Doc Brown (rapper)

Last updated

Doc Brown
Doc Brown.jpg
Brown in 2011
Background information
Birth nameBenjamin Harvey Bailey Smith
Born (1977-09-21) 21 September 1977 (age 47)
Kilburn, London, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • rapper
  • screenwriter
  • songwriter
  • producer
  • voiceover artist
Years active2000–present
Website docbrown.co.uk

Benjamin Harvey Bailey Smith (born 21 September 1977), professionally known as Doc Brown, is an English actor, comedian, rapper, screenwriter, songwriter, producer and voiceover artist. He portrayed DS Joe Hawkins in the television series Law & Order: UK . He is also known for portraying Nathan Carter in the CBBC television series 4 O'Clock Club from 2012 to 2015, and Imperial Security Bureau agent Lieutenant Supervisor Blevin in Andor .

Contents

He voiced a number of episodes of the popular show Funny Animals: Unleashed, aired via 4MUSIC.

Early life

Doc Brown was born Benjamin Harvey Bailey Smith, son of a Jamaican born British citizen, Yvonne Bailey, and an Englishman, Harvey Smith, who was 30 years his wife's senior. Raised in the Willesden area of north-west London, Smith is the younger brother of novelist and essayist Zadie Smith; [1] [2] they also have a younger brother Luke, who performs as a professional rapper under the name Luc Skyz. [3] [4] Smith attended Hampstead School. [5] Explaining his stage name, he has said: "Doc Brown's been my nickname since school, after the scientist in Back to the Future , because I was gangly and geeky. When I started doing rap battles in my teens, it became my hip-hop handle and it's stuck." [6]

Music

Doc Brown began performing as a battle rapper in 2000, appearing at the Dingwalls nightclub in Camden Lock, and later at the "Jump Off" competition in Soho. [3] He released his debut album “Citizen Smith Volume 1” in 2004. [7] This was followed by “The Document” and “Citizen Smith: Volume 2: Nothing to Lose” released in 2005 and 2006 respectively, before he went on a hiatus in his solo musical career. He formed the British hip hop group Poisonous Poets alongside rappers Lowkey, Stylah, DJ Snips, Therapist and Tony D, releasing a mixtape in 2005. [8] In 2015 he released “Empty Threats”, his first album in a decade, this time solely based on comedy rap, a first in his discography. [9] He returned to his original rapping style on his fifth album “Stemma”, released in 2017. During the past two albums, he collaborated with Ricky Gervais on the soundtrack to the 2016 film David Brent: Life on the Road, performing alongside Gervais as David Brent on the tracks “Lonely Cowboy, “Equality Street”, “Ain’t no Trouble” and on his solo track “Cards We’re Dealt”. [10] [11] Since then, Doc Brown has released collaboration material with Andy Burrows, [12] The Jazz Defenders, [13] Verb T and Romesh Ranganathan. [14]

Film and television

Smith appeared in the BBC series Rev and Miranda , as well as Channel 4's The Inbetweeners , and the CBBC series Big Babies . In 2013 he guest starred in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series Derek as a young man sentenced to community service in a nursing home. [3]

He appeared in Ben Miller's film Huge, and co-starred in Other Side of the Game. He wrote music for the 2011 Joe Cornish film Attack the Block . [3]

Smith created a teen comedy-drama for the BBC called 4 O'Clock Club . [3] He starred in the show in series 1, and made guest appearances in series 2–4. Since series 5, his brother writes the raps. The show has currently run for 118 episodes.

Most recently, Smith has delved deeper into dramatic acting, starring in the Frank Spotnitz television show Hunted , a thriller for Cinemax. He went on to shoot an episode of Midsomer Murders and in 2014, he played DS Joe Hawkins in the final series of ITV's Law & Order: UK. He had a viral song, "My Propertea", on the TV show Russell Howard's Good News . He has also appeared in new Ann Summers series Brief Encounters .

In 2016, he guest-starred on the BBC One television film Damilola, Our Loved Boy as a taxi driver. [6] He also participated in the second series of the comedy game show Taskmaster , finishing fourth.

In February 2017, he appeared on Dave's Crackanory reading "Devil's Haircut" by Sarah Morgan. That October, he was a guest on Episode 100 of The Gaffer Tapes: Fantasy Football Podcast . [15] In late 2017, he played DS Evans in Sky One's Bounty Hunters . [16]

Smith has been a guest presenter several times on the BBC Radio 5 Live film review show hosted by Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode. [17]

In 2018, he appeared in the Doctor Who episode "The Tsuranga Conundrum". [18]

In 2020, he played Richie Hansen, an abusive husband, in the second series of BBC TV drama The Split .

In 2022, he played Lieutenant Supervisor Blevin in five episodes of the first series of the Star Wars TV series Andor . [19]

In 2023, he played Simon Blake, in a four-part series of BBC TV drama The Sixth Commandment . His song “Smash That” featured in episode 3. [20]

Other work

Ben Smith's children's picture book, I Am Bear, illustrated by Sav Akyüz, has been described as "a rap-style read-aloud story". It was published by Walker Books in February 2016. [21]

Smith was a regular guest presenter on the Wittertainment podcast, and has continued to guest-present its successor Kermode and Mayo's Take.

He also co-hosts the podcast Shrink The Box together with Nemone.

In April 2024, he appeared on the football trivia podcast Career We Go, and in October 2024 appeared on the Football Cliches podcast.

Personal life

Smith is a supporter of Crystal Palace F.C. [22] He has two daughters. [23]

Discography

YearTitleLabel
2004Citizen Smith: Volume OneBust-A-Gut Productions
2005The DocumentJanomi
Poisonous Poetry (with Poisonous Poets)Self-released
2006Citizen Smith: Volume Two: Nothing to LoseHiptones
2008Another Way (unreleased)Unreleased
2015Empty Threats
2017StemmaBust-A-Gut Productions

Filmography

YearShowRoleNotes
2007 Never Mind the Full Stops Panel memberGame show
2009 Miranda Hotel Receptionist1 episode
2010 Big Babies Budge13 episodes
Rev Ikon1 episode
The Inbetweeners Steve1 episode
2011 Little Howard's Big Question Plithy Nondeploom1 episode
2012–2015 4 O'Clock Club Nathan Carter23 episodes; also creator, writer and songwriter
2012 Hunted Tyrone7 episodes
2013 Derek Deon1 episode
Imagine HimselfCredited as Ben Bailey Smith
2013–2014 Strange Hill High Mitchell26 episodes
2014 Midsomer Murders ZachCredited as Ben Bailey Smith, 1 episode
Law & Order: UK DS Joe HawkinsCredited as Ben Bailey Smith, 8 episodes
The Football's On HimselfGuest panelist
Live at the Apollo HimselfPerformer, Series 10 Episode 2
Give Out Girls Andy6 episodes
Jack and DeanPedestrianEpisode: "Freaky Mouth Pizza"
2014-2017 British Academy Children's Awards PresenterFour ceremonies
2015Ghost Fighting CorporationDetective StokerPilot of unreleased series
The John Bishop Show HimselfPerformer, 1 episode
2016 David Brent: Life on the Road Dom Johnson
Fleabag Workshop Leader1 episode
Taskmaster Himself5 episodes
Brief Encounters Johnny6 episodes
Film 2016 [24] Host1 episode
2017 Bounty Hunters DS Evans5 episodes
2018-2020 Thunderbirds Are Go Jensen Hunt (voice)1 episode
Doctor Who Durkas CiceroEpisode: "The Tsuranga Conundrum"
101 Dalmatian Street Sid Squirrel, Spencer Sausage Dog (voice)Recurring role
2019 Cleaning Up Blake6 episodes
Britannia Rufus3 episodes
TeddlesBlocksEpisode: "Tidy Up Time"
2020 Silent Witness Lt Col Ben Carmichael2 episodes S23 Ep9 & 10 "The Greater Good"
The Split Richie Hansen6 episodes
Des DC Brian Lodge3 episodes
2021 Cinderella Town Crier
2022 Persuasion Charles Musgrove
Andor Lieutenant Supervisor Blevin5 episodes
2023 The Sixth Commandment Simon Blake4 episodes
Boiling Point Darren1 episode
Significant Other Damien [25]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricky Gervais</span> English comedian (born 1961)

Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, director and musician. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms The Office (2001–2003), Extras (2005–2007), and Life's Too Short (2011–2013) with Stephen Merchant. He also created, wrote and starred in Derek (2012–2014) and After Life (2019–2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Method Man</span> American rapper (born 1971)

Clifford Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & Redman. He took his stage name from the 1979 film Method Man. In 1996, Method Man won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By", featuring R&B singer Mary J. Blige, with whom he formerly starred in Power Book II: Ghost, a spin-off of Power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zadie Smith</span> British writer (born 1975)

Zadie Smith is an English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. Her debut novel, White Teeth (2000), immediately became a best-seller and won a number of awards. She became a tenured professor in the Creative Writing faculty of New York University in September 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Vegas</span> English actor, ceramicist and comedian (born 1970)

Michael Joseph Pennington, better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English actor, comedian, director and writer. He is known for his thick Lancashire accent, husky voice, angry comedic rants, and use of surreal humour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Proops</span> American actor

Gregory Everett Proops is an American actor, stand-up comedian and television host. He is widely known for his work on the UK and US versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?. He has also voiced the titular character on the US version of Bob the Builder: Project: Build It in series 10 to 14.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Eldon</span> British actor and comedian

Kevin Eldon is an English actor and comedian. He featured in British comedy television shows of the 1990s including Fist of Fun, This Morning with Richard Not Judy, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge, I'm Alan Partridge, Big Train, Brass Eye and Jam. In 2013, Eldon appeared in his own BBC sketch series It's Kevin. He has also appeared in minor speaking roles in the HBO series Game of Thrones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Merchant</span> English comedian, actor, director and writer (born 1974)

Stephen James Merchant is an English comedian, actor, director, and writer. He was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series The Office (2001–2003), and co-writer, co-director, and co-star of both Extras (2005–2007) and Life's Too Short (2011–2013) alongside Ricky Gervais. With Gervais and Karl Pilkington, he hosted The Ricky Gervais Show in its radio, podcast, audiobook, and television formats; the radio version won a bronze Sony Award. He also provided the voice of the robotic "Intelligence Dampening Sphere" Wheatley in the 2011 video game Portal 2. Merchant co-developed the Sky One travel documentary series An Idiot Abroad (2010–2012) and co-created Lip Sync Battle (2015–2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Tennant</span> Scottish actor (born 1971)

David John Tennant is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in the sci-fi series Doctor Who. In 2023, he returned to the show as the fourteenth incarnation. His other notable screen roles include DI Alec Hardy in the crime drama series Broadchurch (2013–2017) and its 2014 remake, Kilgrave in the superhero series Jessica Jones (2015–2019), Crowley in the fantasy series Good Omens (2019–present) and various fictionalised versions of himself in the comedy series Staged (2020–2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Scott (actor)</span> American actor (born 1973)

Adam Paul Scott is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Ben Wyatt in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, for which he was twice nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. He has also appeared as Derek Huff in the film Step Brothers, Johnny Meyer in The Aviator, Henry Pollard in the Starz sitcom Party Down, Ed Mackenzie in the HBO series Big Little Lies, and Trevor in the NBC series The Good Place. In 2022, he began starring in the Apple TV+ psychological drama series Severance, for which he received numerous award nominations, including for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, as well as best actor nominations from the Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globes, Critics' Choice, and more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Brown</span> English actor

Ralph William John Brown is an English actor and writer, known for playing Danny the drug dealer in Withnail and I, the security guard Aaron in Alien 3, DJ Bob Silver in The Boat That Rocked aka Pirate Radio, super-roadie Del Preston in Wayne's World 2, the pilot Ric Olié in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and Henry Clinton in Turn: Washington's Spies. He won the Samuel Beckett Award for his first play Sanctuary written for Joint Stock Theatre Company in 1987, and the Raindance and Sapporo Film Festival awards for his first screenplay for the British film New Year's Day in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhys Darby</span> New Zealand actor and comedian

Rhys Montague Darby is a New Zealand actor and comedian, known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime, and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals. He was nominated for the Billy T Award in 2001 and 2002 and won the 2012 Fred (Dagg) Award for best NZ show at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampstead School</span> Community school in London, England

Hampstead School is a large comprehensive school in the London Borough of Camden, England. The school building is one of the oldest in the borough. It has about 1,300 students between the ages of 11 and 19 attending the Lower School and the Sixth Form College.

Daniel Renton Skinner is an English actor and comedy writer, working in stage, film and television. Skinner often performs as the character Angelos Epithemiou, and is also one half of the Brian and Roger podcast.

Robert Daws is an English actor, and crime fiction author. He is best known for his television roles, including Tuppy Glossop in Jeeves and Wooster (1990–93), gruff cricketer Roger Dervish in the comedy Outside Edge (1994–96), mini-cab firm owner Sam in the sitcom Roger Roger (1996–2003), and East Yorkshire GP Dr Gordon Ormerod in the period medical drama The Royal (2003–11).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaughn Taylor (actor)</span> American actor (1910–1983)

Vaughn Everett Taylor was an American actor. He became known for his roles in many anthology series, including Kraft Television Theatre (1947–1957) and Robert Montgomery Presents (1950–1954). He also appeared in films such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Psycho (1960).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Graham</span> Scottish actress

Julie Graham is a Scottish actress from Irvine, Ayrshire. Her credits include Taggart (1986), The Fruit Machine (1988), Nuns on the Run (1990), Harry (1993–1995), The Near Room (1995), Preaching to the Perverted (1997), Bedrooms and Hallways (1998), Some Voices (2000), At Home with the Braithwaites (2000–2003), William and Mary (2003–2005), Bonekickers (2008), Doc Martin (2011), Tower Block (2012), The Bletchley Circle (2013), Shetland (2014-2022), Benidorm (2016-2018), Doctor Who (2020), Queens of Mystery (2019–2021), Midsomer Murders (2023), and Ridley (2023).

<i>Kermode and Mayos Film Review</i> Radio programme

Kermode and Mayo's Film Review was a radio programme with Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo, broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live on Friday afternoons. The show was self-described as the BBC's "flagship film programme" and featured film reviews from Kermode, interviews with actors and other guests, and listeners' emails. The programme's Twitter handle, "Wittertainment", was a nickname for the programme itself.

Jon Daly, sometimes credited as Jonathan C. Daly, Jon C. Daly or Jonathan Barney Daly, is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer best known for his sketch comedy work on the Comedy Central series Kroll Show. In 2013, he starred as Hobbes in the Amazon Studios original series Betas, and also played Agent Filippo in Zoolander 2 (2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brett Goldstein</span> British actor and writer

Brett Goldstein is a British actor, comedian, writer, producer, and podcaster. Known for his role as Roy Kent in the Apple TV+ sports comedy series Ted Lasso, he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for each of the first two seasons. He is also the co-creator of the comedy series Shrinking (2023).

<i>The Gaffer Tapes</i> Podcast

The Gaffer Tapes are a comedy fantasy football brand, group of authors and a podcast.

References

  1. Barton, Laura (4 March 2005). "We are family: Award-winning novelist Zadie Smith talks to up-and-coming British rapper Doc Brown, better known to her as Ben, her younger brother". The Guardian . Retrieved 28 December 2010.
  2. Duerden, Nick (6 February 2013), "Ben Bailey Smith: Out of the shadow, into the limelight", The Independent.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Biography". Doc Brown website. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  4. "Biography". Luc Skyz. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  5. Hamilton, Chloe (15 October 2013). "Back to school: A visit to Hampstead School". The Independent .
  6. 1 2 Hogan, Michael (14 April 2013), "Doc Brown: 'I'm an accidental comedian. That makes me dangerous'", The Observer .
  7. "Citizen Smith – Volume 1 CD". Doc Brown. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  8. "UKHH Artist: Poisonous Poets: Profile, Streaming, Music, News - HHIE". Hip Hop In English. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  9. Jones, Grant (13 February 2024). "Doc Brown :: Empty Threats – RapReviews" . Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  10. Brent and Johnson - Equality Street [Official Music Video] , retrieved 19 February 2024
  11. David Brent: Life on the Road (2016) - Soundtracks - IMDb , retrieved 19 February 2024
  12. "Doc Brown & Andy Burrows - Light Your Way|pwm". note(ノート) (in Japanese). 22 March 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  13. "Home". The Jazz Defenders. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  14. "Verb T & Vic Grimes - Four Oh! Feat. Doc Brown & Romesh Ranganathan (Remix) (Digital)". High Focus Records Limited. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  15. Week 9: The Gaffer Tapes 100th Episode Special #FPL 17/18. The Gaffer Tapes: Fantasy Football Comedy Podcast, Episode 31, 18 October 2017.
  16. "Bounty Hunters - Character Guide".
  17. "Kermode and Mayo's Film Review | with Ben Bailey Smith and Clarisse Loughrey". BBC Radio 5. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  18. "Series 11 Episode 5 - The Tsuranga Conundrum". www.radiotimes.com.
  19. Sanguino, Juan (14 September 2022). "Ben Bailey Smith, the actor who shot a 'Star Wars' series almost without knowing it: 'I had never worked like this'". El Pais.
  20. "The Sixth Commandment - the cast and crew discuss the making of the new factual drama series". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  21. Kellaway, Kate (31 January 2016), "Hey, kids, there’s a new bear on the block", The Observer.
  22. "Doc Brown: South London Is In My Blood". Crystal Palace F.C. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  23. As told to Rich Pelley (18 July 2022), Pelley, Rich (18 July 2022). "'I've denied it for years, but Taylor Swift really can write': Ben Bailey Smith's honest playlist". The Guardian.
  24. "BBC - Presenters confirmed for Film 2016 - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk.
  25. Whittock, Jesse; Shackleton, Liz (14 November 2022). "Mark Heap Joins ITVX Comedy 'Significant Other'; 'Drag Race' Heads For Asia; 'What Happened To Dorothy Bell?' Casting (Exclusive); Nippon TV ATF Formats — Global Briefs". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 March 2023.