Personal Details Name   Craig Cameron-Fisher Nationality   British Place of Birth   Hillingdon, Middlesex Date of Birth   26th February, 1969       Contact   Click to email

Biography   |   Purple Credits
Professional Credits (1)   |   Professional Credits (2)

Born, depending on which version you read*, either in the Highlands of Scotland in 1432… or in Hillingdon Hospital in 1969 (as was his mother, sister, and all three of his children… so that’s probably more likely), Craig almost certainly grew up in Hayes, where he probably attended Brookside Primary School, before moving to Ruislip at the age of 11, and continuing his education at John Penrose in Harefield (where he was ultimately Head Boy). That education would eventually culminate in an honours degree in English Literature and Language from the University of London, undertaken as a mature student at Royal Holloway; an achievement which would not have been possible without the invaluable work done by Uxbridge Technical College and their Access Course. That course enabled him to gain the qualifications needed to enter university, where the single ‘A’ level achieved at John Penrose had previously let him down. Moreover, the support and pastoral care provided by the team there enabled him to achieve this, despite the fact that he and his young family were homeless at the time!

With the Literature degree under his belt, Craig was able to further develop his already fairly competent skills as a writer - having a number of poems published, and winning the adult category in a poetry competition organised by Age Concern - whilst simultaneously delving further into the business side of publishing. Having already worked as a Journalist for the rock magazine KERRANG! and various local newspapers, his first job as a Literature graduate was as an Assistant Editor for a book publisher in Central London, before taking a position as an ‘International Media Sales Executive’ for one of Europe’s leading business-to-business publishing houses.

It was whilst here that he was recruited into the company’s ‘research’ department as their ‘Senior Intelligence Procurement Officer’, and thereby entered the mysterious white-collar cloak-and-dagger world of industrial espionage. Having to face some of the world’s most successful business brains and ad-lib in the character of one of his fake identities, and be convincing at all times, gave Craig the acting bug. As a result, he soon joined the Purple Theatre Company (considered by many to be the most professional of all the local ‘amateur’ dramatic societies) where he could actually have some fun with in his hard-earned acting ability.

From here, it was only a matter of time before he moved into professional acting. To date, he has had minor parts in a number of TV programmes - particularly high-profile police dramas such as Fallen, Lie With Me, Murder Prevention, Murphy’s Law, and Five Days (no doubt utilising the experience he gained as a Police Constable at Southall in the late Eighties). Cinematically, you’ll see him in such British films such as Separate Lies and Green Street. He has also played everything from a Builder, to a Seventeenth Century Flemish Merchant, to a Neanderthal Man, to Dracula, to a Porn-Cinema Pervert, in various TV shows and adverts; whilst on stage, he has been everything from a teenage teddy-boy to a seventy-eight year old Yorkshireman. He has no doubt that working with the directors of such standing as Stephen Poliakoff, David Cronenberg, and (fingers crossed) Tim Burton will improve his own skills as a director; whilst rubbing shoulders with actors like Bill Paterson, Jimmy Nesbit, Rupert Everette, Elijah Wood, Johnny Depp, Christopher Lee, and Alan Rickman will no-doubt improve his acting ability. That said, the experience of his past has left him a remarkably versatile actor as it is: he once played six different parts in the same stage play, and at least as many characters again in the BBC’s D-Day docudrama.

So, what does the future hold for our friendly neighbourhood film-star? Well, he’s hoping that playing both Judge Turpin and a member of the chorus in Purple’s Sweeney Todd last year will help him get a small part in Tim Burton’s movie of the same, filming this year. Yet despite turning ‘pro’ he is still loyal to the Purple Theatre Company, and you can see his efforts as Director for the company’s forth-coming stage version of Wyrd Sisters - playing at the Compass Theatre in Ickenham from 9th - 12th May.

Beyond that, he is working with a number of other Purple People on several projects in development: including a series of novels; a musical; a TV sketch show; several comedy albums; and various radio projects. He is also heavily involved in the setting up of fledgling professional production companies, with a view to helping utilise and develop the amazing pool of talent that exists in the Purple Theatre Company and its associated members, and pushing them to achieve ever greater things… as indeed he has.

* See True Tales From The Father Of Lies, his forthcoming unofficial autobiography.