43 Facts About Lenny McLean

Leonard John McLean was an English unlicensed boxer, bouncer, bodyguard, businessman and actor.

Lenny McLean stated in his autobiography that he had been involved in between 2,000 and 3,000 unlicensed fights.

Lenny McLean was known in the London nightclub scene as a bouncer, where he often managed security, including 1980s celebrity hangouts, such as Garth Crooks's Team of the Week Club, in Hounslow.

Lenny McLean died in July 1998, shortly before the film's release.

Lenny McLean was born into a large, working-class family in Hoxton in the East End of London.

Lenny McLean's mother, Rose, married again to Jim Irwin, who was a career petty criminal.

Lenny McLean admired his great-uncle thereafter and when he became a street fighter, he said that he considered every victory to be won on behalf of his vulnerable younger self.

Lenny McLean expressed the rage resulting from his abusive childhood with such abandon that it often took several men to separate him from his defeated opponent, gaining him the nickname "Ten Men Len" because of how many men were needed to restrain him.

Lenny McLean was uneducated and a product of his upbringing, traumatised by what he'd been through, and probably had mental health problems as a result of all that.

Lenny McLean was arrested for petty crimes and served 18 months in prison.

Mac and Lenny McLean became friends and on numerous later bouts Mac acted as Lenny McLean's boxing manager.

Lenny McLean quickly became one of its brightest stars and had a fearsome reputation.

Lenny McLean had a famous trilogy of unlicensed matches with arch-rival Roy "Pretty Boy" Shaw.

Lenny McLean lost to Shaw once via verbal submission, which Lenny McLean justified by claiming his gloves had been tampered with, reducing their maneuverability.

Lenny McLean beat Shaw in a rematch with a dramatic first-round knockout, in which Shaw was physically knocked out of the ring.

Lenny McLean reputedly sent out challenges to many of the famous boxers of the day, including Muhammad Ali and Mr T, though neither contest materialised.

Lenny McLean lost some face as he was challenged by the "King of the Gypsies" Bartley Gorman, but did not accept the fight.

Lenny McLean was offered a fight with professional boxer David "Bomber" Pearce, the hard-hitting British heavyweight champion from Newport.

Lenny McLean declined to fight Pearce; he later commented that was the only time in his career he had doubts.

Lenny McLean was known to have lost several fights, although he always maintained that he had never lost a fight "on the cobbles" or outside the ring.

Lenny McLean lost via KO to George "Pappy" Langley and on points to Kevin Paddock.

Lenny McLean held joint ownership of a public house in the East End of London named the "Guv'Nors" along with Charlie Kray, elder brother of the Kray twins, reputed to be the "most legitimate" of the three brothers.

Lenny McLean was described as a "fixer" and a "minder", meaning a bodyguard, for criminals and celebrities including Mike Reid, Boy George, and the casts of television shows such as EastEnders and The Bill.

In 1992, Lenny McLean released an album of Elvis Presley covers.

Lenny McLean was featured prominently in a television documentary on nightclub security staff, titled Bounce: Behind The Velvet Rope.

Lenny McLean gravitated towards acting after being introduced to an acting agent by his show-business friends Mike Reid and Freddie Starr, for whom he had "minded".

Lenny McLean made industry connections by "minding" the casts of television shows such as EastEnders and The Bill.

Lenny McLean described his family as his "rock," whose existence helped him to reject a life solely devoted to crime, and for whom he maintained some self-control during his fights.

Lenny McLean had enemies from years of ejecting people from pubs and clubs.

Lenny McLean suffered two bullet wounds from separate attacks, and was attacked from behind and stabbed on two occasions.

One of the assailants, Barry Dalton, a former bare-knuckle fighter who ran protection rackets across London, had a falling out with Lenny McLean and confronted him with a shotgun at his home while his children were in the house.

Lenny McLean said that he later caught up with Dalton and punished him.

Dalton had made many other enemies, and was found dead with a bullet in his head in 1992, a murder for which Lenny McLean asserted his innocence.

In 1992, Lenny McLean was working as the head doorman at the Hippodrome in London's Leicester Square, when he ejected a man named Gary Humphries, who suffered from serious mental health problems and was reportedly on drugs, streaking through the nightclub, urinating on the floor and harassing women.

Lenny McLean immediately protested his innocence, and claimed the police had a vendetta against him because of his association with the Krays.

Lenny McLean's charge was reduced to manslaughter, of which he was cleared at the Old Bailey when it emerged that Humphries had been in a scuffle with the police after being ejected from the nightclub.

However, it was determined that Lenny McLean was responsible for Humphries' broken jaw.

Lenny McLean died shortly afterwards on 28 July 1998, in Bexley, London, a few weeks prior to the release of the film.

Lenny McLean's autobiography, titled The Guv'nor, written with Peter Gerrard, was published in August 1998, shortly after Lenny McLean's death.

In 2001, Gerrard authored another book about Lenny McLean, titled The Guv'nor: A Celebration.

Lenny McLean wanted Craig Fairbrass to portray him as he had known the actor for some time, and considered Fairbrass resembled himself as a younger man.

Lenny McLean travelled to Hollywood to discuss the matter with film studio executives, but their preference for Sylvester Stallone for the part caused Lenny McLean to discontinue negotiations.

The drama film My Name Is Lenny McLean was released in 2017, featuring Australian actor Josh Helman in the title role, and Michael Bisping as Roy "Pretty Boy" Shaw.