Tom Basden

Thomas William Basden (born 30 November 1980) is an English actor, comedy writer, and a member of the British four-man sketch group Cowards. He has written and performed extensively for comedy shows on the BBC and Channel 4 and often collaborates in two-man shows with fellow Cowards member Tim Key.

Tom Basden
Born
Thomas William Basden

(1980-11-30) 30 November 1980
Sutton, Greater London, England
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian, writer
Years active2006–present

Education

Tom Basden was born in Sutton, Greater London. He was educated at King's College School, a private school for boys in Wimbledon in South-West London, where he was in the same year as fellow actors Khalid Abdalla and Ben Barnes; followed by Pembroke College, Cambridge. He was vice-president of Cambridge Footlights and his contemporaries included Stefan Golaszewski, Sarah Solemani, Tim Key (who pretended to be studying for a Ph.D at Cambridge to be part of a Footlights production) and Dan Stevens.[1]

Career

Performance

Basden's one-man show at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Tom Basden Won't Say Anything, won the "if.comedy award" for Best Newcomer.[2] He starred with Tim Key in the 2007 short film The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, which won the UK Film Council Kodak Award for Best British Short Film.[3]

In 2008 Basden appeared as the resident musician for the second series of the BBC Radio 4 comedy show Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better, replacing Tim Minchin.[4]

He was a guest panellist on the BBC Two comedy show Never Mind the Buzzcocks in November 2009.[5]

In 2012 he appeared as Key's musical sidekick in the Radio 4 programme Tim Key's Late-Night Poetry.[6]

Since 2013, Basden has co-written and appeared in the ITV ancient-Rome sitcom Plebs.[7] He played a lead role the 2013 BBC Two comedy thriller The Wrong Mans.[8] He co-wrote the third and fifth episodes of series one, and wrote both episodes of series two which aired the following year.

He played Dan the sound engineer in the 2016 film David Brent: Life on the Road, and Jeremy Corbyn in the 2018 Royal Wedding special of The Windsors.[9] He had a main role as Matt in the Netflix comedy series After Life.[10] He wrote and appeared in the 2022 BBC sitcom Here We Go.[11] He starred as Mr Short in the 2022 Netflix young adult sci-fi series The Last Bus.[12]

Writing

Basden's 2010 play Party, about a group of university students holding a meeting to found their own political party, was performed at the Arts Theatre in London. Brian Logan, writing for The Guardian, gave it a four out of a possible five stars and describing it "an idiosyncratic and highly enjoyable piece performed beautifully by a crack cast of upcoming comics",[13] while Dominic Cavendish for The Daily Telegraph called it "astute (and) stingingly amusing".[14] A radio adaptation of the play produced by Julia McKenzie was broadcast on Radio 4 for three series and a Christmas special from 2010 to 2018. In addition to writing the adaptation, Basden appeared, alongside Tim Key, Jonny Sweet, Anna Crilly and Katy Wix.[15]

His play Joseph K, based on Franz Kafka's novel The Trial and starring Tim Key, was longlisted for the 2011 Evening Standard Theatre Awards Most Promising Playwright: it also received positive reviews from The Guardian[16] and The Daily Telegraph.[17]

In 2011 he wrote There Is a War, starring himself and Phoebe Fox, for the National Theatre's Double Feature.[18]

Basden co-wrote the Channel 4 sitcom Fresh Meat, which earned him a nomination for the 2012 BAFTA Craft Awards Break-Through Talent Award.[19]

Awards
YearAwardCategoryWorkResult
2007Edinburgh Comedy AwardsBest Newcomer[20]"Won't Say Anything"Won
2008British Academy Film AwardsBest Short FilmThe One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis IslandNominated
Chortle AwardsBest Full Show"Won't Say Anything"Won
Breakthrough ActNominated
2011Evening Standard AwardCharles Wintour Award for Most Promising PlaywrightJoseph KWon
2012BAFTA Craft AwardsBreak-Through Talent Award[21]Fresh MeatNominated

References
  1. "Alumni 2000–2009". Cambridge Footlights. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012.
  2. "The winners". if.comedy. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
  3. "Awards History". Edinburgh International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009.
  4. "Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better | 13 August - 17 September 2008". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  5. "Never Mind The Buzzcocks | Series 23". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  6. "Tim Key's Late Night Poetry". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  7. "ITV2 orders ancient Roman sitcom Plebs". British Comedy Guide. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  8. "Cast announced for The Wrong Mans on BBC Two". BBC Media Centre. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013.
  9. Wollaston, Sam (15 May 2018). "The Windsors Royal Wedding Special review – gloriously brazen satire". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  10. Sanusi, Victoria (8 March 2019). "After Life cast: who stars with Ricky Gervais in new Netflix series – and where else you've seen them". i. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  11. "Here We Go: Meet the cast of the new BBC comedy series". BBC Media Centre (Press release). 19 April 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  12. "The Last Bus". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  13. Logan, Brian (11 March 2010). "Party (review)". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  14. Cavendish, Dominic (4 March 2010). "Party at the Arts Theatre, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 May 2022.(subscription required)
  15. "Party". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  16. Gardner, Lyn (17 November 2010). "Joseph K – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  17. Cavendish, Dominic (23 November 2010). "Joseph K, Gate Theatre, Notting Hill, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 May 2022.(subscription required)
  18. "There Is A War, Double Feature". National Theatre. Archived from the original on 1 September 2011.
  19. "Kwadjo Dajan Wins the Break-Through Talent Award in 2012". BAFTA. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  20. "2007 Best Newcomers Winner - Tom Basden Won't Say Anything". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  21. "Television Craft Awards Winners in 2012". BAFTA. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
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