A brand new series starts on ITV tonight and it's a remake of the 1960s spy thriller which starred Michael Caine, The Ipcress File.
This time the be-spectacled Cold War spy is played by Joe Cole, who viewers will know from Peaky Blinders and Gangs of London.
Cole, 33, shot to prominence as John Shelby in Peaky Blinders, a role he embodied for four years. He starred in the Birmingham-set drama alongside his younger brother, Finn, who still plays Michael Gray in the show, meaning the brothers will go up against each other in a Sunday prime-time drama ratings war, as series six of Peaky Blinders airs on BBC One currently.
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After leaving Peaky Blinders Joe also fronted another huge drama, this time on Sky Atlantic. In 2020 Gangs of London, an ultra-violent crime drama, saw the actor as Sean Wallace the son of a murdered crime boss who fights to lead his father's empire. The show was created by Aberdare's Gareth Evans who is best known for The Raid films.
Despite an impressive series of roles, he's also starred in Skins, The HOur and Black Mirror, for which he received a Bafta nomination for Best Actor, Joe almost never made it to the profession.
Joe revealed to MirrorOnline: “I never thought I was gonna be an actor. I had a bit of a bad break-up, I didn’t get into university, I felt very sorry for myself.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t have, but I did. I got arrested. I was just getting up to nonsense, really.”
Joe was a carpet salesman before pursuing his acting dream, landing a place at the National Youth Theatre. He had parts on The Bill and Holby City before signing up to play gangster John Shelby in four series of Peaky Blinders.
The Ipcress File also stars Tom Hollander and on This Morning earlier this month, Joe spoke about working with great actors, including the late Helen McCrory on Peaky Blinders.
He said: "When you're working with great actors they bring something else out of you. It's a real job as you might have preconceptions about how you're going to do a scene, but when you get into a room with heavyweights like Tom Hollander, you're like that anyway but it brings different things out of your performance."
He continued: "It happens a lot, up and down, small arts and big parts. Peaky Blinders working with Cillian and Helen. I've been so lucky I've worked with some phenomenal actors and actresses."
Host Phillip Schofield then said: "Helen McCrory was the most adorable person, such a lovely lady. She even helped your brother Finn?"
Joe responded: "My brother Finn's first role was on Peaky Blinders. She played his mum. She offered so much support on and off the show. You don't realise until you leave the show how much of a rare gem someone like Helen was.
"She was one of the funniest people I'd ever met, she disarmed everyone with her humour. We lost a special one there."
