David Hayman

David Hayman is most admired as an actor for starring in the long-running police drama series "Trial and Retribution" as the central character, Chief Superintendent Michael Walker, as well as his breakthrough role as convict-turned-novelist/sculptor, Jimmy Boyle, in the biopic "A Sense of Freedom." As a director, Hayman also deals largely with crime and justice themes, as with his debut "Silent Scream," a biopic about convicted murderer Larry Winters; similarly to "A Sense of Freedom," it's a film dealing with ideas about the potential for rehabilitation of criminals through proper treatment while incarcerated. The film is also unique in its fractured timeline, an unconventional storytelling method in biopic films. Three years later, Hayman directed Helen Mirren in "The Hawk," a psychological thriller about a woman with a history of mental illness who suspects her husband is a serial rapist and murderer. After "A Sense of Freedom" (with the exception of "Trials and Retribution"), Hayman shifted gears such and focused primarily on playing supporting characters and directing through the 1990s. Two supporting roles that were more mainstream, dramatic, and somewhat outside Hayman's preferred themes include a Jewish servant to a Nazi commander in the critically acclaimed Holocaust drama "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" and his portrayal of Sex Pistols mastermind Malcolm McLaren in "Sid and Nancy," starring Gary Oldman.