Ordinary Joe suits me; But Scots actor Gary Lewis could stillbe tempted to try his luck in Hollywood.

BILLY Elliot is being called the British film of the year, another Full Monty that could launch its starsto international fame.

But Glasgow actor Gary Lewis gets embarrassed by that kind of talk. The soft-spoken Scot has onlyseen the film once, at this year's Cannes Film Festival, where he was dazed by the audience'sapplause and cheers.

But the former roadsweeper is not dazzled by showbiz glitz. The legendary film director MartinScorcese is already an admirer, but Gary firmly declares that "Hollywood is not an aim".

In his latest role as the father in Billy Elliot, which is out this week, he is a striking miner trying tocome to terms with his 11-year-old son's wish to be a ballet dancer. To research the role, Gary andco-star Jamie Draven met local miners.

Unlike Billy Elliot, Gary had the support of his family for his acting career.

He said: "I did a play in 1979 and my family came in droves. They ran them to the theatre in buses."

Last month his extended family also showed up the premiere of Billy Elliot, particularly at the partyafterwards.

To date, Gary is the only actor in the family. Raised in Easterhouse in Glasgow, his father worked inthe shipyards as a coppersmith, while his mother held jobs in various shops and offices.

Both parents put a firm emphasis on education, but in the Seventies, Easterhouse schools were soshort of teachers that as a 10-year-old Gary received only a part-time education.

He went to class and in the afternoons he just hung around the sprawling housing estate.

In those days, Easterhouse's reputation was still deservedly notorious. Gary saw "fairly unsavourystuff - men carving each other up".

Although gangs prowled the estates, Gary never felt tempted to join the boys roaming the streets insearch of trouble.

Still, his life fell under the shadow of violence. Some of his old school pals were later murdered. Hesaid: "Folk went to jail. Dreadful things went on."

Thanks to an imaginative English teacher, Gary got his first taste of powerful drama in his teenswhen the gritty Sixties drama Kes was screened for the class.

Little did Gary realise at that point that nearly three decades later he would be working with Kes'saward-winning director Ken Loach in My Name Is Joe.

Gary also became a regular visitor to Glasgow's Citizen's Theatre when he discovered it often stagedradical productions. Realising that this sometimes meant seeing a naked woman live on stage turned

the teenage Gary into an avid theatre-goer.

But his first ambition wasn't to be an actor. Like most boys, Gary wanted to travel or write. In theend, however, he left school and became a roadsweeper.

He said: "It was one of the many duff jobs I've had. The best job is acting. Quite a few jobs were theworst. Sweeping streets or working in a dosshouse.

"Being a postman was good. Or at least, the hours were short.

"On the first day I asked someone what the job was like. He said that if he wasn't back home in timefor Postman Pat, he was very disappointed."

Gary didn't take up acting professionally until he was 32, when he joined Robert Carlyle's RaindogTheatre.

Both Robert and Gary's old friend Peter Mullan have given him great encouragement on his career.

Peter is also a rising British star, both as an actor and as a director.

He and Gary met at a Young Socialist meeting and have been pals and political allies ever since.

Both men attended the June wedding of Scottish Socialist MSP and Daily Record columnist TommySheridan. They also worked together in My Name Is Joe.

Gary harbours a suspicion that it was through Peter that his latest job offer has landed in his lap - achance to work with Martin Scorcese on his latest picture, Kings of New York.

Scorcese had seen my Name Is Joe and presented Peter Mullan with his award at the Cannes FilmFestival.

Gary said: "Martin is a big fan of My Name Is Joe."

He also suspects that Peter invited Martin to see Gary's starring role in Peter's directorial debut,Orphans.

Gary played an eye-catching role as dogged, dim Thomas, who spends the night keeping vigil in thechurch and later collapses in the cemetery under the weight of the coffin when he insists on beingthe only pallbearer.

Now Martin has approached Gary about working in America on a picture that also stars RobertdeNiro and Marlon Brando. But modest Gary refuses to believe his luck until he sees it in writing.

He said: "The verbal stuff means nothing. A casting director came to Glasgow to see me and theyfilmed me.

"Later on they phoned and said: 'Marty really likes you'.

"I asked if I'd got the job. They said no, but they wanted me to know that Marty really liked me. So Iwent and hung the washing out thinking, well Marty really likes me."

The birth of his son Martin has given him some long nights and bleary days. But only because thefirst-time dad was thrilled when Kate, his longtime girlfriend, gave birth to their son, now aged four.

Gary said: "I didn't sleep for a year, not because he kept me up but because I wanted to watch himall the time."

So how the family will cope if devoted dad Gary gets work in America that will take him away fromtheir Glasgow home.

He said: "I haven't thought about that. I'd need to ask them.

"If I had a dollar for every time I was asked if that was me away to Hollywood, I'd have enoughmoney to go and live there.

"But I don't think about acting with Hollywood as an aim. There are lot of plays and stories I want todo. Life's a bit richer than Hollywood. And if I don't go there, it doesn't mean I'm a failure. I've a full,round life."

Gary has two more films on release this year after Billy Elliot. He will be seen this autumn in OneLife Stand and then he will star alongside Sir Michael Caine in the new gangster film Shiner.

But despite his success, Gary is very determined to keep his feet on the ground.

He said: "When I worked with Ken Loach in My Name Is Joe, we went to a question and answersession.

"Someone in the audience was overwhelmed because Ken is such a respected director.

"But when he said he couldn't get over the fact they were in the same room together, Ken said thatwas an unhealthy attitude.

"If you put someone up on a pedestal, you do yourself down.

"I took that to heart. Just because you're an actor and get a bit of attention that doesn't put youabove other people. There's stuff I see as a success because I'm happy with the work. It doesn'tmatter if no-one else sees it.

"Orphans didn't play at the multiplexes in Birmingham, but it's still a great film"

It also won Gary a cult following in, even if his best joke in the film often gets mangled.

Gary said: "People come up and ask me to say 'that line'. It's the one where I'm carrying the coffin onmy back and say: 'She ain't heavy, she's my mother'. So a guy came up to me in Sauchiehall Streetand said: 'Go on, say that bit. I love that line. Do "Naw. She's my maw. She's a ton weight'."

COPYRIGHT 2000 Scottish Daily Record Sunday

No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from thecopyright holder.

Copyright 2000 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Ordinary%2BJoe%2Bsuits%2Bme%253B%2BBut%2BScots%2Bactor%2BGary%2BLewis%2Bcould%2Bstill%2Bbe...-a065565680