Small Faces star returns in film sequel 30 years on

Thirty years after winning a Bafta as a 13-year-old, Iain Robertson is set to revisit the character which gave him his big break.

The Scots actor won the award for his depiction of Lex MacLean in the 1996 cult classic Small Faces.

The gritty Glasgow film also launched the careers of several of his co-stars including Laura Fraser, Kevin McKidd and Joe McFadden.

Now work has begun on a new production revisiting the original characters and looking at what Lex is doing as he approaches 40.

Iain, who currently plays Stevie O'Hara in BBC drama River City, said the idea came from a random thought.

He told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "A lot of people think of it as a coming of age story with the backdrop of the gang violence in Glasgow in the 60s.

"But those of us involved think of it as a story of three brothers about love, innocence and betrayal.

"It wasn't so much the idea of a sequel, it was a thought of 'I wonder where Lex would have found himself 30 years on' and I was just interested in having that question answered."

He decided to put it to the original film makers. He sent the question to Gillies and Billy Mackinnon, the director and scriptwriter of Small Faces.

"Gillies was interested," Iain said. "But Billy couldn't be less interested.

"That was that and then about a week later, Billy came back with a five-page document on where he thought Lex might be."

That was the seed of an idea that would grow into a new film.

Iain said: "He said he couldn't be less interested in the thought of writing a sequel, but he began to toy with the idea of a follow-up film, an independent film you could watch even if you hadn't seen Small Faces, that you could drop in on and it so happens it's the same characters."

The MacKinnon brothers are now halfway through the first draft of the script, and with the support of Screen Scotland it is hoped filming will start next year.

The original film follows the lives of the three MacLean brothers, Bobby, Alan and 13-year-old Lex, growing up with their mother in Glasgow in 1968.

Iain said: "Lex was a wee boy who felt responsible for his own brother's murder on a Glasgow ice rink.

"We know that trauma lives within us and what Lex would have witnessed and endured in his very early teenage years would have had a huge impact on his life.

"So we kind of turn up as he is turning 40 and his mental state might not be very good considering he has carried that guilt for 30 years."

In the original, key characters were killed, but this may not stop them from appearing in the new story.

Described as a "Glasgow ghost story", the new script sees Lex suddenly faced with his dead brother's resurrection, as a ghost, an apparition, or a reality - he does not know. Bobby, played by Stephen Duffy, has returned from the dead.

Best friends in real life, Iain and Stephen first met on Small Faces and Stephen said he was curious to find out how he would be involved.

He said: "The depiction of my characters death was pretty powerful in cinematic terms. I haven't seen a script yet but there's talk of this film being a ghost story. I'm absolutely up for haunting Iain."

The film came out just ahead of another huge Scottish film, Trainspotting, and also launched the careers of actors Kevin McKidd and Laura Fraser, who both went on to have a career in acting in the US.

Kevin McKidd was cast in both Scottish films and is surprised and delighted at the prospect of the movie, which has the working title Smile.

He said: "I loved working with our cast and crew back in the day, but given that Malky, my character, also died in Small Faces, it's hugely intriguing to hear that there's talk of my involvement".

Iain Robertson said: "It'll be interesting playing the younger brother to Joe McFadden after all these years, seeing as I have gone completely grey and he now looks about 10 years younger than me!"

Joe McFadden added: "Small Faces was such a special project to work on and I very much look forward to finding out what happens to the characters in their later lives. I would jump at the chance to work with this team again."

Gillies MacKinnon (director and screenwriter) - Went on to make Regeneration, Hideous Kinky and Castles in the Sky

Iain Robertson- (Lex MacLean) - Other TV/film work includes Grange Hill, Sea of Souls, Band of Brothers, Rab C Nesbitt and Holby City

Joe McFadden (Alan MacLean) - Went on to star in The Crow Road. Recent TV appearances in Cranford, Casualty, Heartbeat and Holby City. Won Strictly Come Dancing in 2017

Laura Fraser (Joanne MacGowan) - TV since includes Casualty, Casanova, Lip Service, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul

Kevin McKidd (Malky Johnson) - Also appeared in Trainspotting, Dog Soldiers, Brave. TV includes Father Ted, Rome and Grey's Anatomy.

Garry Sweeney (Charlie Sloan) - Films include Valhalla and A Lonely Place to Die. TV includes River City.