The Modern Man
Mary-Jane Greenhalgh catches Wigan-born Hollywood star, Greg Ellis as he embarks on an exploration of positive masculinity and the human touch
Greg Ellis has acted in films opposite Oscar winners Sir Anthony Hopkins and Geoffrey Rush, been directed by Academy Award winning film directors John Schlesinger, James Cameron and Robert Zemeckis, written for Stephen Fry, directed Kiefer Sutherland, and had memorable roles in billion dollar franchise movies like the Pirates of the Caribbean series, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek and Titanic.
He was nominated for an Emmy Award and was a staple on the long running soap opera Days of Our Lives and has had series regular, recurring and guest star roles in many of the best remembered American tv series of the last few decades; The X-Files, CSI, Dexter, NCIS, Hawaii Five-O, Knight Rider and many more.
He may live in the US however his roots remain firmly in the North West. Although he left home 30 years ago he still misses the ‘personality’ of his home town of Wigan and Southport, where he lived until he was 17 and journeyed to London to make his name.
In our open and easy discussion he reminisces fondly of his life in Ainsdale, Southport, the local fish and chip shop, the arcades on the sea front and he describes the local community as being close knit: Les the butcher, Mr. Delahunty’s bike shop, the Busy Bee fish & chip shop, The Chocolate Box sweet shop; all the local village stores were run by friendly shopkeepers who everyone knew by name.
Up the coast about ten minutes north was Southport, the closest town to his small village. With its Victorian promenade, bandstand and open-air swimming pool (now gone), a plethora of nursing homes, a few theatres, one funfair and a multitude of amusement arcades, the sleepy seaside resort was a working class pensioner’s paradise that offered vast opportunity for misspent youth. And it was in Southport where he first ‘trod the boards.’ At the tender age of five he took to stage of The Little Theatre to cutely coo the audience in black velvet suite with white frilly cuffs and knickerbocker britches as ‘the page-boy’ in the Houghton Players production of Iolanthe and the rest they say is history… Although Greg is keen to mention that the very theatre is under threat from closure and show his support for its survival.
Greg is keen to chat further about his love of the North West and we soon are discussing his love favourite places to visit when back in the UK and these include The Devonshire Arms in Bolton Abbey, also one of my favourite spots, and tells a tale of visiting for a wedding.
Greg goes on to tell me more about his love of London where he moved to aged 17 performing in leading stage roles in original Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh musicals in London’s West End, solos for HRH Queen Elizabeth ll at St. Paul’s Cathedral and three Royal Command Performances at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, The Dominion and The London Palladium, also performing for Prince, Michael Jackson, Princess Diana and recorded multiple albums, singles and soundtracks.
It was during this time that Andrew Lloyd Webber asked him to go to the US to perform there which he did then went on to LA. The next step saw him move into movies and his first movie was Titanic, followed by the Pirates of the Caribbean, X Files and lots more… Did you know that he also did over 120 video game voice overs?
In 2014, Greg founded Monkey Toes Productions (the name coming from his childhood nickname, monkey toes), a full-service film, television and commercial production company based in Los Angeles. In this role he has developed projects with Andy Garcia, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci and wrote, directed, and produced Sky TV special Marked starring Kiefer Sutherland and Stephen Fry.
It is clear that Greg is passionate about everything he does and I listen with fascination about his new podcast series which, over the last year he has set out on a journey to explore the condition of the male experience via a new video and podcast series, The Respondent. Season one guests include celebrity Respondents discussing agitation topics including family, philosophy, fatherhood, psychology, cancel culture and much more.
Keen to work on projects with more meaning The Respondent was born on 21 June 2020 (Father’s Day). Greg describes it as a multi-media conversation on positive masculinity in which he as both lead detective and key perpetrator. It’s an exploration of how becoming a modern man today demands, as a society, that we reimagine masculinity, rethink fatherhood and revitalize our image of family.
Fuelled by Greg’s own journey as he battles for his children, Charlie (15) and Smith (13), in family court. It is about asking ‘Who is modern man? What is expected of fatherhood?’ Is it about positive masculinity, combining strength with compassion to become more able to help others. Is the hunter-gatherer still expected as strength on its own, or indeed any extreme is ultimately destructive? Greg describes himself as the detective here, investigating the family law system, questioning roles and championing men as fathers and sons. Some would call it controversial, to me, it really gets you thinking. You will have to listen and make up your own minds.
Continuing, Greg shows concern about how we relate personally as human beings, particularly in these Covid times. We discuss if physical distancing and social connectiveness is what we should be doing rather than social distancing. We share concerns over the challenges of mental health in our young children and suggests that ‘we need to start exercising from the neck up’. Greg is passionate about this, about how we relate personally as human beings and becoming less hateful, more grateful. To be honest, I am fascinated and we could discuss for many more hours than my allotted time so it’s a good job that he’s written a book The Respondent so I can delve a little deeper.
As my brain fizzes with questions, Greg is keen to express that he is doing more fun things too and finishes sharing a tale of an impromptu rendition of Halfway up the Stair with Kermit the frog, during a live interview on the red carpet at The Pirates of the Caribbean 4 premier. I think that’s a good place to close.
The Respondent is live every Sunday, 9pm UK time (1pm PCT)
The Respondent will be published on 23 November, 2020 and is available for pre order soon from Amazon
Hungry for more?
Read up on the latest news, delicious eats, travel treats and seasonal style trends in FEATURES, or browse a curated selection of our FEATURED PRODUCTS, meander through our guide to the finest things to do in Cheshire and beyond in WHATS ON or partake in our COMPETITIONS.
About The CHESHIRE Magazine
We are the definitive guide to luxury lifestyle in the North West. Latest news, delicious eats, travel treats and seasonal style trends. The Cheshire Magazine is the largest luxury lifestyle title for the North West of England, dropping directly through the letterboxes of VIP subscribers from the Wirral to Greater Manchester plus all the villages and towns in between and digitally available as a subscription in print and digital on issuu.com worldwide. We specialise in connecting luxury brands to likeminded consumers.
If you are interested on how you can partner with The CHESHIRE Magazine, read more about us. Or get in touch to find out more about marketing, featuring or partnering with the Cheshire Magazine in print or online.
