Lee earns his stripes with a starring role in Zebra Crossing

Feb 3 2011 by Jeff Holmes, Paisley Daily Express

PROUD dad Lee Turnbull has watched his son grow from a child actor starring alongside Corrie favourite Jean Alexander to an on-screen tough guy who has worked with Holywood star Gerard Butler.

His son, also called Lee, grew up in the Seedhill area of Paisley and despite the family heading south 24 years ago they are still proud of their roots.

Hard-working actor Lee, now 28, has a starring role in award-winning Brit-flick Zebra Crossing.

The £1million movie, directed by Sam Holland, has already won seven awards – and was released just last month..

Lee senior, who now lives in Brighton, told the Paisley Daily Express: “I’m so proud of my boy. He has worked so hard to get to where he is today.

“I reckon Zebra Crossing will take picture houses by storm. I’ve seen it an dit’s fantastic.”

The hard-hitting movie follows four South London lads who are the children of the council estates, and urban thugs with little chance of escaping from the concrete coliseum that surrounds them.

It has been described as a powerful, sometimes disturbing but relentlessly gripping film told with great energy and stylised visuals.

Lee lives in London but is currently on tour in Chicago and San Francisco with a production of Peter Pan.

He initially trained at the famed Anna Scher drama school, in London, and now has a wealth of experience, taking roles in Shooters, with Butler and EastEnders star Joe Swash, and Outlaw, in which he shared a trailer with Bob Hoskins and Sean Bean.

Lee senior, 49, revealed how, as a young lad, his son was always interested in acting.

He said: “Young Lee and his sister Donna did drama at school in London and while his sister gave it up, Lee was hell-bent on forging a career in performing arts.

“The Anna Scher drama school is famed the world over and that’s where Lee became good friends with Joe Swash.

“But he really has gone from strength to strength after a tough, but rewarding, grounding.

“He appeared in programmes such as Holby City, The Bill, Casualty, Shameless, Wire in the Blood and Waking the Dead.”

Lee remembers his son’s first leading role with fondness.

He explained: “It was in a film called Willie’s War, and Lee played the main part of Willie. He was just seven-years-old at the time.

“His co-star was none other than Jean Alexander, who was better known as Coronation Street’s Hilda Ogden! He learned a lot from that movie.

“He was also in The Railway Children in 2000, along with Jenny Agutter and Richard Attenborough.

“He is just 28 but has had a great career so far. And it looks as though his star will only get brighter, what with the release of Zebra Crossing.

“Neither of us have lived in Paisley since heading down south all those years ago – but we are both still so proud of our Paisley roots.”

Lee junior’s grandmother Margaret still lives in Seedhill and admitted she is also very proud of what he has achieved.

She told us: “He was always fond of acting and has really carved out quite a career for himself. He works really hard and his new film sounds incredibly exciting. It’s great news that he is always busy but the downside is that I don’t get to see him as often!”