Craig Fairbrass on sixth Footsoldier movie: 'It's not based on facts - this is pure entertainment'

Audiences have been thrilled by five Rise of the Footsoldier films for more than a decade.

The first one, based on the 1995 Rettendon murders, came out with a bang in 2007 and four more followed, but perhaps the sixth instalment could be best one yet. It premiered a month ago at Leicester Square in London and screens on the Costa del Sol this weekend at the Marbella International Film Festival.

Speaking to SUR in English ahead of its first official screening at the festival on Saturday 7 October, British actor Craig Fairbrass said Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance has already surpassed all other Footsoldier films at the box office.

Fairbrass, 59, plays Pat Tate, one of the British gangsters shot dead in a Range Rover, along with his pals Tony Tucker and Craig Rolfe. Pat Tate was a member of one of the most notorious gangs in British history, the Essex Boys. The gang was mainly involved in drug deals and were thought to be major players in the ecstasy trade that fuelled Britain's booming rave scene.

Fairbrass has been a mainstay of the series and reprises the role again in the latest film. "It's a revenge mission and this one is a lot slicker; it's got more of a linear storyline - it's Pat Tate on a mission to find out who killed one of his best friends. It’s a lot more gripping because there’s a story," the London-born actor said.

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"In this film I looked for small ways to make Pat Tate more human, just a touch, because before it was just like the Terminator and the messages I've had from the public and the reviews on film have all been 99.9% positive which is unheard of for a film of this genre which at the end of the day, is a London gangster thriller."

In 2018 Fairbrass won best actor at The National Film Awards for his strong portrayal of Pat Tate in Rise of Footsoldier 3. The fourth instalment came to Marbella where Pat Tate emerged from prison, hopped on a plane to the south of Spain to find Frank Harris and get revenge. The movie was filmed at various locations on the Costa del Sol, including Cabopino Port, La Quinta Hills in Benahavís, Aloha Pueblo, the Golden Mile and the old Heaven Beach Club in Estepona.

It just so happens that Fairbrass spends a lot of his free time in Spain, and has been coming to the Costa since he was 13 years old. He said his favourite spots were Nueva Andalucía and San Pedro.

He'll be keeping an eye on the reaction to the screening on Saturday at the Red Dog Cinema in Puerto Banús. In the feature film, Tate goes on a rampage to avenge his loyal and trusted foot soldier's violent death. To track down the villain responsible, Tate ventures beyond his comfort zone of Essex and into the dark side of 90s Soho.

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"It all starts on the page and in the script and as an actor you do your best to make it as real and as authentic as you possibly can," Fairbrass said. "I hope everybody enjoys the film and treat it as what it's meant to be and that's entertainment - it's not based on facts; this is pure entertainment."

Actors, directors and producers from 100 film companies around the world walked the red carpet at the opening ceremony at the festival's official venue, Red Dog Cinema in Puerto Banús on Wednesday 4 October. Between 40 and 50 films are being screened during this year’s festival which began on Wednesday and runs until Sunday 8 October. The full programme of screenings can be viewed online on the festival’s website.