Scriptwriter, environmentalist and animal lover
Some of the happiest times I remember when growing up is when my father and I used to go to the forest to collect wood for numerous log fires in our home.
I became so good at swinging an axe that I could cut a log with just one hand and had muscles like the Incredible Hulk, even though I had never been to a gym. Heating a big house was a full-time job, yet it never seemed to get warm and I often remember waking up with stalactites of ice hanging precariously from frozen pipes above my head.
We were not a wealthy family, since my great grandfather, unfortunately, lost all our lands and estates, despite winning the war against the Midland Railway in 1845.
(The Midland Railway tried to lay a railway line through the estate cutting through the house. Gerry's great grandfather formed a motley band of soldiers and fought the move forcing the railways to make a diversion around his home. The diversion is still known as Lord Harborough's Curve.)
He left a wonderful story in a secret diary that I hope one day to turn into a film. Having never inherited anything other than a title means that I have probably grown up as a better person because I appreciate the value of earning a living than having everything handed to me on a plate.
When my grandparents were alive, I used to spend hours just listening to their fascinating stories and believe it's a shame that people today do not devote enough time to learning from the older generations. I now realise that my childhood has defined my attitude towards life, and one day hope to give my own children as happy a family life as I was lucky enough to have. I believe that a good sense of humour is one of the most important human traits.
An attack that changed my life...
While working in Kenya in 1986, I took a friend on a safari to watch the sun set over the Rift Valley. Just as we were enjoying this romantic moment some bandits appeared and attacked my car. One minute we were watching the view, next we were part of it as they pushed the car over the cliff and it rolled until it got stuck in a tree.
Just as I was struggling to get out, I was struck on the head with a machete and we were robbed of all our belongings, including my clothes. Although I joke about it now, at the time the incident was dramatic to say the least, but what was more intriguing was what followed.
I wrote my first film script soon after this incident and began writing about places I had never seen before. It was really bizarre, but I still fondly believe that it was the blow to my head that day which started my scriptwriting career.
A film can change the minds of millions...
Since the attack, I have been developing a number of projects from family dramas to action-packed comedies, from spine-chilling thrillers to fantasy adventures. All are wonderful stories that are exciting, emotional, inspirational and entertaining.
Since living in this region for over 12 years, I believe the people here have been grossly misunderstood and one of the reasons for this is that the last major film made about this region was Lawrence of Arabia 40 years ago. To that end, I have been collecting material for several feature films to be made about this region.
Dubai - Centre for content development
I have worked and lived in Africa, Far East Asia and Europe, have a house in France and have just bought a 600-year-old barn in England with permission to convert it into a house. Yet, whenever I return to Dubai, I feel like I'm coming home.
In fact, I have been deeply interested in the history of the UAE and was involved in making a documentary film and writing a book about pearl diving and with the help of GoldQuest contributed towards financing a book, The Spirits of the Sands about the Arabian horse, with author/photographer Lucy Monroe.
The latest project has been the production of Don't Look Back, a thriller directed by my younger brother, Nick, that was shot on the same location as Gladiator, with a host of British stars playing Americans.
It will be showcased at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but was originally developed here in Dubai, which strengthens my argument of this dynamic emirate becoming a centre for content development.
Something wonderful out of waste
I learned much about the environment from my Dad who planted hundreds of trees and impressed upon me to respect the forces of nature. It is unfortunate that so few people are taking seriously the dangerous signs of nature's revenge.
To get across a positive message that will capture the imagination of children from all nations, I have been developing a documentary with a production company based at Dubai Media City. This project is about recycling plastic into a synthetic wood known as Eco wood.
With the help of select schools with multi-cultural students, we are going to film how rubbish can be turned into classrooms and playgrounds complete with furniture for kids less fortunate than themselves, while saving trees from being felled.
Full house...
Living with six cats and six dogs is as demanding on your time, patience and wallet and is probably the best training any man could have before he moves up the scale to having children and a family. For now, it's great to come home to an ecstatic welcome of wagging tails and troops of cute faces, each queuing in line to be patted (even though I might just have only popped out to retrieve something from my car).
Ambition: to buy back house
Gerry Sherard, the current Viscount Harborough, will succeed as the next Earl. Born in 1960 in Kaduna, Nigeria, where his father was serving as a British Army officer, he is the eldest son of an aristocratic family whose ancestry can be traced to King William the Conqueror and Alfred the Great.
The ancestral home, Stapleford Park, is now a luxury hotel in the heart of the English countryside, although his family lived there for over 800 years.
Gerry's ambition is to buy back his family home.
From the age of 12, he worked in TV commercials and films as an actor and, because he played polo, became a stunt rider on such films as Willow, Ivanhoe, Henry V, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves and First Knight.
