Who is Laurence Fox? The actor who became a political activist

 

Who is Laurence Fox? The actor who became a political activist

4 October 2023

Annabel Rackham Culture reporter

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66960728

 

Laurence Fox, who was sacked by GB News and separately arrested on Wednesday, started as an actor but is now known as a right-wing commentator, activist and aspiring politician.

Fox's career in the public eye began after he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, having been asked to leave boarding school Harrow as a teenager.

He is best-known for appearing in high-profile roles such as DS James Hathaway in the ITV series Lewis, the spin-off detective show from Inspector Morse, which ended in 2015.

The 45-year-old also appeared in the 2001 Oscar-winning Gosford Park, a TV film version A Room With A View in 2015, and a 2022 film in which he played Joe Biden's son called My Son Hunter.

Fox with fellow Lewis actor Kevin Whately

He comes from one of Britain's most famous acting dynasties - his uncle Edward starred in the 1973 film The Day of the Jackal, 1984's The Bounty and 1982's Gandhi; while Laurence's father James appeared in A Passage to India in 1984 and 1993's The Remains of the Day, and ITV drama Downton Abbey.

Laurence's cousin Emilia appears in the BBC's Silent Witness, and other roles include 2002's Oscar-winning film The Pianist; while her brother Freddie's roles include playing Margaret Thatcher's son Mark in The Crown.

Three of his Laurence's siblings are also in the industry - Robin is a film producer, while Jack and Lydia are both actors.

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The family acting connection back to their grandfather, the first Robin Fox, who was a theatre agent.

Laurence has also tried his hand at a music career, releasing albums Holding Patterns in 2016 and A Grief Observed in 2019.

In 2016, he also apologised for swearing at a heckler while performing in the play The Patriotic Traitor in London. The audience saw Fox step out of character - that of French statesman Charles de Gaulle - and chastise the heckler with robust language.

More recently he positioned himself as a commentator and activist, and has launched his own political party.

He caused controversy during the Covid pandemic, when he expressed scepticism over the vaccine and spoke out against lockdowns.

When he tested positive for the virus in January 2022, he said he was "joining the natural immunity club" and was taking an anti-worming treatment along with painkillers.

Controversial comments

Fox apologised in 2020 for comments about the inclusion of a Sikh soldier in a film about World War One. He had referred to "the oddness in the casting" of a Sikh soldier in Sir Sam Mendes' movie 1917.

"Fellow humans who are Sikhs, I am as moved by the sacrifices your relatives made as I am by the loss of all those who die in war, whatever creed or colour," Fox tweeted.

"Please accept my apology for being clumsy in the way I expressed myself."

During an appearance on BBC Question Time in 2020, he called an audience member "racist" for calling him "a white privileged male", which led to him taking a break from social media.

Fox at a debate for the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election

After this exchange went viral, he told podcast host James Delingpole: "The most annoying thing is the minute a black actor - it's the same with working-class actors - the minute they've got five million quid in the bank, every interview they do is about how racism is rampant and rife in the industry".

Reclaim Party

In 2021 he unsuccessfully stood for London mayor as part of The Reclaim Party, which he founded.

Its website says the party exists "for patriotism and believes hard work should be rewarded".

His manifesto said he would provide "free travel on the Tubes and buses for six months" and "tough New York style community policing to target petty crime".

Fox criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan for failing to tackle knife crime, and said: "Children are dying on our streets" and "hospitals are filling up with the stabbed and shot... in the name of political correctness".

He received 47,000 votes, which was not enough to get back his £10,000 deposit.

In July, he also stood in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, a seat previously held by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

He won 714 votes - but Fox said he was happy with this result, as it put him ahead of the Liberal Democrats.

Away from his acting and political projects, he launched the Bad Law Project, an organisation he says "is there to protect and support those crushed by the system and give a voice to the voiceless".