Reece Shearsmith
| Reece Shearsmith | |
|---|---|
|
Shearsmith in October 2003 | |
| Born |
Reeson Wayne Shearsmith 27 August 1969 (age 47) Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Bretton Hall College |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Shearsmith (m. 2001) |
| Children | 2 |
Reeson Wayne "Reece" Shearsmith (born 27 August 1969) is an English actor, writer and comedian. He created, wrote and starred in sketch show The League of Gentlemen, along with Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson. He and Pemberton also created, wrote and starred in another dark comedy series Psychoville. He and Pemberton currently write and star in their anthology series Inside No. 9. In The League of Gentlemen, Psychoville and Inside No. 9, Shearsmith plays multiple characters.
Early life
Reece was born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire and went to Bretton Hall College.
Career
The League of Gentlemen initially began as a stage act in 1995, transferred to BBC Radio 4 as On the Town with The League of Gentlemen in 1995 and then arrived on television on BBC Two in 1999. The latter saw Shearsmith and his colleagues awarded a British Academy Television Award, a Royal Television Society Award and the prestigious Golden Rose of Montreaux.
Following The League of Gentlemen, Shearsmith appeared in comedy programmes including Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere as well as playing insane villain Tony in the Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer comedy Catterick.[1] He appeared in two episodes of the award-winning pop-culture comedy Spaced as Robot Wars obsessed TA soldier Dexter, and played neurotic Doctor Flynn in hospital sitcom TLC alongside Alexander Armstrong.
From March 2006 to January 2007, he appeared in the West End as Leo Bloom in The Producers.[2]
In the 2008 English language DVD release of the cult 2006 Norwegian animated film Free Jimmy, Shearsmith voiced the character of "Ante", a heavy-set, bizarrely-dressed biker member of the "Lappish Mafia". In this, his voice is used along with Steve Pemberton and Mark Gatiss.
Psychoville began June 2009 and marked his return to BBC2. The dark comedy series was written by Shearsmith and his League of Gentlemen writing partner Steve Pemberton. Both Shearsmith and Pemberton played numerous characters in the programme, which ran for two series and a Halloween special.
In 2010 Shearsmith appeared in John Landis' black comedy Burke and Hare[3] and played the lead character in Ghost Stories,[4] written and directed by Jeremy Dyson and magician Andy Nyman.
In 2011, Cameron Mackintosh's new musical Betty Blue Eyes opened in the West End, in which Shearsmith played downtrodden husband Gilbert Chilvers (a chiropodist) alongside Sarah Lancashire.[5] Also in 2011, he played Harry Wiseman in Eric & Ernie, a feature-length TV drama about Morecambe and Wise.
In 2012, he appeared in Bad Sugar, a comedy pilot written by Sam Bain & Jesse Armstrong, along with Olivia Colman, Julia Davis and Sharon Horgan. A full series order was cancelled due to availability of the writers and cast.[6] He also appeared in comedy pilot The Function Room[7].
In 2013, he played Patrick Troughton in An Adventure in Space and Time,[8] a docu-drama about the conception and making of Doctor Who, which was written by Mark Gatiss. He worked with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer again in the first series of House of Fools as Martin the ghost and in the Christmas special as Santa. He made two guest appearances in Jeremy Dyson's Psychobitches as Old Mother Shipton in series one and Princess Margaret in series two.
Also in 2013, he starred in Ben Wheatley's A Field In England as Whitehead and appeared in The World's End.
In 2014, Shearsmith and Pemberton returned to BBC2 with a new dark comedy series called Inside No. 9. Each episode of the anthology series takes place in a different 'No. 9' location. Shearsmith and Pemberton play various characters across the series and have also directed two of the episodes.
Also in 2014, he starred as Malcolm Webster in ITV drama series, based on a true story, The Widower.[9] Also in 2014, he starred as Detective Sergeant Stone in Chasing Shadows, an ITV drama series about missing persons.[10]
In 2015, he played Gagan Rassmussen in the Series 9 Doctor Who episode "Sleep No More",[11] Steele in High-Rise directed by Ben Wheatley, Ray in Peter Kay's Car Share,[12] and Pastor John in the Christmas specials of Julia Davis's Hunderby.[13] In February 2015, Shearsmith was interviewed by Adam Buxton on BBC Radio 4's Chain Reaction and he then interviewed Bob Mortimer.[14] Also in 2015, he appeared in Hangmen at the Royal Court Theatre from Thursday 10 September to Saturday 10 October 2015.[15] The play was written by Martin McDonagh and directed by Matthew Dunster.
In 2016, he appeared in Mid Morning Matters With Alan Partridge,[16] American musical comedy series Galavant[17] and dark comedy thriller Stag.
A Christmas special of Inside No. 9 will air in December 2016 and a third series will air in 2017.[18]
Personal life
Reece is married to Jane Shearsmith, and they have two children together. His daughter Holly appears in the first episode of Psychoville as the birthday girl who gets a makeover from Mr Jelly the clown, played by Shearsmith.[19]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Alas Smith and Jones | Actor |
| The League of Gentlemen Stage Show | Writer/Actor | |
| P.R.O.B.E. | The Devil of Winterborne | |
| 1996 | Friday Night Armistice | Performer |
| P.R.O.B.E. | The Ghosts of Winterborne | |
| 1997 | In the Red | Performer |
| Mash and Peas do U.S. | Actor | |
| Auton | Actor | |
| On The Town With The League Of Gentlemen | Writer/Actor | |
| 1998 | Lenny Henry Goes to Town | Actor |
| In the Red | Actor | |
| Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round | Actor | |
| 1999 | The League of Gentlemen, Series 1 | Writer/Actor |
| This Year's Love | Actor | |
| 2000 | A Local Show For Local People | Writer/Performer |
| The League of Gentlemen, Series 2 | Writer/Actor | |
| The League of Gentlemen Christmas Special | Writer/Actor | |
| Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) | Actor | |
| The League of Gentlemen - A Local Book For Local People | Writer | |
| 2001 | Spaced | Actor |
| Coming Up | Birthday Girl | |
| A Local Show for Local People (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane) | Writer/Performer | |
| 2002 | The League of Gentlemen, Series 3 | Writer/Actor |
| TLC | Actor | |
| The League of Gentlemen, The Making Of Series 3 | Presenter | |
| 'Art' (Whitehall Theatre) | Performer | |
| Robbie the Reindeer: Legend of the Lost Tribe | Voice Actor | |
| 2003 | Mash and Peas | Actor |
| 2004 | Catterick | Actor |
| Shaun of the Dead | Actor | |
| The All Star Comedy Show - Monkey Trousers | Performer | |
| Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere | Actor | |
| 2005 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Voice Actor |
| The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse | Writer/Actor | |
| Wyndham's Theatre Presents Shakespeare's As You Like It | Performer | |
| The League of Gentlemen Are Behind You (various venues) | Writer/Performer | |
| 2006 | The Producers (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane) | Performer |
| 2007 | Miss Marple: Ordeal by Innocence | Actor |
| The Abbey (TV series) | Actor | |
| Modern Men | Performer | |
| Ladies and Gentlemen: Comedy Showcase | Actor | |
| Christmas at the Riviera | Actor | |
| 2008 | Coming Up | Lickle Bill Um |
| The Cottage | Actor | |
| The Common Pursuit at the Menier Chocolate Factory | Performer | |
| Free Jimmy | Ante (voice) | |
| 2009 | Psychoville | Actor/Writer |
| Comedians at the Lyric Hammersmith | Performer | |
| Would I Lie to You? | Performer | |
| 2010 | The First Men in the Moon | Actor |
| Burke and Hare | Actor | |
| The Bear | Actor | |
| Good Boy | Actor | |
| 2011 | Betty Blue Eyes(The Novello Theatre) | Performer |
| 2012 | Comedy Showcase - The Function Room | Actor |
| Swiftcover SwiftBrothers Advertising Campaign | Voice Actor | |
| Absent Friends | Performer | |
| Henry IV | Actor | |
| Him Indoors | Actor | |
| Silent Night of the Living Dead | Actor | |
| 2013 | A Field in England | Actor |
| Comedy Showcase - Bad Sugar | Actor | |
| An Adventure in Space and Time | Actor, as Patrick Troughton | |
| The World's End | Actor | |
| 2014–present | Inside No 9 | Actor/Writer/Director |
| 2014 | The Widower | Actor |
| Chasing Shadows | DS Sean Stone | |
| Dead Funny: Horror Stories by Comedians | Writer | |
| 2015 | Peter Kay's Car Share | Ray the Fishmonger |
| Hangmen by Martin McDonagh - The Royal Court Theatre | Syd Armfield [20] | |
| High-Rise | Nathan Steele | |
| Doctor Who | Gagan Rassmussen | |
| 2016 | Galavant | Neo of Sporin |
| Stag | Wendy | |
| Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge | Jasper Jones | |
| 2016–present | Diddy TV | Mr. Stockholm |
References
- ↑ Bass, George (2015-07-16). "Catterick box set review: 'The most bonkers thing Reeves and Mortimer have ever done'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ Telegraph article December 2007
- ↑ Burke and Hare Transform Edinburgh
- ↑ "Reece Shearsmith in Ghost Stories from 9 Nov 2010". London Theatre Guide. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ "Behind the scenes of 'Betty Blue Eyes'". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ Guide, British Comedy (2013-07-22). "Channel 4 confirm Bad Sugar series cancellation". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ "The Function Room - what time is it on TV? Episode 0 Series 0 cast list and preview.". RadioTimes. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ "Doctor Who - Reece Shearsmith cast as Patrick Troughton". RadioTimes. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ "The Widower, review: Reece Shearsmith is in a league of his own". The Independent. 2014-03-18. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ "Chasing Shadows, ITV, episode 1, review". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ BBC America
- ↑ "Episode 3, Peter Kay's Car Share - BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ "Hunderby Specials | Baby Cow Productions". www.babycow.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ "Reece Shearsmith talks to Bob Mortimer, Series 10, Chain Reaction - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ "Reece Shearsmith cast in Hangmen at Royal Court Theatre'". LondonTheatre1.com. 2015-07-17. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
- ↑ "REVIEW: Alan Partridge's Mid Morning Matters S2 Ep4 - The Metropolist". The Metropolist. 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ ""It's a dark season" on Galavant, "and it's been all along"". 2016-01-24. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ Guide, British Comedy (2016-10-30). "Inside No. 9 returns at Christmas". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ Guide, British Comedy. "Psychoville trivia - British Comedy Guide". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/hangmen