In the early 80s Jimmy Nail was a hard-drinker with no particular skills and no direction in life, described by those who knew him as eccentric, crazy and dangerous. Always the exhibitionist, he one day stepped off the streets and into an audition for a character called Oz in the TV series Auf Wiedersehen Pet. He had never acted before and he didn't need to now. He was Oz. He got the part and made the character memorable. He has since gone from strength to strength, first expanding his acting repertoire, then setting up his own production company, next moving into the music industry as a singer and unlikely sex symbol. He is focusing his attentions on Hollywood, both as an actor and a writer. Now teetotal, Nail has become a single-minded control freak, a man with a mission and a passion for order. But he is also a man with a past that includes a six-month stint in Strangeways for assault.