Celebrity Bulletin , July 19 2018

When the London-born actor JOE COLES joins his "A Prayer Before Dawn" director JEAN-STEPHANE SAUVAIRE on the roof of The Old American Can Factory in Gowanus Brooklyn on Monday night, July 23rd, for a special screening of their feature-film collaboration, the crowd in attendance will be in for a remarkable performance.

No doubt the Q&A with the filmmakers following the screening will feature many astonished questions beginning with, "How on earth did you do that...?"
 
For not only has JOE completely transformed his physical self to play imprisoned boxer BILLY MOORE (the English boxer incarcerated in two of Thailand's most notorious prisons), but he also spends most of the film employing non-verbal gestures in lieu of scripted dialog to ask to fight or to plead for drugs, working with a Thai cast composed partially of incarcerated individuals.

That he did many of his own fight scenes recreating the Muay Thai fighting that proved to be MOORE's one chance at freedom, will only add to the acclaim he is certain to get. It's a far cry from Peaky Blinders, the show that introduced him to television audiences in the UK back in 2013

JOE COLE was born in Kingston-Upon Thames, London on Nov. 28, 1988; the oldest of five brothers (three of whom are actors, indluding occasional co-star FINN COLE), and started acting in grade school. He auditioned for and was accepted to The National Youth Theater where he honed his craft, and on graduating began his professional career doing theatrical roles and whatever else came around.

Following a number of minor film and television roles, he got his big break when he was cast as a series regular in the crime drama "Peaky Blinders" opposite CILLIAN MURPHY, playing John Shelby, a World War I veteran who serves as one of the gang's leaders. A beloved fan favorite, after 4 seasons he decided to leave the show at its peak to pursue other acting options.

In an interview with Britain's The Guardian, he stated that after his character was killed off, "people were so gutted by John’s exit, they still came up to him in the street, “crying and stuff, which is mad. What more can you ask for as an actor, if people respond to your work like that?”

We'll wait and see how they feel about "A Prayer Before Dawn"!