Joe Caffrey


Joe Caffrey is an English actor of theatre, television, and film.

History

Caffrey was born in the shipbuilding town of Wallsend, Northumberland. His father had worked at Swan Hunter's Shipyards and both of his grandfathers were miners. Joe's grandfather, Ned Murray, was an active Trade Unionist and Labour politician as well as a District Councilor. His mother, Lynne, is a Councillor in Gateshead.
Caffrey chose to become an actor and was trained for three years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In 1984-85 he was also a member of the a cappella band, The Workey Tickets, who did several fund raising gigs, including a gig at the Albert Hall in London, for the striking miners and their families.
Caffrey first began performing theatre in London. He achieved West End stardom in Lee Hall's farce Cooking with Elvis. He had also several TV appearances in ITV and BBC productions and appeared in the Bridget Jones film, .
He played Billy's older brother Tony in the original London cast of Billy Elliot the Musical and then returned to the show in December 2008, this time in the role of Jackie Elliot, Billy's father.
According to his own words, Caffrey is a huge fan of playwright Alan Plater. He says: "When you get a writer of Alan's calibre saying 'I'm going to write you a part in this' you think 'Christ almighty, most actors would bite your hand off for that kind of chance.'"
Caffrey is associated with Live Theatre which is a small theatre on Newcastle's Quayside, which has nurtured actors that now perform in The Pitmen Painters who have progressed to London's West End and Broadway.

Career

Joe Caffrey's career began at the age of 22 after leaving the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Joe's TV and film credits include

... aka Catherine Cookson's Colour Blind
Joe has also been involved in writing and performing in some sketches for the charity event, Sunday for Sammy in 2006, 2008 and 2010.

Theatre

In December 2008, Joe Caffrey rejoined the cast of Billy Elliot as Jackie Elliot, Billy's dad.