I'm Bad... But it's Only an Act

 

Nightclub Bouncer Talent Spotted For Gangster Role

A nightclub bouncer who was talent-spotted as a gangster while at work in Blackburn, Lancashire, is carving out a career in TV and film. Billy Hodge, 40, will appear in the film Diary of a Bad Lad as Big Billy - a businessman and gangster's right-hand man. His talents will hit the big screen when Diary of a Bad Lad reaches general release at the end of this year.

 Although he has no lines, the part involves a great deal of improvisation. Billy Hodge has also been seen as an extra in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks on Monday delivering wine to the Gnosh restaurant, and has played a patient in the nursing series No Angels also on Channel 4.

Billy Hodge has already started filming for his next film, Bar Stewards, also set in Blackburn and about a man whose life falls apart when the girl of his dreams leaves him. The Diary of a Bad Lad was filmed in Blackburn over two years, with some of the film set in Jazzy Kex nightclub in Blackburn, where the bouncer works.

The film sees character Barry Licks, a frustrated film-maker, attempt to make a documentary about a businessman, who he believes is involved in property rackets, prostitution, pornography and the importation of recreational drugs.

Nafeesa Shan's article is published in full in The Lancashire Evening Telegraph

Producer Jon Williams writes on his experiences of Drivi ng a Bad Lad to Market