Paul Ferris's last public photograph showed him meeting River City star Paul Brannigan, who was set to play him in a movie. The reformed gangster-turned-author was spotted wearing a cap and sunglasses in Glasgow city centre in June this year, flanked by the Angels' Share and BBC star as they discussed the up-and-coming project.
Planned Ferris biopic
The planned movie, entitled Ferris, begins in 1993 and tells the tale of Ferris's arrest and imprisonment on gun running charges before he eventually gave up crime to become a successful author. Brannigan, 38, was lined up for the role of Ferris 13 years after Martin Compston's portrayal of him in The Wee Man. In July, he met with Ferris and director Ray Burdis at Molly Malone's pub on Hope Street in Glasgow as they discussed the sequel and how they hope to build on the success of the first film.
The Wee Man told the story of Ferris growing up in the tough Blackhill area of Glasgow and how he came to work as an enforcer for Glasgow crime boss Arthur Thomson Snr in the 1980s. Made by Glasgow-based Tartan Productions, the new film starts after the death of Thompson Snr and explores the next chapter in Ferris's life. It includes his 1998 trial and conviction for firearms charges at the Old Bailey in London, his subsequent prison sentence and his attempts to go straight and become a successful author.
Director and star
Burdis, best known for directing 1990 biopic The Krays, directed The Wee Man and is planning to direct the sequel as well as write the screenplay. Brannigan, who is from Glasgow's tough Barrowfield, began his film career as Robbie in the acclaimed 2012 Ken Loach comedy drama, The Angels' Share, set in Glasgow and the Highlands. Angels' Share subsequently won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and Brannigan was nominated for a BAFTA Scotland award for Best Actor for his role. He has also had parts in River City, movies Under the Skin and Sunshine on Leith, and in 2014 appeared as Scotty in the fifth series of Irish crime drama Love/Hate and as Michael in the UK thriller Beyond.
It is understood that Brannigan is the first person to be lined up for a role in the Ferris sequel. Speaking in July, a movie source told the Record: "The whole production crew came up from London on Thursday. They are looking to cast Paul Brannigan as Ferris. The movie will look at Ferris's experiences of the penal system down south after he was caught with firearms up to modern times as a reformed criminal turned best selling author. It has a multi million pound budget and it looks like they will be filming here in Glasgow. Paul Brannigan is the only one that has been cast so far."
Background and death
Ferris first came to public attention in 1992 when he was cleared at the High Court in Glasgow of the murder of Arthur Thompson Jnr - son of Arthur Thompson Snr - in what was then the longest running trial in Scottish criminal history. He was also cleared at the same trial of the attempted murder of Thompson Snr by repeatedly driving a car at him, conspiracy, illegal possession of a firearm and supplying heroin, cocaine and ecstasy. While still in prison he brought out his first book "The Ferris Conspiracy," in 2001 which was turned into The Wee Man.
In an interview in 2024 Ferris told the Daily Record: "The fact I've been crime free for 22 years must demonstrate something. Going straight and that commitment is probably the hardest thing I've done in my life." He died aged 62 at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital yesterday after a short illness.
