Michael Socha

Michael Socha is the British actor who portrays the Knave of Hearts on ABC's Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.

Biography
Socha was born in Derby, Derbyshire, to Robert and Kathleen Socha (nicknamed "Kath") on December 13, 1987. He is the older brother of actress Lauren Socha, star of the Channel 4 comedy-drama Misfits. Michael was brought up in Littleover - a suburb of Derby - and attended St Benedict Catholic School. Socha was a rebellious pupil, and in his own words "a little shit". He often skipped school, but when forced to attend he tried to make it fun by doing the things he was most interested in. At the age of 11, Michael unsuccessfully auditioned for the lead role in a school musical play. When Michael was 12, his mother read in a local newspaper about a play being cast by the Chellaston Youth Players. She asked her son and daughter if they wanted to try out for it, and both did. Michael's motivation for auditioning was his anger at being denied a role in the musical and his desire to prove his teachers wrong about his acting skills. He won the lead role of Bugsy Malone in the play. He acted in several plays for the group, but by his own admission did not take acting very seriously.

Through teachers at Michael's school the family learned about film director Ian Smith's Central Television Junior Workshop, a free actors' workshop for young people from the Nottingham area. He enrolled in the course when he was 14 but was almost refused admission as he had failed to learn the monologue for his audition and was put in the "reserve group". His second audition went the same way, but the program relented and allowed him in after a time. Michael says the workshop had a strong impact on him, and he began working hard at acting. His first professional role came when he was cast in a small part in a short film. He was quickly cast in several small parts subsequently, and hired an agent.

Filmography

 * This is England - (2006)
 * Better Things - (2008)
 * Summer - (2008)
 * Casualty - (2008-2009)
 * Dogging: A Love Story - (2009)
 * The Unloved - (2009)
 * Harvest - (2009)
 * Paradox - (2009)
 * Cut - (2010)
 * Married Single Other - (2010)
 * Shank - (2010)
 * Bonded by Blood - (2010)
 * Break Clause - (2010)
 * This Is England '86 - (2010)
 * This Is England '88 - (2011)
 * Being Human - (2011 - 2013)
 * Twenty8k - (2012)
 * Svengali - (2013)
 * Spike Island - (2013)
 * Once Upon a Time in Wonderland - (2013)