As the British summertime came to an end it was time to hit the trails with some off-road motorbiking in Wales. 

The team at Yamaha do a great job leading you round (some of) the 10,000 acres of woodland at their disposal. Stunning scenery and some suitable hairy trails to put a huge smile on your face!

Back in the director's chair for a proof-of-concept trailer for 'The Nine Lives of Charlie Dickenson', a crime-comedy set in the early 1980's with a fictional Brummie hero who fancies himself as Birmingham's answer to Burt Reynolds.

The story was conceived by and stars my old friend Max Cavenham, and I ended up acting in the film as an MP who's daughter has been kidnapped.

It's a lot of fun and we hope to be making the feature film in 2025.

Adventure Time! I joined some dear friends for an incredible five day hike around Lake Konigssee including a vertigo-inducing ascent of the Waltzmann-Mittelspitze, a cool 2,713m above sea-level!

Hiking hut-to hut with everything on your back really makes you appreciate that first beer when you arrive!

June saw me back in the director's chair for a short film called 'Gaslight' which is based on the play by Shaira Berg. We had a fantastic five-day shoot and got to film inside some of Cambridge beautiful university buildings. The film is going to look spectacular, and the team plans to use it to get a feature film off the ground.

As well as directing I reprised my role as Dr Cameron.

May is Cannes time, and 2024 was another awesome year. I got to hang out with friends old and new, went to a few parties and had a lot of fun. As always.

I also took a trailer for Unlicensed with me and showed it to distributors and sales agents in the Marche du Film (Film Market) and got positive responses with several asking to see the film when it's completed.

After seeing my performance in 'Control' Sophie Karl invited me to play her fiancé in 'A Requiem For Desire' a romantic thriller with a supernatural edge that she has written and is producing. 

I had a great time playing a character who is charming and perfect on the outside but has a dark side.

And got to work with delightful model-turned-presenter-turned-psychotherapist Melinda Messenger which was an absolute blast!

A year after we started principal photography on Unlicensed, the crew were back again for the final block of pick-ups, including an office scene and some boxing match shots. 

Most exciting was the location I hired for the the day to shoot the opening sequence. Gloucester Prison was a functioning prison until 2013, and is now used for events, filming and airsoft battles(!). It's also supposedly the most haunted prison in Britain - we didn't stay to find out!

It was an amazing location and a suitable impressive way to finish the Unlicensed shoot.

My Action for Actors cohort have been doing really well - one of them has booked two commercials this month alone!

I also attended a Film and TV Super Networking Event at the Ealing Project, hosted by the London Screenwriter's Festival and Mosaic Networking (supported by MySmash Media). A great opportunity to connect with old friends and make new ones!

It was a Mark Hampton triple-bill this month with two movies and a tv series being released!

• 'Lift,' starring Kevin Hart landed on Netflix and went straight to the No. 1 spot

• 'One More Shot', starring Scott Adkins debuted on Sky Cinema

• 'Count Abdulla' started on ITV2 having debuted on ITVx in 2023

Also I started my first cohort of actors on my Action for Actors coaching program. They will go through an 8-week program giving them the tools and habits to succeed as actors.

I played a US News Anchor in independent thriller 'Gossip To Die For'. It was lovely to work with Director of Photography Vince Knight, who shot 'Midight Peepshow'.

Also the cast and crew screening took place for 'One More Shot'. It was fantastic to see the finished film ahead of it's Sky Cinema release on 12th January 2024

The world premiere of 'Control' took place at the Genesis Cinema in London.

A fantastic event and it was wonderful to see the finished film with a packed cinema audience!

Ten days spent in China doing a huge stills campaign for an electric vehicle company called Li Auto, who invited me to be part of the launch of their latest model, the Mega.

An amazing experience, covering Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hainan and working with photographer Patrik Johall to create some truly beautiful images. The Mega is launched in December 2023.

Meanwhile back in the UK, I also won the Actor of the Year award!

Surprised and delighted to have been nominated for Actor of the Year at this years Creative Industry Awards. 

The Creative Industry Awards celebrate brilliance, innovation and inclusion within the creative industry.  It's amazing to be recognised in my chosen field!

The awards take place on 28th October.

Directing a fantastic actioned-packed short film: Barberia: Tales from the Outlands 

Three travellers in an unchartered forest stumble upon a group of Celtic warriors, who demand payment for passage through. After a tense stand-off, a battle ensues.

A wonderfully talented cast and crew delivered some kick-ass action and beautiful moments in the short, produced by and starring Max Cavenham, which is intended as a proof-of-concept for a feature film.

My heist movie Five Cars took a step closer to production as it was optioned by the production company I have been developing the script with.

The agreement is a package deal which secures me a principal role in the film and a co-producer credit as well a screenwriter.

Another day shooting pick-ups for Unlicensed meant the post-fight make-up was needed again!

It also means that the film is just two scenes away from being in the can, which is super-exciting!

All episodes of Count Abdulla dropped on ITVx

The show is great! Touching, thoughtful and funny.

Plus I'm really pleased the comedy moments that came out of my short appearances as Dr Eversley.

Cannes is always an amazing time, even though I still consider myself a novice!

Meeting new friends, seeing old friends, networking, parties...it's a fun old time.

This trip was a bit of a milestone as it was the first time I had actual scheduled meetings to talk about possible sales and distribution for Unlicensed

Another day, another CIA agent - this time a cool scene in the new action comedy Heads of State, starring Idris Elba and John Cena.

I got to spend the day with WWE superstar and Peacemaker himself John Cena (sorry no selfie) and I May Destroy You and Riches star Sarah Nyles. A fun scene in the back of the Presidential limosine, aka The Beast!

Back on location for my movie!

I assembled my cast and crew for a key scene in Unlicensed. We had a really fun day bringing the city-boy characters to life, and Max even snorted icing sugar in the name of art!

Something new for me - I was MC at a night of MMA and boxing!

A really fun night introducing the fighters and announcing the results. 

And no, I didn't say "Let's get ready to rumble!"

Ghosts is a huge favourite in my house, so I was delighted to be cast in a small role for Series 5. 

I was also saddened to learned that this was to be the final season. I'm so glad I got to play a small part in it, and be a bit of a fanboy with the 'Ghosts'!

International thriller Liaison was released on AppleTV+ starring French star Vincent Cassel (La Haine, Black Swan), former Bond-girl Eva Green (Casino Royale) and me as a Technician who loses control of the Thames Barrier resulting in a catastrophic flood!

Filming for One More Shot, a frenetic action movie starring actor, martial artists and all-round action hero Scott Adkins (John Wick 4). The film will be edited to flow as one seamless shot and sees Adkin's as a US Marine fending off an army of terrorists as he tries to get an intel source to safety. Also starring Tom Berenger (Platoon) and Alexis Knapp (Pitch Perfect).

I play CIA Agent Lamb, a fun part with some firearms action!

The Control shoot - playing the British Prime Minister to a crowd of sixty background artists. 

I have a great time with this character, and was really touched when more than one of the crowd came up and said 'I'd vote for you'!!

I was cast in British independent thriller Control for writer/director Gene Fallaize.

I play the British Prime Minister, who is having an affair with the Home Secretary, played by leading actress Lauren Metcalfe. 

Shooting starts in January 2023.

My episodes of Emmerdale went to air and were watched by over 4 million viewers!

I also travelled to Peterborough to play a Door Supervisor (apparently the proper term for a Bouncer!) for filmmaker Tom Woodcock.

I spent a few days in London filming a recurring character in new ITVx comedy Count Abdulla, opposite Arian Nik and Jaime Winstone. There were plenty of laughs, and lots of blood!

Count Abdulla will air on ITVx in 2023.

Off to Leeds to shoot a couple  of episodes of long-running British soap-opera Emmerdale. I play Solicitor to Cain Dingle, one of the longest running characters in the series, played by Jeff Hordley, as part of a dramatic storyline to mark the show's 50th Anniversary.  As with most TV villains, Jeff was the nicest guy you could meet.

My episodes will air on ITV in November.

I flew to Dublin to play a fighter pilot in Lift, a new Netflix action-comedy starring Kevin Hart (Ride Along) and Billy Magnussen (No Time To Die). I'm a massive James Bond fan so the selfie was obligatory - Billy had no choice.

Lift will be released on Netflix in 2023.

Off to the south coast, specifically Southampton where my friend Jim Eaves was directing his latest film The Apocalypse Box.  It's an independent horror written and directed by Jim for his company Amber Pictures in which I play Hamish, bodyguard to a rising politician.