Actor Christopher Lee-Power shares the extraordinary true story of his working-class roots, the shocking murder that stained his childhood flat, and how the performing passion of his late dad and mum fuelled his rise from tragedy to a career in acting on stage, film, and TV.
Christopher Lee-Power has appeared in many theatre productions, films, and on TV, and will be filming the sequel to The Hunt For Michael Myers, called The Death of Michael Myers, in November, in which he plays Dr. Langford.
His own life story, which he wrote about in a book years ago, has been adapted into a play and is now being developed as a screenplay by a BAFTA-winning director.
”This isn’t just my story; it’s a story of Liverpool and Birkenhead grit”
A heritage of hard work and heartbreak
Christopher’s family roots are firmly planted in the region. His late father, Christopher Michael Power, was born in Liverpool, West Derby. His mother, Evelyn, was from Tranmere, Birkenhead.
”My Dad was a painter and decorator, my mum a cleaner. They worked hard, but they were true entertainers,” Christopher shares. His mum was a Country and Western singer and a published poet, while his Dad was a natural compère who sang Tony Christie hits.
“I remember my Dad, so proud, dressed in his black suit and dickie bow before every gig, and my mum looking beautiful. They were our working-class stars. That sight – and watching them perform in pubs and clubs – was what first inspired me and sparked my love for the theatre.”
The family’s connection to Liverpool runs deep, with his grandmother, Christine Reilly, who was born in Dublin, settling in Liverpool long ago.
“She worked cleaning the old sunken public toilets on London Road. I’d visit her, and those stone steps, the smell of disinfectant – it’s a powerful, nostalgic memory.”
The hallway murder: Horror on the doorstep
The family’s already challenging life took a terrifying turn in 1972. A pub dispute led to the murder, which occurred when Christopher’s Dad and their close friend returned to the family flat to check on the children.
”When my Dad and his friend used the key to enter the flat, they were immediately attacked by a couple armed with a knife,” Christopher states.
“The violent fight happened in the narrow hallway. My Dad was stabbed, and his friend was murdered.”
He continues, “The police and forensic teams arrived, and there was blood everywhere in that hallway. That tragedy – the fear and the loss – followed our family even when we were rehoused.”
From restraint jackets to the footlights
This trauma, combined with Christopher’s own struggles – including hyperactivity and speech problems – led to him being repeatedly hospitalized as a child for treatment.
”It was a difficult time. I was there from Sunday through to Friday each week. I was given speech therapy in the small school at the back, and I was on medication morning and evening. There were two dormitories – one for the boys and one for the girls – with a hallway in between. On Fridays I was allowed home, but being taken back on the Sunday was horrible. I just longed to stay with my family.”
He continues: “I even ran away once, packing food in a handkerchief before being found and brought back by the matron. At one point I was placed in a restraint jacket because I was lashing out and throwing food. When my mum found out, she was deeply upset and didn’t agree with it. That was when my dad came to rescue me – and that’s the word, rescue.”
School brought further difficulty. Struggling with spelling and grammar, Christopher recalls: “I was frustrated and angry because I couldn’t grasp the questions or spell. My legs would be like jelly, and my stomach would turn before a test.”
But the performing arts were already calling. “While my mum and dad were out, I’d sneak into the walk-in wardrobe in their room, put on their old record player, and sit in there listening to David Bowie,” he says.
It was during a school play, ‘A Christmas Carol,’ that he found his escape. Playing the boy sent to fetch Scrooge’s turkey, he felt a powerful connection to the stage. “I was 11, and I suddenly felt: ‘This is where I belong.’”
Finding salvation on stage after addiction
Despite his theatrical epiphany, Christopher spiralled into addiction, turning to solvent abuse, alcohol, and gambling in his teenage years.
”I’d rush out of school to buy my glue. I was in a very dark place,” he says. The cycle of addiction was eventually broken after an overdose, combined with finding faith and meeting a crucial mentor, Ron Gittins, who introduced him to the work of Shakespeare.
“Ron helped me develop the voice and confidence I needed,” says Christopher, who went on to study at Richmond Drama School and RADA.
“Now, I take on the role of kings and villains, but I do it for that working-class boy who felt he had no voice.”
His life story – from the trauma of a hallway murder and his battles with addiction to working with a BAFTA-winning director’s new play “One Night” as the General – is a powerful testament to the inspiring journey from the streets of Merseyside to a career on stage, film, and TV.
”If my story, which started with a Liverpool West Derby Dad and Birkenhead Mum, can inspire just one person struggling today, it will have all been worth it.”
Christopher Lee-Power is represented by the Great British Speakers Bureau and Celeb Agents.
