Dave Johns

For other people named David Johns, see David Johns (disambiguation).

Dave Johns
Born	David Alan Johns (1956-07-15) 15 July 1956 (age 68) Wallsend, England
Occupation(s)	Comedian, actor, writer
Website	davejohns.net

David Alan Johns (born 15 July 1956) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his breakthrough role as Daniel Blake in the 2016 Ken Loach film I, Daniel Blake . ^[1]

Career

Johns has appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks (four times), 8 Out of 10 Cats , Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive , 28 Acts in 28 Minutes and, as an actor, he has appeared on Mud , Time Gentlemen Please , Inspector George Gently , and Harry Hill as God. ^[2]

In 2009, he and Owen O'Neill dramatised Stephen King's Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption for the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin. ^[3]

In 2016, he starred as the title character in the Ken Loach film I, Daniel Blake in a critically acclaimed performance described as "powerful", "a welcome comic touch", and "all the more moving for its restraint". ^{[4] [5] [6]} He later wrote a stage version of the film updated to the 2021/2022 cost of living crisis which will be premiered at the Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne in May 2023. ^[7]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016	I, Daniel Blake	Daniel
2017	Howay!	Terry	Short film
	Me, the Elephant	Dad
2018	Walk Like a Panther	Trevor 'Bulldog' Bolton
2019	The Keeper	Roberts
2019	Fishermen's Friends	Leadville Trebilcock
2020	23 Walks	Dave
	Blithe Spirit	Harold
2022	Fisherman's Friends: One and All	Leadville Trebilcock
2023	Turtles (Les Tortues)	Thom Halford

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Mud	Trev	Episode #2.1
1997	Rag Nymph	Man	Episode #1.1
	The Moth	Man	Uncredited TV movie
1998	Harry Hill	God	Episodes #2.2, #2.7 & #2.8
	Colour Blind	Auctioneer	Episode #1.2 TV Mini-series
2001	Time Gentlemen Please	'Cheesy' Alan Supple	Episode: "New Year's Steve"
2006	Cattle Drive	The Burglar	Episode #1.1
	Dogtown	Norm
2010	Inspector George Gently	Comedian	Episode: "Gently Evil"
2013	It's Kevin	Various	Episode #1.6
2017	The Nightly Show	Himself	1 episode
2025–present	The Dumping Ground	Bernie	Series 13

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result	Ref
2016	British Independent Film Awards	Best Actor	I, Daniel Blake	Won	[8]
		Most Promising Newcomer		Nominated
	Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Actor		Won	[9]
	European Film Awards	European Actor		Nominated	[10]
2017	Empire Awards	Best Male Newcomer		Won	[11]
	London Critics Circle Film Awards	British/Irish Actor of the Year		Nominated	[12]

References

1. "Dave Johns". Davejohns.net. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
2. "Dave Johns". IMDb .
3. Whetstone, David (23 January 2012). "Interview: comedian Dave Johns". The Journal . Retrieved 11 September 2016.
4. Gleiberman, Owen (12 May 2016). "Film Review: 'I, Daniel Blake'". Variety . Retrieved 22 October 2016.
5. Collin, Robbie (20 October 2016). "Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake is a quietly fearsome piece of drama". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 22 October 2016.
6. Rooney, David (12 May 2016). "'I, Daniel Blake': Cannes Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 22 October 2016.
7. Wiegand, Chris (17 November 2022). "I, Daniel Blake to be adapted for stage and updated for cost-of-living crisis". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
8. "Winners – Awards 2016 – BIFA – The British Independent Film Awards". Bifa.film. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
9. "Dublin Film Critics Circle names I, Daniel Blake best of 2016 – Screenwriter". The Irish Times . Retrieved 28 May 2017.
10. "European Film Awards 2016: Full List of Winners". Variety.com. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
11. "Three Empire Awards 2017: Rogue One, Tom Hiddleston And Patrick Stewart Win Big – News – Movies – Empire". Empireonline.com. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
12. "London Film Critics' Circle 2017 award nominations: IN FULL – Films – Entertainment". Express.co.uk. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2017.

External links

• Official website
• Dave Johns at IMDb