident and couldn't leave his bed for two years.
• Dead Man's Shoes was inspired by a close friend from his youth who was bullied. Meadows wanted to make a film about standing up for people who are treated badly.

Major Success with This Is England

Meadows's film This Is England won major awards, including a BAFTA for Best British Film. The movie was so successful that it was followed by three television series that continued the story of the characters:

• This Is England '86 (2010)
• This Is England '88 (2011)
• This Is England '90 (2015)

The final series was praised by critics as a remarkable achievement.

Recent Work

In 2021, the BBC announced that Meadows would direct a TV series based on a novel by Benjamin Myers. The show, The Gallows Pole, is a historical drama set in 18th-century Yorkshire. It was released in 2023.

In 2025, Meadows finished filming a new movie called Chork, which is planned for release in 2026.

Film and TV Shows

Feature films

• Small Time (1996)
• Twenty Four Seven (1997)
• A Room for Romeo Brass (1999)
• Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)
• Dead Man's Shoes (2004)
• This Is England (2006)
• Somers Town (2008)
• Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee (2009)
• The Stone Roses: Made of Stone (2013)
• Chork (2026)

Television

• This Is England '86 (2010)
• This Is England '88 (2011)
• This Is England '90 (2015)
• The Virtues (2019)
• The Gallows Pole (2023)

Online series

• Charity Shop Sue (2019)

Working with a Team

Shane Meadows is known for working with the same group of actors and crew members on many of his projects. This team is like a creative family.

His childhood friend, Paul Fraser, has co-written most of his films. For the This Is England series, he worked with writer Jack Thorne.

The music in his films is also very important. He often uses music from artists like Nick Hemming, Gavin Clark, and the Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi. By working with the same people, Meadows creates films that have a unique and personal style.

Actors He Often Works With

Meadows likes to cast the same actors in different roles across his films and TV shows. Some of his most frequent collaborators include Paddy Considine, Vicky McClure, Stephen Graham, Joe Gilgun, and Thomas Turgoose. The table below shows how many times some actors have appeared in his work.

Actor	Where's the Money, Ronnie? (1996)	Small Time (1996)	24 7: Twenty Four Seven (1997)	A Room for Romeo Brass (1999)	Shane's World (2000)	Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)	Dead Man's Shoes (2004)	Northern Soul (Short) (2004)	The Stairwell (Short) (2005)	This Is England (2006)	Somers Town (2008)	Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee (2009)	This Is England '86 (2010)	This Is England '88 (2011)	This Is England '90 (2015)	The Virtues (2019)	Charity Shop Sue (2019)	The Gallows Pole (2023)	Total
Andrew Shim				N		N	N		N	N			N	N	N				8
Vicky McClure				N					N	N			N	N	N		N		6
Jo Hartley							N	N		N			N	N	N				6
Thomas Turgoose										N	N		N	N	N			N	6
Stephen Graham										N			N	N	N	N			5
Michael Socha										N			N	N	N			N	5
Ladene Hall			N	N		N								N					4
Paddy Considine				N	N		N					N							4
George Newton							N			N			N	N					4
Joe Gilgun										N			N	N	N				4
Rosamund Hanson										N			N	N	N				4
Chanel Cresswell										N			N	N	N				4
Andrew Ellis										N			N	N	N				4
Danielle Watson										N			N	N	N				4
Kriss Dosanjh										N			N	N	N				4
Perry Benson										N	N		N		N				4
Mat Hand	N	N	N																3
Jimmy Hynd	N	N	N																3
Dena Smiles		N	N											N					3
Tanya Myers		N	N	N															3
Frank Harper			N	N						N									3
Ian Smith			N							N				N					3
Hannah Walters										N			N	N					3
Steve Brody													N	N	N				3
Katherine Dow Blyton													N	N	N				3
Johnny Harris													N	N	N				3
Rebecca Manley													N	N	N				3
William Travis													N	N	N				3
Seamus O'Neill							N					N	N						3
Helen Behan														N	N	N			3
Dominic Dillon		N	N																2
Darren O. Campbell			N	N															2
Bob Hoskins			N	N															2
Johann Myers			N	N															2
Justin Brady			N			N													2
Anthony Clarke			N			N													2
Tony Nyland			N			N													2
Karl Collins			N												N				2
Dave Blant				N						N									2
Craig Considine					N		N												2
Matt Considine					N		N												2
Toby Kebbell							N	N											2
Emily Aston							N							N					2
Joe Dempsie													N		N				2
Perry Fitzpatrick													N		N				2
Lyra Mae Thomas														N	N				2
Neil Bell							N								N				2
Sherrie Johnson															N		N		2

See also

In Spanish: Shane Meadows para niños