Will Smith (comedian)

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William Smith
Born
William James Smith

(1971-06-08) 8 June 1971 (age 52) [1]
Winchester, Hampshire, England
Occupation(s)Actor, screenwriter, stand-up comedian, novelist, producer
Years active1996–present
Known forTV, film and radio comedy

William James Smith (born 8 June 1971) is an English stand-up comedian, screenwriter, novelist, actor and producer.

Contents

As co-writer and co-producer of the HBO sitcom Veep , he was among the recipients of two Emmys and two Writers Guild of America Awards, and has received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and the Producers Guild of America Award for Best Episodic Comedy. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Early life and education

Though born in Winchester, Hampshire, [6] Smith grew up in Jersey and was educated there at Victoria College. His brother is the TV presenter and wine critic Olly Smith. [7]

Stand up comedy

Smith started his career in stand-up comedy, winning awards including Chortle Best Headliner 2005 and Time Out Comedy 2004. [8] One critic called him 'the Hugh Grant of comedy', [9] and he appeared on The 11 O'Clock Show with Sacha Baron Cohen and Ricky Gervais as the character 'Posh Boy'. [10] He took solo shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival every year from 2003 to 2006: "Will Smith Is Much Obliged", "Misplaced Childhood" (inspired by his love of the rock band Marillion and their 1985 album of the same name), [11] "Ten Arguments I Should Have Won", [12] and "How To Be Cool". [13] Smith supported Gervais on his record-breaking sell-out 2007 "Fame" tour, and supported Ardal O'Hanlon and Johnny Vegas on national tours.

Television

Smith serves as showrunner and executive producer on Slow Horses , the Apple TV+ series based on the espionage novels by Mick Herron. Smith calls himself 'a huge, huge Bond fan... I'd love to write one', and describes Slow Horses as 'the anti-Bond'. [14] The show films in the UK and stars Gary Oldman, Jonathan Pryce, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jack Lowden. [15] The series, which premiered on Apple TV+ on 1 April 2022, won Smith the USC Scripter Award two years running, for best episodic adaptation of a printed work in 2023, and again in 2024. [16] Smith was also nominated in the writer: drama category in the 2023 Royal Television Society Programme Awards, and for best long form TV drama in the 2023 Writers' Guild of Great Britain awards. [17] [18] [19]

Smith has been involved with both British and American political satire. He was a writer and one of the executive producers on HBO's Emmy-winning sitcom Veep , starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. [20] He wrote or co-wrote the Veep episodes: Chung (Season 1); Midterms, Running (Season 2); Some New Beginnings, Fishing (Season 3); Storms and Pancakes, Testimony (Season 4); Thanksgiving, C**tgate (Season 5)[ citation needed ]. Smith also wrote on the BAFTA-winning BBC political comedy The Thick of It . He was the only writer on the programme who acted in it – as MP Peter Mannion's inept adviser, The Lord of the Rings -obsessive Phil Smith. He also has a cameo role in the closing credits of In the Loop , the Anglo-American film spin-off.

He served as executive producer on HBO sitcom Avenue 5. Other writing credits include sitcoms Damned and Back (TV series), both airing on Channel 4.[ citation needed ] With Armando Iannucci and Roger Drew he devised BBC future comedy Time Trumpet , six episodes that screened in 2006. [21] In 2018 he was reported to be working on co-writing a television series of Scarfolk . [22]

Books

Comedy books by Smith include How To Be Cool [23] (Harry Enfield said of it 'Will Smith is the coolest guy in the world (if uncool is the new cool) – he's also terrifically funny'), and The Joy of No Sex, published by Penguin, [24] a parody of The Joy of Sex .

Smith has written for various publications, including the magazine Intelligent Life , in which he learnt something new for each issue. Articles included banjo-playing, ice-sculpting, circus skills and making a soufflé. [25]

In 2015 Smith published his first novel, Mainlander (4th Estate, a division of HarperCollins), [26] a thriller about a schoolboy who goes missing on Jersey. The Independent described it as 'John le Carré meets Middlemarch', [9] and ShortList called it a 'knockout'. [27]

Smith reflected on the difference between writing for television and writing a novel in The Guardian . "The chain from author to reader is short and simple – agent, editor, proofreader, shop/website. In TV, the script will have to be signed off by producers, executive producers, genre commissioners and channel commissioners, and that’s still only a starting point". He cited as his influences John Cleese and Stephen Fry, as well as Charlotte Brontë and George Eliot. [20]

Radio

Smith has appeared on BBC Radio 4 as a guest in comedy panel shows and in his own shows.

Acting credits

YearTitleRoleNotes
1997 The 11 O'Clock Show
2000 Time Gentlemen Please
2003 Gash
2004 A Wife For William
2005Back in the Day
2006 The Charlotte Church Show
2006 Never Mind the Buzzcocks
2006–2012 The Thick of It Phil Smith 2006, one-hour special in 2007, 2009, 2012
2007The C WordPresenterThe euphemism for "cunt", not "cancer"
2007 The Late Edition
2008For One Night Only
2009 Argumental 2 guest appearances
2011 Comedy Lab TonySeason 12, Episode 5
2012 Have I Got News for You
2012 Dead Boss Governor GoreySeason 1, Episode 6
2014 Paddington Geographer
2016-2018 Damned Zac
2017 Hampstead Leon Rowlands
2019 Greed Teacher

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References

  1. ↑ "Smith, Will, 1971– – LC Linked Data Service | Library of Congress". Id.loc.gov. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  2. ↑ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". emmys.com. Retrieved 9 September 2016. "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". emmys.com. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "Veep | Golden Globes". goldenglobes.com. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  4. ↑ "2016 Writers Guild Awards Nominees". awards.wga.org. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ↑ "2016 PGA Nominations (Complete List) | Hollywood Reporter". hollywoodreporter.com. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016. "2017 PGA Nominations (Complete List) | Hollywood Reporter". hollywoodreporter.com. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  6. ↑ Archived 11 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "Twitter / jollyolly: @tvpeanuts Yes I am related". Twitter.com. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  8. ↑ "Will Smith on : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  9. 1 2 "Will Smith's New Book: John Le Carre Meets Middlemarch". Independent. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "The 11 O'Clock Show (1998–2000) : Full Cast & Crew". IMDb.com. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  11. ↑ Ritchie, Jason. "Interview: Will Smith". Get Ready to Rock. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  12. ↑ "Will Smith: 10 Arguments I Should Have Won' review : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  13. ↑ "Will Smith: How To Be Cool' review : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  14. ↑ Harvey, Chris (25 November 2023). "The Thick of It writer Will Smith interview: 'Slow Horses is like the anti-Bond'". The Telegraph.
  15. ↑ Thorne, Will (14 December 2020). "Kristin Scott Thomas and Jonathan Pryce Join Gary Oldman in Apple's 'Slow Horses'".
  16. ↑ "2024 USC Scripter Awards Winners List: 'American Fiction', 'Slow Horses'". 3 March 2024.
  17. ↑ "Trailer for new Apple Original espionage drama "Slow Horses," starring Academy Award winner Gary Oldman, debuts ahead of global premiere on April 1, 2022". Apple.com. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  18. ↑ "Will Smith on Slow Horses, working with Gary Oldman and controlling the swear count". Royal Television Society. 17 April 2023.
  19. ↑ "Writers Guild Awards Shortlist 2023". 6 December 2022.
  20. 1 2 Will Smith (21 February 2015). "A screenwriter turns novelist, looking for less interference and fewer turkeys | Books". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  21. ↑ "Credits". Time Trumpet. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  22. ↑ "Gaffe as civil service magazine prints poster telling parents to shoot rabid children". Sky News. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  23. ↑ How to Be Cool: Make Social Blunders a Thing of the Past!: Amazon.co.uk: Will Smith: Books. ASIN   0719524903.
  24. ↑ Smith, Will; Drew, Roger (2005). The Joy of No Sex: A Guide to Life Without Lovemaking: Amazon.co.uk: Will Smith, Roger Drew. Michael Joseph. ISBN   9780718148379.
  25. ↑ Archived 16 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine [ dead link ]
  26. ↑ Will Smith (2015). Mainlander. Fourth Estate. ISBN   9780007594269.
  27. ↑ "The ShortRead: Will Smith | ShortList Magazine". Shortlist.com. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  28. ↑ "BBC – Programmes – Categorised as will smith" . Retrieved 18 April 2009.
  29. ↑ Will Smith. Will Smith Presents: The Tao of Bergerac (BBC Audio). ISBN   9781405677424.
  30. ↑ "Will Smith's Mid-life Crisis Management". British Comedy Guide . Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  31. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 – Mr and Mrs Smith". Bbc.co.uk. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
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