Like so many young men growing up in East London, Micheal Ward had dreams of soccer stardom. “My heart,” he says, “was set on it.” But unlike so many young men growing up in East London, Ward actually possessed the talent to go pro one day. But then, something in him changed. “I made the decision to get into modeling, and from there, I decided to go to college and try the performing arts.” Smart move.
and seeing himself on-screen for the first time instilled in him the belief that he belonged. That belief gained strength when Ward was cast in the third season of, a British crime drama that Ward grew up watching, and which was revived by Netflix in 2019. As Jamie, a hot-wired upstart gang leader, Ward tapped into the nuances beneath the character’s merciless exterior.