Paul McGann

Jan Dunn's drama Gypo concerns a blue-collar British couple named Helen and Paul (Pauline McLynn and Paul McGann) who each find daily life a chore. When their daughter befriends a young woman from Czechoslovakia, the new friend has a positive impact on Helen, while her foreignness causes Paul to react negatively to her presence. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

The second and third novels in author Anne Rice's popular book series The Vampire Chronicles provide the inspiration for this horror sequel starring ill-fated actress and recording artist Aaliyah, who was killed in an airplane crash before the film's release. Stuart Townsend is the vampire Lestat, who has awakened from a century-long slumber and turned his considerable energy to rock music. His vampirism identity mistaken for a gothic hard rock publicity stunt along the lines of Kiss or Marilyn Manson, he quickly becomes a pop music sensation. Lestat's powerful music reaches the ear of the slumbering Akasha (Aaliyah), the millennia-old "queen of the vampires" who was the first immortal bloodsucker. Akasha is soon free and embarking on a quest to seize control of the world with Lestat at her side. In the meantime, Lestat becomes an object of fascination for Jesse Reeves (Marguerite Moreau), member of a secret order studying the supernatural called the Talamasca, and a band of ancient vampires come together in an effort to stop Akasha, even though her destruction could potentially cause their own deaths. Queen of the Damned co-stars Lena Olin and Vincent Perez. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

William Shakespeare's King Lear is transposed into a modern-dress British crime drama in this tense tale of family ties and the lust for power. Sandeman (Richard Harris) is the elderly leader of a Liverpool crime syndicate who is fiercely loyal to his wife Mandy (Lynn Redgrave) and his daughters Jo (Emma Catherwood), Tracy (Lorraine Pilkington), and Kath (Louise Lombard). When Mandy is shot dead during a street robbery, Sandeman is shattered, and decides it's time to turn the business over to one of his daughters. Jo, the middle child, has long been Sandeman's favorite, and he decides to give her control of the business, as well as the lion's share of his estate when he dies. Loyal Jo, however, does not want to get involved in her father's dealings, which leads to a heated battle between Tracy and Kath over Sandeman's empire; adding fuel to the fire are Dean (Paul McGann), a strong-arm man for Sandeman who's married to Kath, and Jug (Jimi Mistry), Tracy's spouse and a notorious drug dealer. As a civil war rages among Sandeman's family and associates over control of his syndicate, police officer Puttnam (Aidan Gillen) and customs agent Quick (Tom Bell) make one last attempt to put Sandeman behind bars before he retires from his life of crime. My Kingdom isn't the first gangland drama to be based on the work of William Shakespeare; another of the Bard's tragedies received similar treatment in 1955's Joe Macbeth. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

One of several British miniseries adaptations of Charles Dickens' novel Our Mutual Friend, this four-part version debuted over the BBC in 1998. The production's generous running time (total: six hours), enabled scenarist Sandy Welch to include virtually every important detail in this complex Victorian-era saga of how a mysterious waterfront death inextricably linked the lives of two young women, Lizzie Hexam (Keeley Hawes) and Bella Wilfer (Anna Friel). The richness of the Dickensian prose was complemented by the visuals, which incorporated everything from documentary-style handheld camerawork to Eisenstein-ish montages, and by the eerily polytonal musical score by Adrian Johnston. Our Mutual Friend was brought to America courtesy of PBS beginning January 3, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two young girls who believe that fairies are real attempt to prove it to the world in this drama based on actual events. In 1917, there is little to be happy about in the Wright household in West Yorkshire, England. Polly (Phoebe Nicholls) and her 12-year-old daughter Elsie (Florence Hoath) are still grieving over the death of Elsie's younger brother, and Polly's niece Frances (Elizabeth Earl) has come to stay with them after her father was declared missing in action during World War I. Polly longs for some sort of proof that there is a life beyond our own, while the two girls ardently believe in fairies and enthusiastically study legend and lore. One day, Elsie and Frances produce photographs of fairies that they claim were playing in their garden; Polly believes that they are real, and soon the snapshots attract international attention. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Peter O'Toole), author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries and a confirmed spiritualist, declares the photos "as genuine as the King's beard," while illusionist Harry Houdini (Harvey Keitel), who has devoted much time and energy to exposing phony mediums and psychics, takes a more cynical view, though he too is eventually convinced that the fairies are real. While Fairy Tale: A True Story presents the appearance of the fairies as fact, analysis of the photographs proved them to be fakes (especially after the same fairies were discovered as illustrations in a children's book published before the photos were taken). The real-life Elsie Wright admitted late in life that the fairy photos were a hoax performed as a "little joke" and that she was always surprised that so many people believed them. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This British drama tells the story of a soldier who escaped captivity after a mission gone-awry. Paul McGann plays Corporal Chris Ryan, one soldier in a crew sent on a mission to destroy SCUD missiles after Saddam Hussein threatened Israel. Ryan's team was attacked, leaving several dead and the rest in captivity. Ryan was the only one to escape -- and recount the tale. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Marvin J. Chomsky's sweeping historical drama, Catherine the Great, features Catherine Zeta-Jones as the title character. The film traces how the leader was able to skillfully manipulate both the societal institutions of the day as well as the powerful men who surrounded her in order to gain control over all of Russia. The cast includes such notable performers as Omar Sharif, Jeanne Moreau, and Mel Ferrer. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A young boy comes to fear that his blind mother may become the next victim of a serial killer in this complex psychological thriller. Unfolding at first as a traditional suspense tale, the film follows the terrified boy's attempts to determine the killer's identity, a task his policeman father has failed to achieve. Things take a more provocative and puzzling turn when the boy's penchant for fantasy is revealed, forcing the audience to question whether what has been shown has been real or merely a product of the boy's imagination. As a result, much of the anxiety in Afraid of the Dark emerges not from the violent shocks, but from the uncertain reality and the tantalizing, disturbing hints of the child's psychology. This purposeful ambiguity may strike some viewers as confusing and alienating, despite the film's assured performances and striking imagery. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Christopher Morahan directed this nail-biting suspense melodrama that takes a cynical look at the medical profession. Matthew Harris (Paul McGann) is an unhappy intern at a London hospital who envies the staff doctors and their calling. When a physician who resembles Matthew is killed in an auto accident, Matthew decides to assume his identity so that he can attend an interview the dead man had scheduled for a post at a Bristol hospital. Matthew gets the job and is now Dr. Simon Hennessey, working in the hospital emergency room. He is assisted by friendly nurse Christine Taylor (Amanda Donohue), who ends up falling in love with him. But Matthew makes a fatal mistake and a patient dies. At the ensuing inquest, Christine takes the blame for the accident. Matthew, emboldened by the results of the inquest, decides to apply for a better job at a hospital in Salisbury. But an acquaintance from his past appears and Matthew has to kill him in order to continue with his deception. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Francisco Lara Polop directs this adaptation of a dark tale from 18th-century literature. El Fraile concerns the quandary of a monk (Paul McGann) whose resolve is tested by the charms of the mysterious Matlilda (Sophie Ward). ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

The financial and personal dealings of high finance set the stage for this drama. The London branch of Whitney Paine, a major American investment bank, is in the midst of a crisis; after the loss of $100 million, one of their leading traders, Tony Eisner (Simon Slater) commits suicide by putting a slug through his head while seated at his place in the board room. Despite the high stakes, many of the firm's staff are eager to step into Tony's now-vacated shoes and get credit for saving the company. Daniel Pascoe (Paul McGann), the leading trader at the firm, is convinced that he's first in line for the assignment, but the firm imports a new trader from America, Anna Schuman (Rebecca DeMornay). Daniel is enraged and makes a point of trying to dig up as much dirt on Anna as he can (which, given her extra-curricular activities with dealers from other firms, is a considerable amount), but the longer Daniel and Anna work together, the more he finds himself attracted to her. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on J.G. Ballard's autobiographical novel, Empire of the Sun stars Christian Bale as a spoiled young British boy, living with his wealthy family in pre-World War II Shanghai. During the Japanese invasion, Bale is separated from his parents. With the help of soldier-of-fortune John Malkovich, Bale learns to survive without a retinue of servants at his beck and call. By the time Malkovich and Bale are tossed into a Japanese prison camp, the boy has picked up enough street-smarts and developed enough intestinal fortitude to regard his imprisonment as an exciting adventure. The story ends during the 1945 liberation: on the verge of manhood, the 13-year-old Bale will never again be the pampered, privileged brat whom we met in the early scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide