Pomona Rewind

Every industry needs a trailblazer - a shining light to show others a career they might otherwise have discounted is possible. That is what Melvin van Peebles was to future generations of African American filmmakers and actors. Born in Chicago in 1932, the actor, director, playwright, novelist and composer was an inspiration to directors like Spike Lee, Ava Du Vernay and Barry Jenkins. He also understood the potency of the moving image. Born Melvin Peebles, his father was a tailor. A literature graduate from Ohio Wesleyan University, he joined the US Air Force where he served for over three years. After living for a period in Holland, he added "Van" to his surname. Initially employed as a cable car gripman in San Francisco, he drifted towards filmmaking on the recommendation of a customer. Van Peebles made his first short film in 1957 called 'Pickup Men for Herrick' and honed his skills on other short films. He would later laugh off his naivete, claiming he thought th

  For 25 years Roger Michell seemed to be a constant in Britain's film and television industry, directing some of the country's biggest stars. Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Julie Walters, Ciaran Hinds, Rhys Ifans, Olivia Colman, Peter O'Toole, Jodie Whittaker, Jim Broadbent and Rachel Weisz are just some of the homegrown talent who worked with the South African born director. But he also dabbled in Hollywood and got to direct Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Samuel L Jackson, Ben Affleck, Susan Sarandon, Jeff Goldblum and Bill Murray. Why did actors of this calibre work with him? For over 25 years, Michell was an actor's director - benefitting from his rich background in theatre. However he also had a good eye for a solid script. Another one of Michell's strengths was that he never let vanity get the better of him - he always saw his work on stage and onscreen as collaborative and have credit to his writers, his actors, his crew. Born in Pretoria in 1956, Rog

Some actors become synonymous with certain roles. Despite an accomplished film career, Peter Falk will always be Columbo. Kelsey Grammar will always be Frasier. The role people most associate with William Shatner is Captain Kirk. Across the Atlantic, it was impossible to associate John Challis with any role other than Boycie from the BBC1 sitcom 'Only Fools and Horses'. A used car salesman who made a bit of money and looked down on his associates in the working class London district of Peckham, Boycie was a popular supporting character throughout the 22 years the hugely successful sitcom ran. He also got his own BBC1 spin-off 'The Green Green Grass' with his beloved Marlene, played by Sue Holderness, in which the couple fled the organised crime duo, the Driscoll Brothers in Peckham and landed in rural Shropshire. Challis was originally from Bristol and was born during wartime in 1942. However the family moved to South East London when he was a year old. Educated in Otte

  If you were to think of HBO's 'The Wire,' the chances are one of the first images that comes to mind is of Omar Little. Michael K Williams' character was like a modern day Robin Hood - a gay outlaw roaming the streets of Baltimore in a trench coat with a 12 gauge shotgun, whistling 'The Farmer in the Dell' as he paid little heed to the local drugs gangs' rules of the street. It was a career defining role, marking Williams out as an actor who would go on to become one of the most exciting TV actors of his generation. Born in Flatbush, New York to an American dad and a mum from the Bahamas, he got a taste for performing as a teenager in the National Black Theatre after getting into some trouble in his youth. However he initially pursued a career in pharmaceuticals working for Pfizer before quitting the security of his job to forge a career as a dancer - much to the dismay of his family. Williams went from a comfortable life to being occasionally homeless as