Stephen Frost

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Stephen Frost
Stephen Frost Glastonbury 2019.jpg
Glastonbury Festival, 2019, with the Stephen Frost Improv All Stars
Born
Stephen Frederick Eustace Frost

(1955-12-28) 28 December 1955 (age 69)
Redruth, Cornwall, England
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Actor and comedian
Years active1980–present
Presenting the "Stephen Frost All Stars" improvisation show, Glastonbury Festival, 2008 Stephenfrost.JPG
Presenting the "Stephen Frost All Stars" improvisation show, Glastonbury Festival, 2008

Stephen Frederick Eustace Frost (born 28 December 1955) is an English actor and comedian, best known for his work on Whose Line Is It Anyway? as well as several projects with comedy partner Mark Arden.

Contents

Early life

Frost was born in Redruth, Cornwall, and is the son of the abstract artist Terry Frost and brother of painter Anthony Frost.

He joined Banbury School (now Wykham Park Academy) in north Oxfordshire, part of Stanbridge Hall, in September 1967. The school had become comprehensive that term, but only in name; the buildings largely remained. The school transitioned over years. He played rugby for his county at age 16, and badminton locally, and athletics, in the AAA five star scheme. [1] His brother Simon was also athletic. He took part in many school drama productions, in the sixth form, with his brothers Simon and Matthew. [2] In the sixth form he grew a beard, and worked with the National Youth Theatre. He won a playwright award from the Royal Court Theatre. The head of the school drama group was Brian Derbyshire; the teacher left the school at the same time as Stephen, in July 1974. [3]

He passed two O-levels, Geography and Physics. He passed one A level, Geography. [4] His headteacher was Harry Judge. He lived at 2 Old Parr Road from 1963 to 1974. In 1974 family moved to Newlyn in Cornwall. He attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Art Malik (and his wife Gina Rowe), Mark Arden and actors Jeremy Gittins and Robert McCulley. [5]

Career

Work with Mark Arden

Frost is known for his work in the 1980s with Mark Arden as part of the double act The Oblivion Boys on Saturday Live . Veterans of the alternative comedy scene, he and Arden appeared in The Young Ones , and later had their own TV series Lazarus and Dingwall on BBC2. They played the lead roles in the 1987 revival of Tom Stoppard's play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at the Piccadilly Theatre. They also played two robbers in 'Big Deal' series 2, in the episode 'Popping Across The Pond'.

In 1994 the Oblivion Boys starred opposite the comedy duo Raw Sex (Simon Brint and Rowland Rivron) in the partially-improvised comedy film There's No Business... .

The duo appeared in a series of British TV advertisements ending with the catchphrase "I bet he drinks Carling Black Label". One spoofed the "launderette" commercial for Levi's in which Nick Kamen stripped to his underwear; in their pastiche, Arden and Frost played launderette customers who were stripped entirely, with just strategically placed books maintaining their modesty. [6]

Solo work

Without Arden, Frost has appeared on BBC Radio 4's Just a Minute , and the improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? . He has appeared on three episodes of Have I Got News for You (there was a 13-year gap between his second and third appearance) and on Never Mind the Buzzcocks . He also appeared as Dirk in Tony Bagley's series Married .

He played two small roles in Blackadder : a prison guard in the first-series episode "Witchsmeller Pursuivant", and the overly cheerful head of a firing squad in the episode "Corporal Punishment" of Blackadder Goes Forth . He also appeared in the comedy series Mr. Bean , starring Rowan Atkinson, in the episode entitled "Mr. Bean Rides Again" in one of the skits where Mr. Bean is on a train.

In 2003 he appeared in a production of 12 Angry Men alongside Bill Bailey.

Frost appeared alongside Tony Hawks and Angus Deayton in the 2012 feature film Playing the Moldovans at Tennis .

Currently

Frost is a regular on the London comedy circuit. He is also a veteran of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Glastonbury Festival.

Frost still appears regularly with The Comedy Store Players in The Comedy Store, London.

Filmography

Film

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
1987The Love ChildTough Policeman
1994There's No BusinessReg Prince
1995Savage HeartsConcierge
Feast of July Man in Restaurant
Spot's Magical ChristmasDeer 1Voice
Video short
United Kingdom version
Credited as Steve Frost
1998WindPolicemanShort film
2000The Suicidal DogPhilip the Test Your Strength ManShort film
2012Playing the Moldovans at TennisSteve
2014The SqueakiesCompere
2021PhaseDad

Television

Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1981 Doctor Who TharilUncredited
Series 18: "Warriors' Gate: Part Four"
1982-1983 Carrott's Lib 8 episodes, 1 special
Writer – "Best of Carrott's Lib"
1982-1984 The Young Ones Various7 episodes – 3 credited as Steve Frost
1983 Blackadder Soft, A Guard2 episodes – 1 uncredited
Dramarama Rev. BellSeries 1, episode 2: "Rip It Up"
Reilly, Ace of Spies StyrneEpisode 11: "The Last Journey"
Rebellious JukeboxThe Oblivion BoysEpisode #1.2
1983-1984The EntertainersThe Oblivion Boys2 episodes
1984 The Comic Strip Presents... BulaSeries 2, episode 7: "Slags"
1985 Big Deal TonySeries 2, episode 14: "Popping Across the Pond"
Dempsey and Makepeace Big MallSeries 2, episode 5: "Tequila Sunrise"
Happy Families Village GendarmeEpisode 3: "Madeleine"
Girls on Top Disco DancerSeries 1, episode 3: "C.O.D."
1986 Kit Curran PatesSeries 2, episode 4: "A Sick Society"
1986-1996 Saturday Live Himself / Oblivion Boys / Various10 episodes
Writer – 1 episode
1988BustMike Benson2 episodes
1989 Blackadder Goes Forth Corporal JonesSeries 4, episode 2: "Corporal Punishment"
Close to Home Frank DeAngelo4 episodes
1991Lazarus & DingwallSteve Lazarus6 episodes
Writer
Murder Most Horrid Sgt. DawkinsSeries 1, episode 1: "The Case of the Missing"
1991-2005 Have I Got News for You Himself / Panelist3 episodes
1992 Mr. Bean The Laughing ManEpisode 6: "Mr. Bean Rides Again"
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles Huge ManSeries 2, episode 4: "Barcelona, May 1917"
Fool's Gold: The Story of the Brink's-Mat RobberyBernie ClarkeTV movie
1992-1998 Whose Line Is It Anyway? Himself / Performer33 episodes
1993The Almost Complete History of the 20th CenturyNarratorVoice
13 episodes
1993-1994 Brighton Belles Gilbert2 episodes
1994 The All New Alexei Sayle Show VariousEpisode 6
What's Up Doc? Steve the Security Guard / Walter Flume16 episodes
Credited as Steve Frost
Blue Heaven Big LarryEpisode 1
Frank Stubbs Promotes Big EddieSeries 2, episode 5: "Mr. Chairman"
Harry Enfield & Chums Man PaintingEpisode #1.5
1994-1995 The Bill Duggan / Colin Glover2 episodes
1995Jack and Jeremy's Police 4VariousTV movie
1996 Jack and Jeremy's Real Lives Steve / Stephen / Farmer3 episodes
Drop the Dead Donkey TomSeries 5, episode 7: "Charnley in Love"
The Famous Five Dirty DickSeries 2, episode 6: "Five on a Hike Together"
1997GobbleGun shop assistantTV movie
Pie in the Sky TrubbSeries 5, episode 3: "Pork Pies"
1998 Vanity Fair Bute CrawleyMiniseries
4 episodes
1999 Just a Minute Himself / Panelist4 episodes
French and Saunders Special – "French and Saunders: The Phantom Millennium"
2001Mr. CharityCab DriverEpisode 6: "The Big W"
2002SpheriksMatch NarratorVoice
Credited as Steve Frost
2002-2005 Never Mind the Buzzcocks Himself
2004Working the ThamesHimself / PresenterDocumentary
2011 Paul Merton's Adventures HimselfEpisode 4: "Caravan"
2013 Poirot Chief InspectorSeries 13, episode 4: "The Labours of Hercules"
2015 Boomers German JohnEpisode: "Christmas Special"
2018 Holby City Peter MosleySeries 20, episode 49: "Love Is"
2023 Ted Lasso BruceSeries 3, episode 2: "(I don't want to go to) Chelsea"

Books

References

  1. Banbury Guardian Thursday 29 October 1970, page 24
  2. Banbury Guardian Thursday 29 November 1973, page 16
  3. Times Friday March 29 1974, page 12
  4. Banbury Guardian Thursday 29 August 1974, page 11
  5. The Stage Thursday 16 June 1977, page 15
  6. Ad on YouTube