Andrew-Lee Potts

Potts was born and raised in Bradford, West Yorkshire.{{cite news |last=Barnett |first=David |title=Andrew-Lee Potts filming Canadian version of Primeval |url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/local/localbrad/9791029.Andrew_Lee_Potts_filming_Canadian_version_of_Primeval/ |access-date=20 July 2013 |newspaper=Bradford Telegraph & Argus |date=29 June 2012 |quote=Wibsey-born Andrew plays Connor Temple in the show, which is in its fifth season on ITV. But he has been in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, filming a spin-off show which Primeval's creators, Impossible Pictures, are producing for the North American market.}} His parents are Alan and Susan Potts, and he has one sister, actress Sarah-Jane Potts, with whom he attended Bradford's Scala Kids stage school.{{cite news |url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4723872.Pair_are_class_act_in_TV____Road____show/ |title=Pair are class act in TV 'Road' show |date=5 November 2009 |newspaper=Bradford Telegraph & Argus |access-date=17 January 2011}} He studied at Intake High School Arts College, in Leeds, which specializes in performing arts. Potts left school at 16 to pursue acting full-time.

Potts started in drama classes at age seven and was cast pretty quickly in small shows that were based in Northern England.{{cite web |title=Interview with Andrew Lee Potts for Dracula |website=Love Horror |url=http://lovehorror.co.uk/interview-with-andrew-lee-potts-for-dracula |date=26 October 2012 |access-date=21 July 2013}} At ten years old, he made his first television appearance in Children's Ward. When he was 18, he landed a small role in HBO's Band of Brothers.{{cite web |url=http://andrewleepotts.com/andrew/filmography/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504215357/http://andrewleepotts.com/andrew/filmography/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=4 May 2009 |title=Filmography |author=Vicki |work=Andrew Lee Potts Online |access-date=7 December 2009 |quote=Band of Brothers (2001) Pvt. Eugene Jackson}} He played Private Eugene Jackson, a character who is killed by a wound from his own grenade. Potts appeared steadily on television after that. In 2003, he appeared on two critically acclaimed programmes: twice on Buried and then the recurring role of Toby in six episodes of Strange. The same year, he appeared as Nero in the feature film Boudica. The following year, he was cast as Jonathan Chadwick for two episodes of Fat Friends. In 2006, Potts played a killer in a two-episode arc of Trial & Retribution. He had a role in the American movie Caffeine playing the ex-boyfriend of Katherine Heigl, an experience playing a stoner in comedy role that filmed prior to Ideal.

Beginning in 2005, Potts joined the cast of the sitcom Ideal as drugged-out Lee, front man of the synth-pop band Silicone Valets (pronounced 'valleys') with a serious messiah complex.{{cite news |last=Duff |first=Graham |title=An Ideal Who's Who, To celebrate Ideal's 50th episode, series creator Graham Duff lists his 50 favourite characters |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/jun/04/an-ideal-whos-who |access-date=21 July 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=11 June 2011}} The show, which starred Johnny Vegas as a small-time dope dealer, was a cult favourite and ran for over 50 episodes and 7 series.{{cite news |title=Why high Ideal gives me the giggles |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/apr/28/idealthebestcomedyshowon |first=Ben |last=Myers |access-date=21 July 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=28 April 2008}}{{cite news |title=Johnny Vegas sitcom Ideal is axed |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14405451 |access-date=21 July 2013 |website=BBC News |date=4 August 2011}}

In 2007, Potts originated the role of Connor Temple in the science fiction programme, Primeval. Although critically panned as campy on its debut, it became a hit show and pop cultural phenomenon.{{cite news |last=Bellafonte |first=Ginia |title=Doomed, Again, by the Space-Time Continuum |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/08/arts/television/08prim.html |access-date=20 July 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 August 2008}} The storyline saw a team of scientists battling prehistoric and future beasts falling into the present through anomalies in time. Potts played geeky antihero Connor Temple, the vulnerable and innocent student of lead Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall).{{cite web |last=Eramo |first=Steve |title=Primeval's Andrew-Lee Potts - Best of Both Worlds |url=http://scifiandtvtalk.typepad.com/scifiandtvtalk/2012/03/primevals-andrew-lee-potts-best-of-both-worlds.html |website=SciFi & TV Talk |access-date=21 July 2013 |date=22 March 2012}} "Connor just came really easy to me. It was something organic that I discovered quite naturally with the character and everyone on Primeval allowed me to run with that." During the course of programme, Potts became romantically coupled with co-star Hannah Spearritt both on-screen and off-screen, which garnered media attention for both the couple and the show.{{cite web |last=Golder |first=Dave |title=Primeval: Abby & Connor |url=http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/05/20/primeval-abby-and-connor/ |access-date=20 July 2013 |website=SFX.com |date=20 May 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/primeval-hannah-spearritt-thinks-her-relationship-with-andrew-lee-potts-helps-the-show/ |title=Primeval: Hannah Spearritt thinks her relationship with Andrew Lee-Potts helps the show |website=Sci-Fi Archives - Unreality TV |date=May 10, 2011 |first=Lisa |last=McGarry |access-date=12 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002151012/http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/primeval-hannah-spearritt-thinks-her-relationship-with-andrew-lee-potts-helps-the-show/ |archive-date=2 October 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}

Primeval relied heavily on special effects which made it a costly show to produce. It was cancelled due to financial considerations after its third season, despite very high ratings.{{cite news |last=McCaffery |first=Darren |title=Popular sci-fi drama Primeval has been dropped by ITV after "three very successful series" due to sweeping budget cuts at the channel |url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/showbiz/107797/Primeval-sci-fi-hit-scrapped |access-date=21 July 2013 |newspaper=Daily Express |date=19 June 2009}} Following a public appeal, the production company Impossible Pictures partnered with ITV and their corporate competitor, UKTV, to finance a renewal.{{cite web |last=French |first=Dan |title=ITV confirms new 'Primeval' cast |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s48/primeval/news/a213116/itv-confirms-new-primeval-cast.html |access-date=21 July 2013 |website=Digital Spy |date=8 April 2010}}{{cite news |last=Holmwood |first=Leigh |title=ITV could share cost of Primeval with rival digital channel |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/may/27/itv-primeval-impossible-pictures |access-date=21 July 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=27 May 2009}}

The show returned with five webisodes in late 2010.{{cite news |last=Jeffery |first=Morgan |title=ITV announces new 'Primeval' webisodes |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s48/primeval/news/a293377/itv-announces-new-primeval-webisodes.html |access-date=21 July 2013 |website=Digital Spy |date=15 December 2010}} Series four and five followed, featuring Potts and Spearritt and co-star Ben Miller with additional new cast members including Ben Mansfield and Ciarán McMenamin. During the break in filming, Potts and Spearritt underwent a physical transformation to conform with the plotline of the programme, which had matured their characters.{{cite web |last=Golder |first=Dae |title=Potts Playing the Hatter in Alice |url=http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/01/19/andrew-lee-potts-playing-the-hatter-in-alice/ |access-date=11 December 2013 |website=SFX |date=19 January 2011}} "I'd played Connor for a few years and in a way he was always kind of the underdog and told what to do. In series four and five, though, he stepped up a bit and wanted to show and prove what he could do and what Cutter believed was in him from the start...I'm very grateful for what the writers gave me to do and I just hope that I did the material justice."

In 2012, Potts reprised the character of Connor in the Canadian spinoff, Primeval: New World as an "organic link between the original mythology and the new series universe".{{cite web |last=Cullen |first=Ian M. |title=Andrew Lee Potts To Guest In 'Primeval: New World' And More... |url=http://scifipulse.net/2012/03/andrew-lee-potts-to-guest-in-primeval-new-world-and-more/ |access-date=21 July 2013 |website=SciFiPulse |date=March 2012}} He appeared in 2 of the series' 13 episodes (first and last) which were filmed in Vancouver. The reboot starred Niall Matter as Evan Cross with Crystal Lowe as Toby Nance, the character corollary to Potts' Connor in the original. Despite the popularity of the original in North America, the new programme was cancelled after its initial run. In the finale several plot points were wrapped up, including an allusion that Connor and on-screen partner Abby Maitland married. Pott's acting in this episode was especially well received; "Andrew Lee Potts as Connor continues to light up this episode with a great mix of humour and pathos and really makes the piece."{{cite web |last=Lickley |first=Philip |title=Primeval New World finale review: The Sound Of Thunder (Part 2) |url=http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/primeval-new-world/24576/primeval-new-world-finale-review-the-sound-of-thunder-part-2 |access-date=21 July 2013 |website=Den of Geek |date=22 February 2013}}

In 2009, Potts played the role of Hatter in the SyFy television miniseries Alice. Nick Willing wrote and directed the re-imagining of the Alice in Wonderland as a fantasy adventure. "Andrew Lee Potts does a fair job as the Hatter, who acts as Alice's guide through the craziness of Wonderland."{{cite web |last=Isler |first=Ramsey |title=Alice: Miniseries Review The rabbit hole isn't very deep in this remake of Alice in Wonderland. |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/12/05/alice-miniseries-review |access-date=21 July 2013 |website=IGN |date=5 December 2009}} The cast featured Caterina Scorsone in the title role, with Kathy Bates, Colm Meaney, and Matt Frewer. The programme received mixed reviews but Pott's acting in the roguish romantic role was considered a bright spot; "The true standouts here are Potts and Frewer, both of whom are exceptionally funny and charismatic."{{cite web |last=Lasser |first=Josh |title=TV Review: Alice (2009) |url=http://blogcritics.org/tv-review-alice-2009/ |access-date=21 July 2013 |website=Blog Critics |date=3 December 2009}}{{cite web |last=Perkis |first=Ed |title=DVD REVIEW Alice (SyFy Mini-series) |url=http://www.cinemablend.com/dvds/Alice-SyFy-Mini-series-4507.html |access-date=21 July 2013 |website=Cinema Blend |date=3 March 2010}} Despite the tepid critical response, Alice was a popular hit with high ratings and a 72% "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.{{cite web |title=Rotten Tomatoes: "Alice" |website=Rotten Tomatoes |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/alice-2009/ |access-date=21 July 2013}}

In 2009, Potts guest starred on an episode of Inspector George Gently as mixed-race young adult who is the chief suspect in his girlfriend's murder.{{cite web |last=Mackie |first=Drew |title=Investigating 'Gently': 'Gently in the Blood,' Episode Six Recap |url=http://www.kcet.org/shows/inspector_george_gently/web-extras/investigating-gently-gently-in-the-blood-episode-six-recap.html |access-date=22 July 2013 |website=KCET |date=20 April 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130722114757/http://www.kcet.org/shows/inspector_george_gently/web-extras/investigating-gently-gently-in-the-blood-episode-six-recap.html |archive-date=22 July 2013 |url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web |title=Inspector George Gently is back for four new single dramas for BBC One – Gently In The Blood |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/04_april/07/gently3.shtml |access-date=22 July 2013 |website=BBC Press Office |date=4 July 2009}} In 2010, Potts appeared in the television adaptation of Kay Mellor's A Passionate Woman as the lead's (Billie Piper) adult son, Mark.{{cite web |title=A Passionate Woman |url=http://www.screenyorkshire.co.uk/creative-talent/a-passionate-woman |access-date=21 July 2013 |website=Screen Yorkshire |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623085744/http://www.screenyorkshire.co.uk/creative-talent/a-passionate-woman |archive-date=23 June 2013 |url-status=dead}} In October 2011 he was featured in an episode of Doc Martin as Michael Dunwich; Born with a Shotgun.

Potts starred in the SyFy original movie True Bloodthirst (called Vampyre Nation or Vampire Nation in some markets) which was a "bloody, violent, traditional vampire movie". Pott's character was a descendant of Jonathan Harker, one of the protagonists of Bram Stoker's original Dracula story. It was broadcast in the summer of 2012.

In October 2012 Potts appeared onstage in Dracula with Max Wrottesley and Charlie Bond at the Leicester Square Theatre.{{cite web |last=Hallum |first=Scott |title=Primeval Star Andrew Lee Potts and Scream Queen Charlie Bond Face Dracula in Terrifying New Play |url=http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/60577/primeval-star-andrew-lee-potts-and-scream-queen-charlie-bond-face-dracula-terrifying-new- |website=Dread Central |access-date=21 July 2013 |date=9 October 2011}} Directed by Adam Morley, the drama was part of seasonal horror festival.{{cite news |last=Merrifield |first=Nicola |title=Horror festival announced by Leicester Square Theatre |url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2012/08/horror-festival-announced-by-leicester-square-theatre/ |access-date=21 July 2013 |newspaper=The STAGE |date=16 August 2012}}

In 2013, Potts was cast in the BBC crime procedural By Any Means. The programme, which features Warren Brown, is a 6-parter about a team of elite cops.{{cite web |last=Jeffery |first=Morgan |title=Warren Brown, Andrew Lee Potts for BBC One's 'By Any Means' |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/news/a476519/warren-brown-andrew-lee-potts-for-bbc-ones-by-any-means.html |access-date=21 July 2013 |website=Digital Spy |date=26 April 2013}}

In 2018, Andrew completed filming for the role of Barnes on short film Chimera, directed by award winner Patrick Ryder.

In 2019, Andrew was cast to play astronaut Michael Collins in the Netflix series The Crown. {{Cite web |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a25992201/the-crown-season-3-andrew-lee-potts-apollo-11-moon-landing/ |title=The Crown season 3 casts Primeval star as it dramatises moon landing |first=Filiz |last=Mehmedova |date=22 January 2019 |website=Digital Spy}}

In 2006, Potts created Keychain Productions with Alex Moss and Tony Denman. The low-budget production house has released a variety of shorts, including; Blood on Benefits, Idance! and Colour Blind . Two of his films have been nominated for Virgin Media Short Film Awards: Little Larry in 2012 and Atwood Alley in 2013.{{cite web |title=Keychain Productions's Profile |url=http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/profile/keychainproductions#.Uewt2FNQ1Gw |website=Virgin Media |access-date=21 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729130251/http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/profile/keychainproductions#.Uewt2FNQ1Gw |archive-date=29 July 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}

In 2008, Potts spent 5 months directing a behind-the-scenes documentary, Through the Anomaly, for Primeval. Potts found the direction of a documentary to be a new challenge; "I started directing. It's something that I want to do. I started directing short films. The producers saw the short films - and the "making of" the year before was quite dry - and came to me, which was funny because I was asking the same question. So they gave me a camera and off I went and never stopped filming, trying to capture as many moments as I could."{{cite web |last=Eng |first=Joyce |title=DVD News Primeval's Andrew-Lee Potts Geeks Out Over Time Travel and Dinos |url=http://www.tvguide.com/dvd-news/primevals-andrew-lee-35354.aspx |access-date=21 July 2013 |website=TV Guide |date=5 November 2008}} Produced by Potts and Ross, the documentary was broadcast before being released as part of the Primeval series DVD.{{cite news |last=Barnett |first=David |title=Actor in a dinosaur TV feast! |url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/2308800.actor_in_a_dinosaur_tv_feast/ |access-date=21 July 2013 |newspaper=Bradford Telegraph & Argus |date=30 May 2008}}

Potts met Hannah Spearritt in 1997 and they dated briefly. In 2006, they were both cast in Primeval, later they rekindled their relationship.{{cite news |title=Our Guide to the couples who will be heading up the aisle next |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/our-guide-to-which-celebrities-will-be-heading-up-the-aisle-184921 |access-date=20 July 2013 |newspaper=Daily Mirror |date=14 August 2011}} Potts proposed while they were on a holiday in Mallorca in 2008.{{cite web |last=McAlpine |first=Fraser |title=Eight British Couples Who Met On-Set |url=http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2011/11/eight-british-tv-couples-who-met-on-set/ |access-date=20 July 2013 |website=BBC America |date=9 November 2011}} The couple owned a home in London, where they lived with their dog, Stanley.{{cite tweet |last=Spearritt |first=Hannah |author-link=Hannah Spearritt |user=hannahspearritt |number=192563812933697536 |date=18 April 2012 |title=Stanley, Pottsy and I are fundraising for Cancer Research UK using @JustGiving...}} However, the relationship ended in early 2013, as confirmed by Potts. In addition to Primeval, the couple collaborated in several Keychain Productions shorts and appeared together at 2013's Midlands Comic Con.{{cite news |last=Bentley |first=David |title=Primeval's Andrew Lee Potts and Hannah Spearritt join Star Wars Boba Fett at Midlands Comic Con |url=http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/thegeekfiles/2013/01/primevals-andrew-lee-potts-and-hannah-spearritt-join-star-wars-boba-fett-at-midlands-comic-con.html |access-date=21 July 2013 |newspaper=The Coventry Telegraph |date=30 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805004447/http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/thegeekfiles/2013/01/primevals-andrew-lee-potts-and-hannah-spearritt-join-star-wars-boba-fett-at-midlands-comic-con.html |archive-date=5 August 2013 |url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} On 20 August 2014, Potts married singer Mariama Goodman.{{cite tweet |last=Potts |first=Mariama |user=mariamagoodman |number=502014258138583040 |date=20 August 2014 |title=Today I become Mrs Potts #happyunicorn |accessdate=12 November 2016}} He has one step-daughter born to Mariama in 2011.{{cite web |url=http://www.kettlemag.co.uk/article/mariama-goodman-future-honeyz |title=Mariama Goodman on the future of the Honeyz |date=18 September 2013 |work=Kettle |access-date=22 September 2013}} The couple have a son Grayson, born on 17 August 2016.{{citation needed |date=July 2018}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb name|id=0498517|name=Andrew-Lee Potts}}
• [http://www.keychainproductions.co.uk/ Keychain Productions]

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Category:Male actors from Bradford

Category:English male stage actors

Category:English male television actors

Category:1979 births

Category:Living people