It may have been more than 20 years, but at long last the iconic British hooligan film The Football Factory is making a sequel.
The 2004 movie starred Danny Dyer as disillusioned 29-year-old Tommy Johnson who lives for the weekend football matches.
And ‘hard man’ Danny was seen on set for the film’s long-awaited sequel on Monday – surrounded by crew as he puffed on a cigarette.
Among the characters featured in the sports drama alongside Tommy were his best friend Rod King, hot-tempered Billy Bright, younger members Zeberdee and Raf, grandfather Bill Farrell and opposition Millwall leader Fred.
But as fans eagerly await the film’s next instalment, MailOnline looks back at what those who played the roles went on to do after…
It may have been more than 20 years, but at long last the iconic British hooligan film The Football Factory is making a sequel
Danny Dyer – played Tommy Johnson
Danny Dyer , who is known for his ‘hard man’ roles, played Tommy Johnson in the British sports film – and went on to have an illustrious career
Danny Dyer, who is known for his ‘hard man’ roles, played Tommy Johnson in the British sports film – and went on to have an illustrious career.
The 46-year-old actor has been in the spotlight since a young age, after he was discovered at a local school at 16 years old.
An agent auditioned him for the part of Martin Fletcher in the 1993 series Prime Suspect 3, catapulting him onto TV.
Over the next 10 years, Danny featured in countless British television programmes, including A Touch of Frost and Second Generation.
Danny had been in the industry for more than a decade when he starred as Tommy in The Football Factory.
His film career continued to flourish as he starred in three more films by Football Factory director Nick Love – Goodbye Charlie Bright, The Business and Outlaw.
And just three years later, after a stint as Michelle’s stepfather in Skins, Danny became the presenter of The Real Football Factories – a TV documentary series for which he travels throughout the UK, and later the world, to meet and interview football club fans and hooligans.
In 2008, the Londoner presented Danny Dyer’s Deadliest Men, a documentary series that saw him hunting down some of the most notorious and feared men in Britain.
He then turned down a role in EastEnders in 2009 for fear it would bring unwanted publicity – but u-turned on this four years later when he was cast as Mick Carter, the new landlord of the Queen Vic pub. He quit the role in 2022 after eight years.
Danny has since presented and starred in various other documentaries and game shows – leading up to being spotted in rehearsals for The Football Factory’s sequel.
Tamer Hassan – played Fred
Tamer Hassan starred as Danny’s opposition in the film – who hunts Tommy down throughout the flick, and his career flew after his role as Millwall firm leader Fred
He starred as Danny’s opposition in the film – who hunts Tommy down throughout the flick.
And Tamer Hassan’s film career flew after his role as Millwall firm leader Fred.
Acting wasn’t always the dream for Tamer, who began boxing at the age of 10 and went on to win two British titles.
But after picking up an injury he turned to running nightclubs, and later – acting.
Best known for his role in The Calcium Kid alongside Orlando Bloom, Michael Pena, Billie Piper and Rafe Spall, Tamer went on to have a successful acting career.
Following The Football Factory, director Nick Lowe again cast him opposite Danny in The Business, and he later had roles in major pictures The Ferryman, Batman Begins and Clash of the Titans.
Moving into television, Tamer clinched a role in the acclaimed HBO series Game of Thrones as Khal Forzo, where he starred opposite Emilia Clarke.
Khal Forzo was a Dothraki warrior who refused to accept Daenerys Targeryen would be the new leader of the Dothraki.
The Millwall fan is due to feature in two films coming out in 2024, both of which are in post production – Mother for an Hour and Bad Day at the Office.
In 2019, Tamer’s name was circulating for a different reason, as his daughter Belle became a contestant on Love Island.
Neil Maskell – played Rod King
Another The Football Factory alumn who went on to make it big is Neil Maskell – who played Rod
Neil later played Winston Churchill in Peaky Blinders (seen in 2021 on set with Cillian Murphy)
Another The Football Factory alum who went on to make it big is Neil Maskell – who played Rod.
Fitting for his role in the film, Neil was a footballer as a young boy – when he played for Long Lane JFC as a full back.
But acting was the chosen path, as from the age of 11, Neil trained in acting at the Anna Scher Theatre in Islington, London.
Between 1991 and 2002, Neil was featured several times in ITV’s The Bill and had one-off roles in a number of other popular British serial dramas such as Casualty, London’s Burning and Soldier Soldier.
But his roles got bigger and better, with his most long-running in the 2005 comedy series Mike Bassett: Manager, sketch show The Wrong Door, and 2013’s Utopia.
He was a regular in sci-fi thriller Humans from 2015 and later played Winston Churchill in Peaky Blinders.
Neil’s film career began in 1997 while he was in his early twenties when he appeared as Schmuddie in Gary Oldman’s directorial debut Nil by Mouth.
Fast forward seven years and Neil starred as Rod alongside Danny Dyer in the hooligan film. That same year he starred in Rise of the Foot Soldier, and in 2009, he appeared as Banksy in comedy zombie film Doghouse, again alongside Danny.
Neil received many Best Actor nominations for his lead role in 2011’s Kill List and his latest TV role was as recent as 2023 when he played the titular and lead character in British gangster revenge film Bull.
Frank Harper – Billy Bright
Another English actor known his ‘hard man’ roles is Frank Harper – who starred as Billy Bright in the soon-to-be-revived film
Another English actor known his ‘hard man’ roles is Frank Harper – who starred as Billy Bright in the soon-to-be-revived film.
Frank, 61, began acting at an early age, appearing in a play about football supports at the Albany Theatre, Deptford, while still at school.
In the early 2000s, Frank appeared in several British films – both before and after The Football Factory.
He appeared as a white nationalist in 2001 British film South West 9, which was about the Brixton rave scene.
Frank was also cast in 2007’s Rise of the Foot Soldier as real-life Essex Boys’ killer gangster Jack Whomes, who was jailed for life over the gangland shooting of three men found dead in a Range Rover near a farm in Rettendon, Essex, in 1995.
The Londoner featured in several British TV programmes including The Bill and Doctors – but later mostly took a step back from acting to focus on directing.
In 2012, he directed the British gangster film St George’s Day, which he also acted in, but soon moved his focus to indie short films.
His latest project was called the Reel Scene, according to an Instagram post he shared of the cast in December. ‘It’s a wrap great weekend with the Reel Scene my actors done a great job!!,’ the image was captioned.
Roland Manookian – Zeberdee
The career arc of Roland Manookian, who played younger member Zeberdee,was similar to that of his co-stars
The Football Factory cast appeared to follow similar filmography’s following its release.
And the career arc of Roland Manookian, who played younger member Zeberdee, is no exception.
Roland, 43, was yet another actor from the hit film to star in Rise of the Foot Soldier.
He went on to reprise his role of Craig Rolfe multiple times, appearing in the original film in 2007, followed by the sequel in 2012 – which followed the aftermath of the 1995 murders.
However the franchise continued with Roland’s role at the centre, as a string of prequels were released – Rise of the Foot Soldier: The Pat Tate Story (2017), Rise of the Foot Soldier: Marbella (2019) and Rise of the Foot Soldier Origins (2021).
Meanwhile, Roland featured in a number of other films and television series alongside the franchise – including The Bill, Guy Richie’s Rocknrolla and Goodbye Charlie Bright.
His last known film or TV appearance was Rise of the Foot Soldier Origins in 2021.
Dudley Sutton – played Bill Farrell
Dudley Sutton was a highly decorated English actor who sadly passed away in 2018 at the age of 85
Dudley Sutton was a highly decorated English actor who sadly passed away in 2018 at the age of 85.
In The Football Factory, Dudley played the role of Bill Farrell – Tommy’s grandfather – who was disappointed by Tommy’s drinking, drug-using, womanising and fighting in the film.
Dudley’s long list of acting gigs included a vast variety of roles, from a gay biker in 1964’s The Leather Boys to a teenager accused of murder in The Boys (1962).
The actor famously said that he felt himself privileged that these films had dealt with two matters close to his heart: the injustice of the death penalty and gay rights.
Dudley was most well known for his iconic role of Tinker Dill in Lovejoy – whose friendship with the title character, and knowledge of the antique trade, was the backbone of the show.
Dudley worked across countless TV shows and films including Skins, David Copperfield and EastEnders – and even up until his death.
His final feature was posthumous – when he appeared as on old man in Steven Berkoff’s Tell Tale Heart.
Callum MacNab – Raf
Another of the hooligan firm’s younger members was Raf, played by Callum MacNab.
The football film was Callum’s breakout unlike many of his castmates who had featured in other British films or television series beforehand.
After playing the role of Raf, Callum also continued acting – and in the years that followed was seen on screen with many of his Football Factory co-stars.
In 2005, he nabbed the role of Jason Foley in the TV film Ahead of the Class starring the iconic Julie Walters as a Glaswegian headmistress.
That same year he featured in The Bill and Stoned – a film which chronicled the life and suspicious death of Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones.
In 2007, Callum was yet another castmate to join Rise of the Footsoldier, and between then and 2012 he had sporadic roles in British films and short films.
His last known acting gig was in 2018’s thriller/action Tango One.