| Ralf Little | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ralf Alistair J.B. Little 8 February 1980 Oldham, Greater Manchester, England |
| Occupation | Actor, Writer, Footballer |
Ralf Alistair J. B. Little (born 8 February 1980) is an English actor, writer and semi-professional footballer, working mainly in television comedy. He is best known for playing Antony Royle in The Royle Family and Jonny Keogh in the first six series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
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Little was born in Oldham, Greater Manchester. He attended Bolton School (Boys' Division). Some of his early television roles included minor roles in various programmes such as Elidor, Children's Ward,[1] Sloggers,[1] Bostock's Cup, Always and Everyone, and a production of Aladdin.
Ralf's big break came when he was offered to play Antony Royle in the BBC sitcom, The Royle Family. He took three months out of his 'A' Level studies to record the series, after which he returned to school and got the grades he needed to get into his chosen course at university. Shortly after starting his medical studies degree at university, the first series of The Royle Family began to air and offers to audition started coming Little's way, as many as five per week. This prompted him to abandon his studies and focus on his acting career.[1] The original run of the series was from Autumn 1998 to December 2000, and after a one-off special in 2006 returned for a series of Christmas specials from 2008, with Little returning to the role of Antony in 2006 and from 2009.
After the original run of The Royle Family, he was cast in another sitcom, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (or Two Pints), as Jonny Keogh. The first series ran from February 2001, and has been running for nine series so far. During an interview for This Morning in September 2007 Little said that he would not be returning for the next series due to an overwhelming schedule, and his character was therefore killed off screen in the first episode of the seventh series although mentioned throughout the rest of the series.
Little was nominated for an Olivier Award for his performance in Notes on Falling Leaves at the Royal Court Theatre.
In 1999 Little played a Star in the ITV Comedy/Drama "The Flint Street Nativity". This also starred Frank Skinner, Jane Horrocks, Mark Addy, Josie Lawrence, Neil Morrissey, Stephen Tomkinson, and Julia Sawalha.
In 2000 Little played Wishee Washee in the ITV Panto Aladdin.
In 2004, Little played the title character in Billy Liar at the Theatre Royal in Windsor.[2]
Little appeared in Juliet McKoen's ghost story/murder mystery film Frozen (2005) set in Fleetwood, Lancashire.
His other film credits include 24 Hour Party People (playing Joy Division and New Order bass player Peter Hook[1]) and Al's Lads. Little also starred as Stephen, alongside Anne-Marie Duff, in Oscar-nominee Roger Goldby's film The Waiting Room,[3] released throughout the UK in June 2008.
In television, he also appeared in Paradise Heights alongside Neil Morrisey and Charles Dale.[1][4]
In October 2007, he appeared in the one man show, Stacy, written by Jack Thorne at the Trafalgar Studios in London and on TV in Robin Hood as a sinister scientist Joseph, in the episode "The Angel of Death".
In August 2007 he released his first online novel (co-written with Stephen Morris), The Golden Generation, a coming of age tale about a recently single man who is taken under the wings of two city traders who show him the trappings of big money in the big city but that it comes at a price. Money taken from the sale of the novel went to the charity Shelter.[5]
Little was a member of the cast of KateModern, a web series which is a spin-off of the more well-known lonelygirl15. The series started in July 2007 and posted its final video in June 2008.
In early 2008 Little appeared in adverts for McVitie's digestive biscuits, did the voiceover for SMA baby formula adverts, as well as in 2009 the Asda Rollback adverts.[6] He also provided the narration for series two, three and four of Monkey Life.
In September 2008 he starred in Massive, a BBC comedy about an indie record label, and in the same year narrated the second series of Last Man Standing.
In July 2008 he appeared in 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover, a new play at the Bush Theatre which was revised as 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover at Christmas later in the year.
In 2009 he had role of Clint in the ITV comedy drama series Married Single Other along side Miranda Raison.[7] He also worked on the film Powder.[8]
In the autumn of 2010, he starred in "The Aliens", a British premier of a new play by Annie Baker, again at the Bush Theatre alongside Mackenzie Crook and Olly Alexander.[9]
In 2011, he appears as Richard Dickens in the new comedy series The Cafe shown on Sky 1, which he co-wrote with Michelle Terry and was directed by Craig Cash.
Little, a supporter of Manchester United,[2] is a keen footballer and has played for a number of semi-professional clubs when other commitments allow. In March 2003 he played for Maidstone United against AFC Wimbledon, having previously been training with Staines Town.[10] He joined Isthmian League side Edgware Town in October 2004, making his debut in the FA Vase game against Waltham Abbey.[11]
He played for Chertsey Town during the 2007-08 season and on 8 July 2008 signed for North West Counties League side Stone Dominoes.[12] He has also on a few occasions played celebrity football matches for charity[13][14] and played with members of Hollywood United while in the district for acting career purposes. He also plays for the Arsenal Ex-Pro and Celebrity XI.[15] He also participated in the 2010 Soccer Aid game for England on the left wing.
On August the 28th he played in the John Kennedy tribute match for Manchester united against Celtic which resulted in a 5-2 win for Celtic.