Simon Amstell: Difference between revisions
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'''Simon Marc Amstell''' (born [[November 29|29 November]], [[1979]]) is an award-winning [[England|English]] [[comedian]] and [[television presenter]]. In 2007, Amstell was nominated for "[[The Times]] Breakthrough [[South Bank Show]] Award". |
'''Simon Marc Amstell''' (born [[November 29|29 November]], [[1979]]) is an award-winning [[England|English]] [[comedian]] and [[television presenter]]. In 2007, Amstell was nominated for "[[The Times]] Breakthrough [[South Bank Show]] Award". |
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==Background== |
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Amstell was born in [[Gants Hill]] into a Jewish family.<ref name=thestage>{{cite web |url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/17079/comic-amstell-creating-sitcom-of-his-early|title=Comic Amstell creating sitcom of his early years |work=[[The Stage]] |date=[[2007-06-05]] |accessdate=2008-03-04}}</ref> |
Amstell was born in [[Gants Hill]] into a Jewish family.<ref name=thestage>{{cite web |url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/17079/comic-amstell-creating-sitcom-of-his-early|title=Comic Amstell creating sitcom of his early years |work=[[The Stage]] |date=[[2007-06-05]] |accessdate=2008-03-04}}</ref> He is openly gay. |
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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===Nickelodeon=== |
===Nickelodeon=== |
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Revision as of 14:27, 10 March 2008
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2008) |
Simon Marc Amstell | |
|---|---|
| File:SimonAmstell.png Simon Amstell live | |
| Born | 29 November 1979 |
| Occupation(s) | Stand-up comedian, television presenter, script writer |
| Website | Simon Amstell Homepage |
Simon Marc Amstell (born 29 November, 1979) is an award-winning English comedian and television presenter. In 2007, Amstell was nominated for "The Times Breakthrough South Bank Show Award".
Background
Amstell was born in Gants Hill into a Jewish family.[1] He is openly gay.
Career
Nickelodeon
His first professional television appearance was in 1998, as a presenter on the UK children's channel Nickelodeon. He claims he was sacked for being "sarcastic and mean to children."[2]
Popworld
From 2000 to 2006 he presented Popworld on Channel 4 with Miquita Oliver. He voiced the characters "Timothy the Popworld melon" and "Richard the Popworld horse". On Popworld he developed a highly ironic, surreal and leftfield style which gained the show a cult following, but angered many of its guests. One such example was a mock interview with singer Lemar called "Lemar From Afar," in which Amstell shouted questions into a megaphone from one end of a car park while Lemar stood at the other end. Another was a "Si-chiatrist" interview with Luke Pritchard and Hugh Harris of The Kooks, in which Amstell played the role of psychiatrist and Pritchard and Harris his patients. Amstell was unafraid to ask quirky, unusual and even irrelevant questions to celebrities.[citation needed]
Other appearances
- He made a guest appearance on Comic Relief.[citation needed]
- He hosted Channel 4's coverage of V and O2 Wireless festivals.[citation needed]
- He also briefly presented on Radio 2 and London radio station XFM.[citation needed]
- He presented the 'Red carpet' coverage of the BAFTA Awards.[citation needed]
- He narrated a Radio 2 documentary on comedian Lenny Bruce.
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Amstell first appeared on the show in episode eight of series thirteen as a guest star on March 20, 2005. Amstell now hosts Never Mind The Buzzcocks full time, with his first episode airing at the end of October 2006. He had said that he hoped to beat "the universal, exceptionless rule that when a new host takes over an old show it is a horrible, embarrassing disaster".[3] In March 2007, Amstell won a Royal Television Society Award for Best Entertainment Performance for his work on Never Mind The Buzzcocks. In June 2007, Simon wrote with Dan Swimer Imagine... A Mildly Amusing Panel Show, a spoof version of Alan Yentob's arts programme Imagine. Alan Yentob and Simon Amstell play themselves in a mock interview in between clips of Simon's episodes of Never Mind The Buzzcocks. In December 2007, Amstell won 2 British Comedy Awards' for "Best Comedy Entertainment Personality" and "Best Comedy Entertainment Series" for his work on Never Mind The Buzzcocks. On 23rd January 2008, Never Mind the Buzzcocks won the Best Entertainment Programme[4] award at the Broadcast Awards 2008. In February 2008, Simon wrote with Dan Swimer, Never Mind the Buzzcocks - A Moving Tribute.
Stand up
Amstell also performs as a stand up comedian. He was the youngest ever finalist of the BBC New Comedy Awards, and was also listed in the Leicester Mercury Comedian of The Year Competition and the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year Competition.[citation needed] He has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival every August 2005 - 2007. He has also appeared at the Carling Festivals in the Cabaret and Comedy tent for the last two years. In 2006, Simon performed a short 45-minute long free comedy show at University College School in London, as part of the charity setup "Comedy UCS". In August 2007, Amstell returned to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with a stand up show titled 'No Self'[citation needed]. He also appeared on the Alternative Stage at the Carling Festival, at both Leeds and Reading in 2007[citation needed]. Amstell will return with a new stand up in April - June 2008, performing at 27 different venues across Britain. Official information on the content of the show has not been released.[citation needed]
Personal life
Amstell came out as gay two months into his work on Popworld. He has referred to his orientation sparingly when relevant or for comic effect on both Popworld and Never Mind The Buzzcocks and has never let is define his work.
Reviews for No Self
 | This article contains too many or overly lengthy quotations. |
Intellectually sophisticated, engagingly honest, genuinely accomplished stand-up - The Scotsman
Consistently witty and intelligent… perceptive and very funny - The Stage
His showily neurotic but deliberately dry demeanour melding neatly into the existentialist... the hugely likeable Amstell has intelligently got the audience to see the world his way - Metro
No Self, is as close as you can get to a man emotionally and philosophically disembowelling himself on stage - The Times
I want to see this show again... There’s real intelligence and honesty here, and when that's properly channelled Amstell will surely join the comedy elite - Chortle
Amstell... offers a probing, cerebral show... He speaks for a disconnected, disengaged chunk of Britain, sitting in their own trendily furnished boxes waiting for the world – or some meaningful cause – to come bursting through the door. It doesn't - The Independent[citation needed]
References
- ^ "Comic Amstell creating sitcom of his early years". The Stage. 2007-06-05. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "I always want the funny line (interview)". The Guardian. 2006-08-02. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ BBC Press release - Simon Amstell is new host of Never Mind The Buzzcocks
- ^ Broadcast magazine Broadcast Awards 2008
External links
- SimonAmstell.com Simon Amstell's Official site
- Simon Amstell at IMDb
- Simon Amstell Official agent's website
- Simon Amstell on Chortle