Gary Shail

Actor · Born November 10, 1959 (66) · London, England, UK

Gary Shail began work in TV and film in 1977 and is best known for his roles as Spider in the 1979 cult classic film Quadrophenia and as Steve, the punky teenager in The Metal Mickey TV Show. Shail appeared in the 1980 series The Further Adventures of Oliver Twist and also played Oscar Drill in Shock Treatment the 1981 follow-up to The Rocky Horror Picture Show and as Guy Raines in the 1983 BBC production Johnny Jarvis. He wrote the original songs and theme music for this production, for which he received a nomination for the Ivor Novello Awards. In 1988, Shail appeared as the tough pimp "Billy White" in the TV mini-series of Jack the Ripper, starring Michael Caine. He has also made appearances in the TV series The Bill and in Casualty and The Professionals. In 1995 Shail began working with music production company Natural Sound Source in London, producing music for television, film and advertising. In 2004 he produced the Arabic fusion album Infinity in Dubai. In 2010 Shail was back in the recording studio working on his autobiographical self-penned album 'Daze Like This.' A collection of new songs interspersed with some re-workings of some Johnny Jarvis themes. The album received critical success, but failed to reach a wider audience mainly due to Shails reluctance to embrace the new 'download' generation. In October 2015 Shail's memoir I Think I'm On The Guest List was published by New Haven Publishing Ltd.

Where can I watch Gary Shail's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (2).

Also on these channels

Shout! TV1 title, show their title on Shout! TV

Subscription and free streaming for Gary Shail's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

17 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page.

To Be Someone(2020)
as Charlie
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films
Ready For My Close Up (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
as Luigi
Day of the Stranger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
as Loomweather
Jekyll and Hyde(1990)
as Sailor
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Death of a Son (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
as DJ
The Bride(1985)
as 1st Circus Hand
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films
Dempsey and Makepeace (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Show 1 episode · as Eddie
Pop Pirates (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Composer
A Visitor from Outer Space (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
as Flipper
Easy Money (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
as Terry
The Bed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
as Steve
Shock Treatment(1981)
as Oscar Drill
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
Quadrophenia(1979)
as Spider
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
The Music Machine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
as Aldo
The Professionals (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Show 1 episode · as Jimmy
Playhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Show 1 episode · as Terry
Clan of the Raven (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
as King of Britons

Career shape

Biggest box office

To Be Someone (2020)

$6.5K worldwide

Highest rated

Quadrophenia (1979)

Midcredits 89^th

Film career

19791990

Peak 1979 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.