James Corden

James Corden
Corden in December 2008
Born	James Kimberly Anders Macaulay Corden 17 June 1978 (1978-06-17) (age 31) High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England
Occupation	Actor, Writer, Producer

James Kimberly Corden^[1] (born June 17, 1978)^[2] is a BAFTA-winning English actor, comedian, writer and producer. He co-created and stars in the BBC One/BBC Three comedy Gavin & Stacey and BBC Three comedy Horne & Corden, and is the star of 2009 film Lesbian Vampire Killers.

Personal life

Corden is listed in the official programme for Martin Guerre at The Prince Edward Theatre in which he appeared as being born in 1976. Corden grew up in Hazlemere, a suburb of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire.^[3][4][5] He studied drama as a young boy at Jackie Palmer Stage School and then attended Holmer Green Senior School in Holmer Green near High Wycombe and the Misbourne School, in Great Missenden.^[3][4][5] Corden was not a serious student and did not attend university.^[3][4]

On Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (2 November 2007), he confirmed that he was dating the actress Sheridan Smith. After public blips in their relationship, Corden confirmed his relationship with Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps star Sheridan was back on, in July 2008, after telling friends "The time away has been good for us and I know we have something special. We're taking it slowly and I am more than happy. She is my best mate, too."^[6]

He currently^[when?] lives in South London with friend and fellow History Boys star Dominic Cooper, star of hit musical Mamma Mia!

Corden is a fan of West Ham United, which causes conflict with his Gavin & Stacey co-star Mathew Horne, who is a Tottenham Hotspur fan. Following an appearance on Soccer AM in January 2007, Corden revealed that he has attended many West Ham United games with fellow supporter Russell Brand.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Corden waited eight years for his first part, a dancer in the West End:^[7]

"I never worked at all, I don't know why. I think it was the best thing that could have happened to me because it taught me about rejection from a really early age. At the time it was awful, all my friends were getting parts in paint adverts and stuff."

His first role was in the musical Martin Guerre.^[4] He then starred in the British television series Fat Friends as Jamie Rymer, and played Gareth Jones in the series Boyz Unlimited. His television work includes a role playing a bookish student in Teachers (Series 1, 2000) and he also made a guest appearance in Little Britain. Corden's film credits include Mike Leigh's All or Nothing (2002).

Corden played a small part in Channel 4/T4's Hollyoaks. He played a caretaker of the local college briefly around 2001-2. In an August 2008 interview with Esquire Magazine he commented on his disdain for the programme and members of the cast.^[8] Corden said he would rather die than go back to appear on Hollyoaks, saying: "I met a couple of really good friends there, but it's (only) 20% nice people".

Corden played the role of Timms in the original London stage production of Alan Bennett's play The History Boys, as well as in the Broadway, Sydney, Wellington and Hong Kong productions and radio and film versions of the play.^[9][10][11] Corden stars in the BBC Three comedy Gavin & Stacey that he co-wrote with his Fat Friends co-star Ruth Jones. As well as a second series for the BBC, Corden will act as executive producer for an NBC pilot of an American version of the show.

Corden guest hosted Big Brother's Big Mouth with his Gavin & Stacey co-star Mathew Horne in August 2007. Corden and Horne were the permanent hosts for the Big Brother's Big Mouth series running alongside E4's Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack in January 2008.^[12] He appears in the film of Toby Young's autobiography How to Lose Friends & Alienate People and series two of Gavin & Stacey. He cohosted the What's on Stage Awards ceremony in 2008.

In February 2008 he shot a BBC pilot, Hey, Hey, We're The Monks. He will collaborate with Horne on a new sketch show named Horne and Corden, a "traditional" comedy show in the style of Morecambe and Wise^[13] as well as the film Lesbian Vampire Killers.

In February 2009, he co-presented the Brit Awards with Mathew Horne and Kylie Minogue.^{[citation needed]}

On Friday 13 March 2009, he appeared in a sketch for Comic Relief giving the England Football Team a motivational talk. He later went on to present a section with Mathew Horne showing their best bits of comedy from the last two years along with highlights from the night.

On 17 March 2009, Corden appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show.^{[citation needed]}

James also does the voice over for the end of the Orange Mobile adverts, where the clip is telling a story about a witch and a ordinary girl share daily activities together, others have been made.^{[citation needed]}

Recognition and awards

Corden was nominated for the 2000 RTS Award for Network Newcomer — On Screen for his work on Fat Friends.^[14]

Corden won Best Male Comedy Newcomer and Gavin & Stacey won Best New British Television Comedy at the 2007 British Comedy Awards.^[15]

At the 2008 Television BAFTAs, Corden won the BAFTA for Best Comedy Performance. Also, Gavin & Stacey won the Sky+ Audience Award for Programme of the Year, the only award at the ceremony voted for by the public, beating the likes of The Apprentice and Britain's Got Talent.^[16]

Selected credits

Theatre

Film

Television

Video game

• Fable II - Monty (2008)

References

External links

• James Corden at the Internet Movie Database
• James Corden at the Internet Broadway Database
• Agency CV