West Ham hooligan on big screen

By Rob Virtue on July 30, 2008 12:46 PM |

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ONCE leader of one of football’s biggest hooligan firms, Cass Pennant will watch his life played out on the big screen this week and wonder where it all went right.

Unlike other hooligan films such as Football Factory and Green Street, Cass is a real story, and an intriguing one at that.

Cass, 6ft 5ins tall and black, certainly stood out from the average ’80s football hooligan.

His rise through the ranks of West Ham’s feared hooligan gang the InterCity Firm culminated in him being shot three times as a result of an earlier fight with Arsenal fans.

He survived and wrote an autobiography which has now been turned into a film.

He said: “With a bit of distance now, we can see that it wasn’t just about mindless fighting but that there was a whole culture to the life – a fashion, a music.

“But there’s also a change that’s happened to Britain, in terms of racism laws and political correctness. It’s a completely different world here now.”

As with all films about football related violence, the question of glamourisation must be asked.

Cass is adamant the film of his life does not. He said: “No way can it go back to how it was. Arrest figures haven’t gone up since Football Factory or Green Street or since I published my books. Our film is about showing how things changed through the ’70s and ’80s.”

Cass is played by Nonso Anozie, who has appeared in Atonement and Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky, and had to spend a large amount of time in at an east end gym to perfect Cass’ accent.

Cass said: “The lads who I’ve known for 30 years said it was too weird – they said ‘he’s got you to a T’. He’s done a terrific job, brilliant.

“But I’m also proud to bring on another black actor. There aren’t many parts for black people in British films and especially not lead roles and I hope people see Nonso shines.”