Rob Brydon

Rob Brydon
Brydon at the 2008 BAFTA Television Awards
Born	3 May 1965 (1965-05-03) (age 44) Swansea, Wales, UK
Spouse	Claire Holland
Website	RobBrydon.com

Rob Brydon (born Robert Brydon Jones, 3 May, 1965, Swansea, Wales ^[1]) is a BAFTA nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio presenter, and impressionist most famous for his role as Keith Barret in the BBC comedy Marion and Geoff and its spin-off The Keith Barret Show, as well as the host of panel quiz shows Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive and Would I Lie To You?.

Brydon is famous for bizarre or unsettling black comedy, and has worked with a number of comedians and actors with a similar taste, notably Steve Coogan and Julia Davis.

In 2003, he was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy.

Biography

His mother was a school teacher, and his father was a car dealer. Brydon grew up in Baglan, in Port Talbot, Wales^[2] and was educated at the private Dumbarton House School in Swansea until the age of 14, then at Porthcawl Comprehensive School, where he became a member of the school's youth theatre group.

Early career

He attended the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff, but left to join Radio Wales at the age of 20 without graduating from the college. Brydon's career began with radio - his early broadcasts included DJing on BBC Radio Wales, when his Saturday morning shows included contributions from Welsh standup comedian Pete Park-Walker. Also on Radio Wales - where he stayed for six years, he was the main presenter of Rave, one of BBC Radio 5's youth magazine and music programmes, between 1992 and 1994. Following this, in 1994 and 1995, he appeared in numerous episodes of the original Radio Wales version of the cult comedy show Satellite City with Boyd Clack.

Though he stayed with radio as a comedy performer on BBC Radio Five Live's The Treatment, Rob also does occasional stints as a stand-in presenter on BBC Radio 2, where he has even stood in for Ken Bruce, one of the people he impersonates.

Voiceover artist

Brydon was initially known nationally as a voice artist. He provided several voices for the Discworld computer games and continuity announcements for BBC 1.^[3] Brydon is also known for his voice-over work on numerous television advertising campaigns, including those for Renault, Tango, The Times, Tesco, Abbey National, Sainsburys ,McDonald's, Toilet Duck, Cahoot, Mint Card, Pot Noodle, Crunchy Nut Cornflakes The Observer and Fairy Liquid. Additionally, he voiced the main character, Lewton, in the Discworld computer game Discworld Noir.^[4]

Writing breakthrough

In the early 1990s he spent a brief stint presenting for the Home Shopping Network,^[5] and began to find small roles in several successful films and television series. He eventually made his mark in television comedy in 2000 with two series which he co-wrote and performed in for the BBC: the Julia Davis co-written Human Remains; and the commercially successful Marion and Geoff.

Since these breakthrough series, Brydon has developed a career path as a character actor, in both comedic as well as serious roles. Brydon portrayed controversial theatre critic Kenneth Tynan in the BBC Four film Kenneth Tynan: In Praise of Hardcore (2005), opposite Julian Sands as Sir Laurence Olivier.

His character Bryn in the Ruth Jones and James Cordon written Gavin and Stacey allwed him to return to his Welsh roots. In this role, Brydon performed the 2009 Comic Relief charity single, "Islands in the Stream", with Ruth Jones (both actors appearing as their characters from Gavin & Stacey) and singer Tom Jones. It reached number one in the UK singles chart on 15 March 2009. On Friday 26th June 2009, he posted on his twitter account saying that he was filming a third series of the show Gavin and Stacey in Wales. ^[6]

Panelist/chairman

In 2006, he first appeared on the BBC Radio 4 comedy panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. His singing voice even earned the previously unknown accolade of being described by the former host, Humphrey Lyttelton, as "not bad". When the team went on a tour of non-broadcast stage shows, he filled in as chairman when Lyttelton was in hospital to repair an aortic aneurysm. A message was played to the audience in which Lyttelton commented on his absence. Three days later, Humphrey Lyttelton died in hospital, following his surgery.

In February 2009, it was announced that Brydon will be one of three people to replace Lyttelton as chairman on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (the others being Stephen Fry and Jack Dee).^[7][8]

Additionally, he took over from Angus Deayton as host of Would I Lie To You? in 2009.^[9]

Brydon has also presented an episode of Have I Got News for You,^[10] and has appeared on BBC Radio 4's panel game Just a Minute.^[11] He also appeared in the popular BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey as Bryn West, Stacey's uncle. ^[12]

Brydon also narrated a two-part programme on BBC Radio 4, The Pain of Laughter: The Last Days of Kenneth Williams. It explored the latter part of Williams' life, featuring many of the performer's friends and contemporaries. In other radio work, Brydon sat in for Ken Bruce on BBC Radio 2 for one day only on 25 August 2008.

He has made a number of appearances on the TV comedy quiz QI. In his first appearance (A series, episode 5), his talent for mimicry was displayed with impressions of Alec Guinness, James Dean and Michael J. Fox. In the 2008 Christmas Special he also provided impressions of Richard Burton and Tom Jones.

Stand-up Comedy

Brydon, in 2009, began touring the UK^[13]. This is his first stand-up tour as Rob Brydon rather than a differently-named character. Brydon's stand-up DVD, Rob Brydon: Live will be released on 23rd November 2009.^[14] Brydon is due to appear as a host on the forthcoming BBC series of 'Live At The Apollo'.

Personal life

On 6 October 2006 Brydon married Claire Holland,^[15] a former producer on the South Bank Show, at Windsor church. They live in Strawberry Hill in the London borough of Richmond, and have a son born in April 2008. Brydon has two daughters, born c.1994 and c.1999 and a son born c.1996 from his first marriage.

A fanatical golfer, he is also a Swansea City fan and is an ambassador to their 1912 foundation.^[16] Brydon appeared on Top Gear, as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car, on the 9th November 2003.

Brydon has been mistaken for comedian Ben Miller and vice versa, ^[17] whom he appeared alongside (and kissed) on QI episode 6.9, Future. ^[18]

Filmography and television/radio appearances

Other Appearances

• Discworld (video game) (voice actor - 1995)
• Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!? (voice actor - 1996)
• Discworld Noir (voice actor - 1999)
• Black Books (2002)
• Top Gear (2003, 2008)
• QI (2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009)
• Just a Minute (2004, 2005)
• Director's Commentary (2004)
• The Big Fat Quiz of the Year (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
• Kenneth Tynan: In Praise of Hardcore (2005)
• Jack Dee Live at the Apollo (2005)
• I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (2006-2009)
• Have I Got News for You (2006)
• 100 Greatest Funny Moments (2006)
• Heroes and Villains: Napoleon (November 2007)
• Rob Brydon's Identity Crisis (March 2008)
• Would I Lie To You? (July 2008)
• The One Show (November 2008)

Discography

Singles

References

External links

• Official Rob Brydon site
• Rob Brydon at the Internet Movie Database
• KeithBarret.com - a fan site
• Rob Brydon biography and credits at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Rob's twitter

News items

• Times February 2008 article
• Independent January 2006 article
• Telegraph June 2004 article
• Observer December 2002 article