Andrew Ellis makes thoughtless behaviour funny without asking us to excuse it. His Gadget belongs comfortably among the friends in Shane Meadows’s This Is England stories, though the broader comedy sometimes makes that fondness harder to sustain.
Fi1m perspective
Gadget steals flowers from a mourner in This Is England '86 (2010), and Andrew Ellis helps make it funny before the cruelty quite registers. We laughed at the theft, then felt mean when we considered the mourner. Ellis keeps Gadget likeable enough for that discomfort to matter; dismissing him as simply awful would let us off rather easily. The series asks us to stay fond of him with his lack of consideration plainly on display.
In This Is England (2007), Gadget is part of the skinhead gang around Thomas Turgoose’s Shaun. The film makes the warmth of that company convincing, and Ellis contributes by fitting among the others rather than demanding attention. Shane Meadows’s improvisational approach allows him to supply details of taste and style, helping these friends seem familiar with one another. Returning in This Is England '86, This Is England '88 (2011) and This Is England '90 (2015) gives him time to do more than repeat the joke, as the later programmes ask for more emotionally demanding work.
That does not mean the comedy always serves him well. This Is England '86 sometimes pushes the friends towards such foolishness that their company becomes harder to enjoy, despite Turgoose’s unaffected presence keeping the group familiar. Ellis is effective when Gadget’s behaviour has a recognisable selfishness; the broader silliness gives us less to care about. By This Is England '90, there is room for a more caring Gadget, a development worth pursuing rather than treating him as a dependable source of jokes.
His supporting work beyond Meadows includes Terry in The Owners (2020) and Robbie Mullen in The Walk-In (2022), the latter alongside Stephen Graham. Gadget remains the performance we would send a newcomer to first. Begin with This Is England and continue into This Is England '86; the friendship earns the time, but do not expect an undemanding evening.
Biography
Andrew Ellis is an English actor, born on 24 July 1990 in Wythenshawe, Manchester. He trained at the Carlton television workshop under Ian Smith and studied for a National Diploma in Media at Stockport College after attending Newall Green High School.
Ellis is best known for playing Gadget in Shane Meadows' film This Is England (2006) and reprising the role in the television series This Is England '86 (2010), This Is England '88 (2011) and This Is England '90 (2015). His other screen credits include The Owners (2020) as Terry, Teen Spirit (2019) as Roger and The Walk-In (2022) as Robbie Mullen. He has also worked as a producer and director, and founded the production company Odd Drawer Digital.
