The Cast

RIZ AHMED (Shifty)

Riz Ahmed is one of the most exciting actors and musicians of his generation. Recently nominated for Best Actor at the 2008 British Independent Film Awards for his lead role in Shifty, Riz will also attend the 2008 Berlin Film festival for the worldwide premiere of his next feature Rage; a Sally Potter film, with Jude Law and Judi Dench scheduled for release in summer 2009.

Rizss previous credits include the BAFTA-winning Britz, the multi-award-winning Road to Guantanamo (Silver Bear at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival and Best British Documentary at the 2006 British Independent Film Awards), both hotly debated and critically acclaimed. In October 2008 he starred alongside Jaime Winstone in E4's hugely successful Dead Set, written by Guardian contributor Charlie Brooker and ITV's Wired. In Spring Riz can be seen on BBC 2's Freefall with an all-star cast including Dominic Cooper, Aidan Gillen and Rosamund Pike.

As a musician under the name 'Riz MC' he has built on strong Radio 1 support with the release of his single Radar/People Like People, which was released in November and described by Music Week as 'cinematic...edgy...his most accomplished work to date', the Radar remix is set for release on January 26th. His debut single Post 9/11 Blues became an internet cult classic, winning global media attention despite censorship by almost all mainstream music programmers. He recently performed with Dizzee Rascal at The Warehouse Project and holds an artistic residency at the Southbank Centre.

DANIEL MAYS (Chris)

RADA graduate Danny Mays has performed five plays at the Royal Court Theatre garnering critical praise for parts written specifically for him including Motortown by Simon Stephens and The Winterling by Jez Butterworth.

He won the Best Actor prize at the Palmare Television Festival in 2003 for his role in the hard hitting improvised BBC drama Rehab. His television credits include series lead Carter Kranz in Funland, Consent, Class of 76, Tipping the Velvet, Top Buzzer, Saddam's Tribe and Half Broken Things.

Danny's film credits include two collaborations with Oscar nominated film maker Mike Leigh, Vera Drake and All or Nothing and Joe Wright's Atonement. He was also seen on screens in 2008 opposite Jason Statham in British thriller The Bank Job and will be seen in 2009 in Hippie Hippie Shake with Sienna Miller, in Mr. Nobody with Diane Kruger and in Nick Love's remake of The Firm. He is currently filming Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson's big screen version of Tintin.

JASON FLEMYNG (Glen)

Jason Flemyng is a veteran of the stage and screen well known for creating distinct characters in an array of films including The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen opposite Sean Connery, Rock Star starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston, From Hell opposite Johnny Depp, and Bernardo Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty opposite Liv Tyler.

The 2007 release of Stardust with Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer marked Jason's fourth collaboration with Matthew Vaughn who also directed the actor in Layer Cake and produced Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, in which he co-starred. Jason can soon be seen in the upcoming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.

Jason's television work includes roles in Alice in Wonderland, A Question of Attribution and For the Greater Good directed by Danny Boyle. Flemyng's theatre roles include several Royal Shakespeare Company performances, including Coriolanus, As You Like It, Moscow Gold Barbarians and All's Well That Ends Well.

FRANCESCA ANNIS (Valerie)

A veteran of the stage and screen Francesca Annis began her career in her teens receiving critical applause as Estella in a television adaptation of Great Expectations in 1967. In addition to numerous leading roles for the Royal Shakespeare Company she played Lady Macbeth in Roman Polanski's film version of Macbeth in 1971.

She has been nominated six times for a Bafta winning for Best Actress, TV for her performance in the title role of mini-series Lillie in 1978. She is a regular on UK television screens appearing in series such as Between The Lines and Dalziel and Pascoe. Her most recent television role is in the highly acclaimed Cranford on BBC Two. Her film credits include Revolver, The Libertine, Onegin, Dune and Krull.

JAY SIMPSON (Trevor)

Jay Simpson is an experienced television and theatre actor whose television credits include Primeval, the Doctor Who spin off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, Rome, The Bill, Foyle's War and Holby City.

On stage, Jay has appeared in Diamond Hard at the Almeida Theatre and Kathy Burke's The Quaire Fellow. His film credits include The Holiday, Pride & Prejudice, The I Inside and This Year's Love.

NITIN GANATRA (Rez)

Nitin Ganatra has become a familiar face on British TV screens appearing in Trail and Retribution, The Catherine Tate Christmas Special and Mumbai Calling. He recently joined the cast of Eastenders as regular character Mr. Masood. His film credits include Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Mike Leigh's Secrets and Lies and Bride and Prejudice directed by Gurinder Chadha.

On stage Nitin has appeared in Sam Mendes production of To The Green Fields Beyond at the Donmar Warehouse and Simon Callow's Les Enfants Du Paradis for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The Crew

ERAN CREEVY (Writer/Director)

Eran Creevy began his film career as a post production runner working his way up to assistant director roles on a variety of features. His credits include Layer Cake, Scoop, Life and Lyrics and Wimbledon. His directing career began on pop promos for Ashley Walters, Ministry of Sound, and the Audio Bullies before graduating onto commercials. Most recently, Eran helmed a four commercial European campaign for Nike Plus.

Directing his first feature was a daunting prospect for the 32 year old who also penned the screenplay basing the characters on real events observed growing up in the London suburbs. "The first time I walked into the production office and saw all the actors' photos spread across the wall was the moment the enormity of what I was responsible for really hit me. The characters I had created alone in a room on my laptop now had faces and were going to be brought to life by actual, professional actors. It was surreal, exciting and terrifying simultaneously."

RORY AITKEN & BEN PUGH (Producers)

Rory's first taste of the film industry was working on the set of blockbuster The Quiet American while travelling in Vietnam. On returning to the UK, Oxford Law graduate Rory set about gaining as much production experience as he could, initially working in production on the hit BBC television show Spooks, and then moving on to work as assistant to the Hollywood producer Stephanie Austin on Sahara with Matthew McConnaughey, and for US television producer David E Kelley, creator of Ally McBeal and Boston Legal.

Ben began in film by working across a range of departments including locations, production, and assistant directing. His film credits include Saving Private Ryan, Batman Begins, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. He also worked at one of London's top talent agents and at RSA Films.

Rory and Ben met on the set of Sahara, and in January 2006 they began their producing partnership at Between the Eyes (BTE). Initially developing the company through low budget music videos and digital content, BTE has since been highly successfully in producing commercials for clients such as Nike, Coca Cola, Cadbury's, and Sony, and music videos for artists such as Coldplay, Jay-Z and Dido, amongst others. They executive produced Extraordinary Rendition, directed by Jim Threapleton starring Andy Serkis (Lord Of The Rings, King Kong), in 2007 before producing Shifty.

ED WILD (Director of Photography)

Ed Wild is an experienced cinematographer whose credits include Severance with Danny Dyer and the soon to be released Prisoners of the Sun with Nick Moran. Ed has recently completed filming for I Know You Know starring Robert Carlyle.

ERIK REHL (Production Designer)

Erik Rehl trained at the Moscow Arts Theatre and Central Saint Martins where he received an MA with Distinction and now designs for film, TV, theatre, events and commercials. Erik art directed Martin McDonagh's 2006 Oscar winning live action short film Six Shooter starring Brendan Gleeson and an exploding cow.

His most recent Production Design credits include Josh Appignanesi's feature Song of Songs featuring Natalie Press and Richard Jobson's feature The Purifiers.