Joe Gilgun  Joseph William Gilgun (born 9 March 1984) is an English actor known for several roles, including that of Eli Dingle in ITV's "Emmerdale", Jamie Armstrong in Coronation Street, "Woody" in the film "This Is England" (2006) and its subsequent spin-off series and Rudy Wade in E4's "Misfits". From 2016 to 2019, he starred in the AMC television adaptation of the Vertigo comic "Preacher" as the Irish vampire Cassidy. Gilgun was born in Chorley, Lancashire, to Judith and Andrew Gilgun. He grew up in Rivington, Lancashire, as part of a working-class family with his two younger sisters, Jennie and Rosie. Gilgun attended Rivington VA Primary School and Southlands High School. He has dyslexia and ADHD, which he describes as the "biggest pain of [his] life" and in interviews has openly discussed depression and anxiety. He started drama workshops at the age of eight, following advice from an educational psychologist, and was described as having "exceptional talent". He also trained at the Laine Johnson Theatre School and the Oldham Theatre Workshop. When he was 10, he got his first TV acting role in "Coronation Street". He stayed with the show until he was thirteen years old. Gilgun studied A Levels at Runshaw College.Outside of odd jobs and a few roles in small theater productions, Gilgun worked as a plasterer until returning to acting full-time with "Emmerdale" in 2006. As a child actor, Gilgun played little tearaway Jamie Armstrong in "Coronation Street" between 1994 and 1997. He left the soap when the actress playing his on-screen mother left the show. Gilgun revisited the set in an ITV special "The Kids from Coronation Street" in 2004. In 1998, when he was 14 years old, he presented a feature on "Wish You Were Here...?" where he visited Phantasialand, one of Germany's largest theme parks. Gilgun took a break in his teens, acting part-time in local and national stage productions including the Salford-based "Hanky Park the Musical" at The Lowry. He played Charlie Millwall in a critically acclaimed tour of the stage play "Borstal Boy", which ended at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Gilgun found the break from acting difficult, telling "The Guardian" in December 2011 that "[I] went off the fucking rails" and became confused about what to do with his life.