Cooper-Fozard the TEAM

Cooper-Fozard THE TEAM Robson Green plays Stephen Bradley Age: 41 Position: Partner Stephen is a maverick partner, brilliant lawyer and esteemed team leader. He is renowned across the City both for his unusual methods of practicing law and his astonishingly successful track-record. He has a humane quality which marks him out from other, more conventional, lawyers. As he professes: “ You do the people first and the law second” . Stephen is instinctive and passionate, hard-working and loyal. But his loyalty is divided between his two families: on the one hand, Teresa and the boys; on the other, his team. His work has always been his priority and recently his marriage has taken even more of a back seat. The cracks are beginning to show. Robson Green: Soldier, Soldier was Robson Green’s first major TV series, and he has since gone on to star in some of British television’s most memorable dramas, including The Gambling Man, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Reckless, Touching Evil, and Grafters. He will shortly be seen in ITV’s Wire In The Blood. Sarah Parish plays Annie Naylor Age: 34 Position: Lawyer, striving for partnership Annie is on her second career already. With an appetite for the bigger things in life, Annie decided that teaching National Curriculum English wasn’t enough for her, so re-trained as a lawyer. She is driven, focused and tough when she needs to be. With an acerbic wit, Annie has become an expert lawyer and silky smooth negotiator whom others fear. Becoming a partner would set the seal on her professional aspirations. However, Annie has to remember to make time for her daughter Claire, her husband Dominic and his hopes for a bigger family. So far she has managed to juggle work, home, clients, colleagues and husband 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But for how long can she keep juggling them? Sarah Parish Sarah has starred in numerous television series, but her roles in Hearts and Bones and, more recently, Cutting It have brought her to the attention of a wider audience. She has also starred in Sirens, The Vice, Brotherly Love, Kiss Me Kate and City Central. Neil Stuke plays Martin Grieg Age: 37 Position: Lawyer, totally nonchalant about the idea of a partnership Martin has an independence of spirit and individuality which set him apart from the rest of the team, although he would be the first to say that this is absolutely nothing to do with being a single, gay man. Martin is a bit of an anomaly amongst his peers - he is neither overly ambitious, nor career-minded, nor ruthless. Instead, he has come to realise the value and importance of his life outside work and is not prepared to sacrifice his happiness to service the greater needs of clients. Martin has other ideas as to how he should spend his weekends - mainly enjoying watching Chelsea play at home and all-nighters at the Ministry of Sound. The wider canvas of Martin’s life gives him a wry perspective on the corporate floor and its high- pressured situations. Nevertheless, he is the consummate professional and is regarded as partnership material if only he cared enough to go for it. Martin is the team’s eyes, ears, sanity and conscience; the first one to whom team members turn with a problem, the first one to question their behaviour, the first one to comment if unhappy with something. His ability to strike a seemingly natural balance between the professional and the personal is much admired. Neil Stuke On television, Neil has starred in Sins, At Home With The Braithwaites, Grafters, Silent Witness, Wing And A Prayer, Seesaw, Game On, A Touch Of Frost, Karaoke and Cardiac Arrest. His film credits include Circus, The Suicide Club, Mad Cows, Shark Hunt and, most recently, Christy Malry’s Own Double Entry. Eva Birthistle plays Maria Acklam Age: 24 Position: Trainee Eager but naïve, Maria is keen to prove herself both as a lawyer and a woman. She is very smart and driven by her hunger to get on, but she is also impressionable. She cannot escape the fact that her youthful vigor and desire to please can get her into trouble. Despite being hired by Stephen for her intelligence, Maria struggles with being a young, very attractive woman in a male-dominated environment. She has to learn to toughen up if she is to last more than a day as a qualified lawyer. She looks to Stephen for guidance and enjoys the luxury of his tutelage. Stephen and she are very close, and their relationship could easily be misinterpreted as something more meaningful than simply mentor and protégée. Maria has much to learn, both about herself and about being a lawyer. Eva Birthistle Eva starred most recently in Jimmy McGovern’s powerful drama, Sunday. Her other credits include Holby City, In Deep and Making The Cut. She has starred in several films, among them: Mystics, Borstal Boy, Saltwater, The American, Miracle at Midnight and All Souls Day. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Ashley Carter Age: 28 Position: Lawyer Naturally brilliant and prodigious, Ashley fell into law. It was one of many blue-chip professions he could have opted for, but possibly the most lucrative. He has a forensically sharp mind and can quickly master a brief and charm his clients. There is a real sense that Ashley is in complete control - or at least is the master of creating the illusion he is in control. He is all about image and seldom lets his mask slip, afraid of what others might find, or, worse, what he may find himself. Ashley is a vital and much liked member of the team; he is earmarked for high office and frequently sought out for his insight. Nonetheless, he seems to be more concerned with his sex life than he is with his ascent up the corporate ladder. He is having the time of his life, unfettered by ties or commitments, preferring to shag and go. His only real concern is the small matter of his imminent thirtieth birthday. Will Ashley be able to continue in his glorious infantilism? His life is untroubled by responsibility, but for how long can that last? You can’t remain a twenty-something forever. Should he start to take his life and career more seriously, or risk seeing it slip away? Chiwetel Ejiofor Chiwetel stars in Stephen Frears’s forthcoming feature film Dirty, Pretty Things opposite Amélie star Audrey Tautou. He won several awards for his role in the West End play Blue/Orange. He has featured in films such as Love Actually, Twelfth Night, Amistad and Deadly Voyage. Ian McShane plays Alan Cooper-Fozard Age: 59 Position: Head of the firm Alan is known in the firm as the P.G., “ The Power and The Glory” . He has the power to crush anyone’s career or to bathe it in glory. He is corporate law personified and represents all that is good and honourable about the legal profession. Quite simply, he is a star and a celebrity in City law circles - and he knows it. But the P.G. is a bit of a contradiction – he appears not to take anything seriously, but in truth he is passionate about all aspects of his beloved firm. His eccentricity should never be mistaken for weakness: he is the toughest nut of them all. This makes him the only real force within the firm to be reckoned with. Ian McShane: For eight years, Ian played the title role in the BBC’s Lovejoy. His films include the Oscar- nominated Sexy Beast and Paper, Scissors, Stone. Ian starred in the West End musical The Witches of Eastwick. He was recently seen in Man & Boy and In Deep, both for the BBC. “Stephen is a person who is in pursuit of happiness. He’s trying to satisfy three things in his life: his love life, his business life and his personal life” Robson Green Robson Green - the cheeky Geordie, the housewife’s favourite pin-up actor, the hugely successful singer - is something of a national treasure. Best known for his roles in Casualty, Soldier, Soldier and Reckless, Robson is used to dramas which demand his being the main man rather than dramas such as Trust, in which he is one of several lead characters. “ I honestly never think of myself as a lead” , confesses Robson. “ I think of myself as an actor in a very good story, and the same applies to Trust. The script was excellent; as soon as I got it I just thought that the visual grammar was wonderful. I thought the words were divine and knew it was something I wanted to do; something I wanted to be a part of, irrespective of what order my name came in the cast list.” The calibre of the acting talent in Trust also impressed Robson, but the atmosphere on set was far more entertaining than your average city law firm. “ It was just an absolute ball. We had no problem taking the fun we were having off camera and making sure that it was evident on camera too. Sarah’s so amusing and very easy to work with. Ian, Neil, Chewi and Eva were all vibrant and had incredibly witty energy. At the read- through I knew that it was going to be good. And on a tight filming schedule you need to have fun.” Robson plays Stephen Bradley, a highly successful corporate lawyer who is struggling to accommodate both his work life and his home life. “ Stephen is a person who is in pursuit of happiness.

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