John Simm is one of our very best actors. The Leeds-born, 52-year-old actor has been on our TV and film screens since the early 1990s and is best known for playing Detective Sam Tyler in BBC's Life on Mars, which had a huge following when it ran for two series from 2006-2007.
Now John is back on prime time as Brighton-based Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, for a new series of ITV crime drama Grace in which he stars opposite Richie Campbell, Craig Parkinson and Zoe Tapper, more on that, here. But if you only know John for his serious TV roles, you may be surprised that he shot to fame, after a solid start on TV shows like The Lakes, Cracker and The Bill, thanks to a Cardiff-set film about the rave culture in the 1990s.
Human Traffic starred John front and centre as Jip, a party boy who lived for the weekend in Justin Kerrigan's brilliant documentation of life for the clubbing generation that also starred Danny Dyer, Shaun Parkes and Lorraine Pilkington.
Read more: Here's what the cast of Human Traffic are doing now
Speaking about making the film, which came out in 1999, John said it was a 'beautiful snippet in time' and lots of fun to make but it ended his and Danny Dyer's joyous clubbing life.
He told The Guardian: "To me, it’s like a time capsule: it perfectly captures the end of the 90s. That’s what it was like for millions of people every single weekend. It was a beautiful little snippet of time.
"The ironic thing about Human Traffic was that it put paid to our clubbing lives. Me and Danny went to Creamfields after that. We were spotted dancing in a tent, and because every clubber had seen the film, we got hundreds of off-their-nuts people coming and hugging us. We couldn’t relax."
But it did wonders for his career and John went on to star in another UK big screen hit, 24 Hour Party People, in which his now-wife of 19 years, Kate Magowan also starred. Kate is best known for her time on EastEnders when she played beauty salon owner Sadie Young from 2013 to 2014. The 46-year-old previously starred in hit shows including The Bill and Silent Witness.
The couple, who now life in Brighton and have two children, Ryan and Molly, married in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, in April 2004. The pair have also appeared together in four films: 24 Hour Party People, Is Harry On The Boat?, the award-winning short film Devilwood and the heist thriller Tuesday, as well as in the BBC Series Exile.
John has said the relocation was a long-term goal and had nothing to do with Grace, but admitted it was "serendipitous" in an interview with The Times. He added he loves the sea air and freedom and that "so many friends have done the same thing" when speaking to the publication last year. And Kate shared the exciting move with her 10,100 Instagram followers, writing at the time: "Goodbye London, it’s been memorable. Hello BRIGHTON!"
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