Christopher Eccleston in "Let Him Have It" and David Stevens in "Shallow Grave" and for his television performances in "Cracker" and "Hillsborough". His BAFTA-nominated performance as Nicky Hutchinson in the BBC miniseries "Our Friends in the North" (1996) established Eccleston as a household name in the UK; he followed the serial with film roles in "Jude", "A Price Above Rubies", "Elizabeth", "eXistenZ", "Gone in 60 Seconds", "The Invisible Circus", "The Others", "24 Hour Party People" and "28 Days Later" and television roles including the drama series "Clocking Off" and a second BAFTA-nominated performance as Messianic figure Stephen Baxter in the ITV drama
The Sweeney (2012 film) Regan, and Ewan McGregor and Daniel Craig being suggested as possibilities for the lead role of George Carter. Orlando Bloom and Tom Hardy were other names linked to the remake. At the time, it was not revealed whether the film would be set in the 1970s, or remade for the present day. Sponsor Fox Searchlight withdrew support just a few weeks before filming was due to start, and the project soon looked to be on hold, until July 2010, when the budget on the project was announced to be £3 million. In April 2011, the participation of Winstone was confirmed,