Doc Brown | |
|---|---|
 Brown in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Benjamin Harvey Bailey Smith |
| Also known as | Doc Brown |
| Born | 21 September 1977 Kilburn, London, England |
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Genres | Comedy, hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, comedian, rapper, screenwriter, songwriter, voiceover artist |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Website | docbrown.co.uk |
Benjamin Harvey Bailey Smith (born 21 September 1977), also known by the stage name Doc Brown, is an English actor, comedian, rapper, screenwriter, songwriter, and voiceover artist. He portrayed DS Joe Hawkins in the television series Law & Order: UK. He is also known for portraying Nathan Carter in the CBBC television series 4 O'Clock Club from 2012 to 2015, and Imperial Security Bureau agent Lieutenant Supervisor Blevin in Andor.
He also voiced a number of episodes of the popular show Funny Animals: Unleashed. This show was aired via 4MUSIC.
Early life
Doc Brown was born Benjamin Harvey Bailey Smith, son of a Jamaican born British citizen, Yvonne Bailey, and an Englishman, Harvey Smith, who was 30 years his wife's senior. Raised in the Willesden area of north-west London, Smith is the younger brother of novelist and essayist Zadie Smith;[1][2] they also have a younger brother Luke, who performs as a professional rapper under the name Luc Skyz.[3][4] Smith attended Hampstead School.[5] Explaining his stage name, he has said: "Doc Brown's been my nickname since school, after the scientist in Back to the Future, because I was gangly and geeky. When I started doing rap battles in my teens, it became my hip-hop handle and it's stuck."[6]
Music
Doc Brown began performing as a battle rapper in 2000, appearing at the Dingwalls nightclub in Camden Lock, and later at the "Jump Off" competition in Soho.[3]
Film and television
Smith appeared in the BBC series Rev and Miranda, as well as Channel 4's The Inbetweeners, and the CBBC series Big Babies. In 2013 Smith guest starred in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series Derek, in which he played a young man sentenced to community service in a nursing home.[3]
He appeared in Ben Miller's film Huge, and co-starred in Other Side of the Game. He wrote music for the 2011 Joe Cornish film Attack the Block.[3]
Smith created a teen comedy-drama for the BBC called 4 O'Clock Club.[3] He starred in the show in series 1, and made guest appearances in series 2–4. Since series 5, his brother writes the raps. The show has currently run for 118 episodes.
Most recently, Smith has delved deeper into dramatic acting, starring in the Frank Spotnitz television show Hunted, a thriller for Cinemax. He went on to shoot an episode of Midsomer Murders and in 2014, he played the role of DS Joe Hawkins in the final series of ITV's Law & Order: UK Also he had a viral song on the TV show Russell Howard's Good News called "My Propertea". Smith has also appeared in new Ann Summers series Brief Encounters.
In 2016, he guest-starred on the BBC One television film Damilola, Our Loved Boy as a taxi driver.[6] He also participated in the second series of the comedy game show Taskmaster, finishing fourth.
In February 2017, he appeared on Dave's Crackanory reading "Devil's Haircut" by Sarah Morgan, then in October, Smith appeared as a guest on Episode 100 of The Gaffer Tapes: Fantasy Football Podcast.[7] In late 2017, he performed the role of DS Evans in Sky One's Bounty Hunters.[8]
Smith's love of film means he has been a guest presenter several times on the BBC Radio 5 Live film review show hosted by Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode.[9]
In 2018, Smith appeared in the Doctor Who episode "The Tsuranga Conundrum".[10]
In 2020, he played Richie Hansen, an abusive husband, in the second series of BBC TV drama The Split.
In 2022, he played Lieutenant Supervisor Blevin in five episodes of the first series of the Star Wars TV series Andor.[11]
In 2023, he played Simon Blake, in a four-part series of BBC TV drama The Sixth Commandment.
Picture book
A children's picture book entitled I Am Bear, illustrated by Sav Akyüz, which has been described as "a rap-style read-aloud story", was published by Walker Books in February 2016.[12]
Production
As of May 2014, Smith has been the producer of The Football Ramble Live.
Personal life
Smith is a supporter of Crystal Palace F.C.[13] He has two daughters.[14]
Discography
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Citizen Smith: Volume One | Bust-A-Gut Productions |
| 2005 | The Document | Janomi |
| Poisonous Poetry (with Poisonous Poets) | Self-released | |
| 2006 | Citizen Smith: Volume Two: Nothing to Lose | Hiptones |
| 2008 | Another Way (unreleased) | Unreleased |
| 2017 | Stemma | Bust-A-Gut Productions |
Filmography
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Never Mind the Full Stops | Panel member | Game show |
| 2009 | Miranda | Hotel Receptionist | 1 episode |
| 2010 | Big Babies | Budge | 13 episodes |
| Rev | Ikon | 1 episode | |
| The Inbetweeners | Steve | 1 episode | |
| 2011 | Little Howard's Big Question | Plithy Nondeploom | 1 episode |
| 2012–2015 | 4 O'Clock Club | Nathan | 23 episodes; also creator and songwriter |
| 2012 | Hunted | Tyrone | 7 episodes |
| 2013 | Derek | Deon | 1 episode |
| Imagine | Himself | Credited as Ben Bailey Smith | |
| 2013–2014 | Strange Hill High | Mitchell | 26 episodes |
| 2014 | Midsomer Murders | Zach | Credited as Ben Bailey Smith, 1 episode |
| Law & Order: UK | DS Joe Hawkins | Credited as Ben Bailey Smith, 8 episodes | |
| The Football's On | Himself | Guest panelist | |
| Live at the Apollo | Himself | Performer, Series 10 Episode 2 | |
| Give Out Girls | Andy | 6 episodes | |
| Jack and Dean | Pedestrian | Episode: "Freaky Mouth Pizza" | |
| 2014-2017 | British Academy Children's Awards | Presenter | Four ceremonies |
| 2015 | Ghost Fighting Corporation | Detective Stoker | Pilot of unreleased series |
| The John Bishop Show | Himself | Performer, 1 episode | |
| 2016 | David Brent: Life on the Road | Dom Johnson | |
| Fleabag | Workshop Leader | 1 episode | |
| Taskmaster | Himself | 5 episodes | |
| Brief Encounters | Johnny | 6 episodes | |
| Film 2016[15] | Host | 1 episode | |
| 2017 | Bounty Hunters | DS Evans | 5 episodes |
| 2018-2020 | Thunderbirds Are Go | Jensen Hunt (voice) | 1 episode |
| Doctor Who | Durkas Cicero | Episode: "The Tsuranga Conundrum" | |
| 101 Dalmatian Street | Sid Squirrel, Spencer Sausage Dog (voice) | Recurring role | |
| 2019 | Cleaning Up | Blake | 6 episodes |
| Britannia | Rufus | 3 episodes | |
| Teddles | Blocks | Episode: "Tidy Up Time" | |
| 2020 | Silent Witness | Lt Col Ben Carmichael | 2 episodes S23 Ep9 & 10 "The Greater Good" |
| The Split | Richie Hansen | 6 episodes | |
| Des | DC Brian Lodge | 3 episodes | |
| 2021 | Cinderella | Town Crier | |
| 2022 | Persuasion | Charles Musgrove | Post-production |
| Andor | Lieutenant Supervisor Blevin | 5 episodes | |
| 2023 | The Sixth Commandment | Simon Blake | 4 episodes |
| Boiling Point | Darren | 1 episode | |
| Significant Other | Damien | ref>Whittock, Jesse; Shackleton, Liz (14 November 2022). "Mark Heap Joins ITVX Comedy 'Significant Other'; 'Drag Race' Heads For Asia; 'What Happened To Dorothy Bell?' Casting (Exclusive); Nippon TV ATF Formats — Global Briefs". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 March 2023.</ref> |
References
- ↑ Barton, Laura (4 March 2005). "We are family: Award-winning novelist Zadie Smith talks to up-and-coming British rapper Doc Brown, better known to her as Ben, her younger brother". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
- ↑ Duerden, Nick (6 February 2013), "Ben Bailey Smith: Out of the shadow, into the limelight", The Independent.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Biography". Doc Brown website. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ↑ "Biography". Luc Skyz. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
- ↑ Hamilton, Chloe (15 October 2013). "Back to school: A visit to Hampstead School". The Independent.
- 1 2 Hogan, Michael (14 April 2013), "Doc Brown: 'I'm an accidental comedian. That makes me dangerous'", The Observer.
- ↑ Week 9: The Gaffer Tapes 100th Episode Special #FPL 17/18. The Gaffer Tapes: Fantasy Football Comedy Podcast, Episode 31, 18 October 2017.
- ↑ "Bounty Hunters - Character Guide".
- ↑ "Kermode and Mayo's Film Review | with Ben Bailey Smith and Clarisse Loughrey". BBC Radio 5. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ↑ "Series 11 Episode 5 - The Tsuranga Conundrum". www.radiotimes.com.
- ↑ Sanguino, Juan (14 September 2022). "Ben Bailey Smith, the actor who shot a 'Star Wars' series almost without knowing it: 'I had never worked like this'". El Pais.
- ↑ Kellaway, Kate (31 January 2016), "Hey, kids, there’s a new bear on the block", The Observer.
- ↑ "Doc Brown: South London Is In My Blood". Crystal Palace F.C. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ↑ As told to Rich Pelley (18 July 2022), "'I've denied it for years, but Taylor Swift really can write': Ben Bailey Smith's honest playlist". The Guardian.
- ↑ "BBC - Presenters confirmed for Film 2016 - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk.