Simon Bird
{{Short description|English actor and comedian}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Simon Bird
| image = Simon Bird, 2010.jpg
| caption = Bird in 2010
| birth_name = Simon Antony Bird
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1984|08|19|df=y}}
| birth_place = Guildford, Surrey, England
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma mater = {{ubl|Queens' College, Cambridge|Birkbeck, University of London}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|comedian|director|producer}}
| yearsactive = 2008–present
| spouse = {{marriage|Lisa Owens|2012}}
| children = 2
}}
Simon Antony Bird (born 19 August 1984) is an English comedian, actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Will McKenzie in the multi-award-winning E4 comedy series The Inbetweeners (2008–2010), as well as its two films (2011 and 2014), and Adam Goodman in the Channel 4 comedy series Friday Night Dinner (2011–2020).{{Cite web|url=https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/tv-and-film-no-more-episodes-of-friday-night-dinner-are-currently-planned-20210116|work=LADbible|title=No More Episodes Of Friday Night Dinner Are Currently Planned|first=Tom|last=Wood|date=16 January 2021|access-date=29 May 2021}}
Early life
Bird was born in Guildford, Surrey, as the third of four children{{cite news |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/mr-bird-is-not-amused--simon-gets-serious-8196222.html|work=Evening Standard|title=Mr Bird is not amused – Simon gets serious|first=Laura|last=Barton|author-link=Laura Barton|date=5 October 2012|access-date=6 May 2021}} of Claremont McKenna College professors Graham and Heather Bird.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/simon-bird-danger-inbetweeners-it-will-no-longer-be-believable-we-are-under-age-30-8196434.html|work=The Independent|title=Simon Bird: 'Danger with The Inbetweeners is that it will no longer be believable that we are under the age of 30'|first=Gerard|last=Gilbert|date=5 October 2012|access-date=29 May 2021}}
Bird was educated at Cranmore School, West Horsley, the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, and Queens' College, Cambridge, where he read English.{{cite web |title=Simon Bird on his new film |date=21 July 2020 |url=https://www.essentialsurrey.co.uk/lifestyle/celebrity-interview/simon-bird/}} At Cambridge, Bird was the president of the Footlights, the university's sketch and theatrical group.{{cite web |title=Inbetween Cambridge and Fame |url=https://www.varsity.co.uk/theatre/15201}}
Career
=Early comedy career=
While studying for a Master of Arts degree in cultural and critical studies at Birkbeck College, Bird set up the sketch comedy group "The House of Windsor" with former Footlights contemporaries Joe Thomas (who plays Simon Cooper in The Inbetweeners) and Jonny Sweet.{{cite web|url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2007/01/01/35412/house_of_windsor|work=Chortle|title=House Of Windsor|first=Steve|last=Bennett|date=1 January 2007|access-date=29 May 2021}} They performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 2007 and in 2008 with a show called The Meeting, described as a site-specific comedy installation set in an actual boardroom. Bird and Thomas were also regulars on series 1 and 2 of The Weekly Show, a podcast for Channel 4 Radio (2006–07).{{cite book |last1= Richardson |first1= Matthew |last2= Dodgson |first2= Mike |year= 2014 |title= The Inbetweeners : Moving on |publisher= John Blake |location= London |isbn= 978-1-7821-9985-4 |pages= 22–23}}
Bird performs stand-up comedy and took part in Chortle's national student comedy awards in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, coming second in his final attempt. He was a finalist in 2006, and was disqualified for deliberately breaking the rules in 2007.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfBW-6CT11U|work=ChortleUK|title=Simon Bird – Revels Chortle Student Comedy Awards 2007|date=1 March 2007|via=YouTube}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-Tnr2yI85Q|work=ChortleUK|title=Simon Bird- Chortle Student Comedy Awards 2008 2|date=27 February 2008|via=YouTube}}
=Breakthrough=
In 2008, Bird was cast in E4's teen comedy The Inbetweeners as Will McKenzie along with Joe Thomas.{{cite web|url=https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-inbetweeners|work=Channel 4|title=The Inbetweeners|access-date=29 May 2021}} He won the 2008 British Comedy Award for Best Male Newcomer{{cite web|url=http://www.britishcomedyawards.com/past-winners/2008.aspx|work=The British Comedy Awards|title=PAST WINNERS 2008|access-date=29 May 2021}} and the 2009 British Comedy Award for Best Actor.{{cite web|url=http://www.britishcomedyawards.com/past-winners/2009.aspx|work=The British Comedy Awards|title=PAST WINNERS 2009|access-date=29 May 2021}} He was also nominated for Best Comedy Performance at the 2008 Royal Television Society Awards,{{cite web|url=http://www.rts.org.uk/winners-rpa?term_node_tid_depth%3D122|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208210837/http://www.rts.org.uk/winners-rpa?term_node_tid_depth=122|work=Royal Television Society|title=Programme Awards Winners 2008|archive-date=8 February 2015}} and Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme at the 2010 BAFTA Television Awards.{{cite web |title= British Academy Television Awards: Television in 2010 |publisher= BAFTA |url= http://awards.bafta.org/award/2010/television |access-date= 20 April 2023 }}
=Subsequent work=
In 2010, Bird created a BBC Three comedy panel show The King Is Dead, in which a well-known person is hypothetically killed off and a panel of three personalities go head-to-head in a series of satirical quiz rounds and challenges in their bid to replace them. He hosted alongside Nick Mohammed and Katy Wix.
From 2011 to 2020 Bird starred in 6 series of Friday Night Dinner, a single-camera comedy written by Robert Popper and made by Big Talk Productions.{{cite web|url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2011-03/04/gq-tv-simon-bird-interview-friday-night-dinner-the-inbetweeners-movie-film|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307175814/http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2011-03/04/gq-tv-simon-bird-interview-friday-night-dinner-the-inbetweeners-movie-film|work=GQ|title=Simon Bird exclusive!|first=Oliver|last=Frankin|date=4 March 2011|archive-date=7 March 2011}} Like The Inbetweeners it was named Best Sitcom at the Rose D'Or Festival.{{cite web |title=Friday Night Dinner Beats Gervais Comedy at Rose D'Or |url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/friday-night-dinner-beats-gervais-comedy-at-rose-dor/5041657.article}} In 2021 Channel 4 released Friday Night Dinner: 10 Years And A Lovely Bit Of Squirrel, an anniversary special celebrating a decade of the hit sitcom.{{cite web |title=Friday Night Dinner: everything we learned from the farewell anniversary special |url=https://www.nme.com/features/friday-night-dinner-anniversary-special-2949912 |website=NME|date=27 May 2021 }}
Bird returned to the character of Will McKenzie in The Inbetweeners Movie which was released on 17 August 2011{{cite web|url=http://www.gigwise.com/news/66040/The-Inbetweeners-Movie-Is-A-Box-Office-Hit |title=The Inbetweeners Movie is a Box Office hit |publisher=Gigwise |date=18 August 2011}} In 2014 he reprised the role in the second movie about the Inbetweeners, The Inbetweeners 2, which had the highest-grossing opening weekend of any film in the UK that year.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/11018261/The-Inbetweeners-2-smashes-UK-box-office-records.html|title=The Inbetweeners 2 smashes UK box office records|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=7 August 2014|first=Jacob|last=Stolworthy}}
In 2013 Bird co-created, co-wrote, and co-starred in Chickens, a sitcom about three men who remain in England during World War I. It premiered on Sky1 in summer 2013 and was nominated for Best Comedy at the 2014 Broadcast Awards.{{cite web |title=Broadcast Awards 2014 Shortlist |url=https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/news/broadcast-awards-2014-shortlist}}
In 2017 he starred on the West End in The Philanthropist, directed by Simon Callow.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/mar/26/simon-bird-west-end-the-philanthropist-inbetweeners-friday-night-dinner-interview|work=The Observer|title=Simon Bird: '16 weeks in the West End… I feel absolutely terrified'|first=Michael|last=Hogan|date=26 March 2017|access-date=29 May 2021}} In his review, The Telegraph's theatre critic Dominic Cavendish wrote "Callow has certainly struck gold with leading man Simon Bird...he delivers the goods by subtle, incremental means, the thespian equivalent of a 3D printer".{{cite news |title=The Philanthropist, Trafalgar Studios Review |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=20 April 2017 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/philanthropist-trafalgar-studios-review-simon-bird-lily-cole/ |last1=Cavendish |first1=Dominic }}
Bird's debut stand-up show Debrief, recorded in an empty theatre, was released on All4 in 2022 and described by comedy website Chortle as "more like an experimental art-house movie than a stand-up special".{{cite web |title=Simon Bird Debrief Review |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2021/05/14/48429/simon_bird%3A_debrief |website=Chortle}}
Bird stars in a new Channel 4 sitcom Everyone Else Burns, produced by Jax Media and NBC Universal, which was released in 2023.{{cite web |title=Simon Bird To Star In Channel 4 Comedy 'Everyone Else Burns' |date=3 May 2022 |url=https://deadline.com/2022/05/simon-bird-channel-4-everyone-else-burns-1235009610/}} Time Magazine called it "the funniest network sitcom in ages".{{cite magazine |last1=Berman |first1=Judy |title=The CW's Hilarious Everyone Else Burns Finally Gives Us A Reason To Watch Network TV |url=https://time.com/6324680/everyone-else-burns-review/ |magazine=Time |date=25 October 2023 |publisher=Time |access-date=17 January 2024}}
=Directing=
In 2016, Bird directed his first short film Ernestine and Kit based on a story by Kevin Barry. It premiered at SXSW where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short.{{cite web |title=Ernestine & Kit Plays Indy Film Fest |url=https://theindependentcritic.com/ernestine___kit}} It was also nominated for Best Short Film at the 2016 Irish Television and Film Awards.{{cite web |title=IFTA Nominations |url=https://ifta.ie/awards/nominees_2016/index.html}}
His debut feature film Days of Bagnold Summer, was released in 2020, backed by Creative England and the British Film Institute.{{Cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/rob-brydon-alice-lowe-monica-dolan-join-simon-birds-directing-debut-days-of-the-bagnold-summer-/5130440.article|work=Screen Daily|title=Rob Brydon, Alice Lowe, Monica Dolan join Simon Bird's directing debut 'Days Of The Bagnold Summer'|first=Ben|last=Dalton|date=26 June 2018|access-date=29 May 2021}} It was described by Mark Kermode as "a gem of a movie...laugh-out-loud funny and piercingly poignant".{{cite news |last= Kermode |first= Mark |date= 7 June 2020 |title= Days of the Bagnold Summer review – bittersweet tale of family strife |work= The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/jun/07/days-of-the-bagnold-summer-review-bittersweet-tale-of-family-strife}} It was nominated for the Variety Piazza Grande Award at the Locarno Film Festival{{cite web |url=https://imdb.com/title/tt7343740/awards/?ref_=tt_awd |title=
Days of the Bagnold Summer (2019): Awards |publisher= IMDB }} and was named Best Feature at the LUCAS International Festival For Young Film Lovers.{{cite web |url=https://www.ecfaweb.org/marona-wins-ecfa-award-in-lucas-festival/ |title= MARONA wins ECFA Award in LUCAS Festival |date= 16 October 2020 |publisher= European Children's Film Association }} It currently has a 92% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/days_of_the_bagnold_summer |title= Days of the Bagnold Summer |website=Rotten Tomatoes}}
For TV, Bird directed Series 3 of BAFTA-nominated mockumentary Pls Like{{cite web |title=BBC3's BAFTA-nominated Pls Like Returns For Third Series |url=https://babycowproductions.co.uk/bbc-threes-bafta-nominated-pls-like-returns-for-third-series/}} and the first series of Rose D'Or-nominated sketch show Ellie & Natasia,{{cite web |title=Rose D'Or Nominations 2022 |url=https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/news/rose-dor-nominations-2022}} described by The Times as "the funniest and most refreshing take on the format for years".{{cite news |title=Ellie White and Natasia Demetriou: the funniest woman on TV |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/ellie-white-and-natasia-demetriou-interview-bbc-three-sketch-show-bnpqj5jm2?gclid=Cj0KCQiA99ybBhD9ARIsALvZavXO20m4_I6jaUvPjMgTZtzmZ_n_BWTUTZeEMoXggtsfHCuElzPy4A0aAjRIEALw_wcB | last1=Jones | first1=Alice }}
In 2023, Bird directed A24 series Such Brave Girls for the BBC, described by The Guardian as "hands down the funniest British comedy of the year".{{cite news |last1=Aroesti |first1=Rachel |title='We Just Can't Do Serious': Gross-Out Comedy Such Brave Girls And The Sisters Who Made It |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/nov/21/gross-out-comedy-such-brave-girls-sister-stars |work=The Guardian |date=21 November 2023 |access-date=17 January 2024}}
=Producing=
In 2015 Bird and Jonny Sweet founded Guilty Party Pictures, an independent TV and film production company backed by StudioCanal.{{cite web |title=StudioCanal launches UK firm Guilty Party |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/studiocanal-launches-uk-firm-guilty-party-with-red-inbetweeners-talent/5095457.article}} It produced a number of projects including God's Own County, nominated for Best Short-Form Comedy at the 2019 Broadcast Awards,{{cite web |title=Who's Up For A 2019 Broadcast Digital Award? |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2019/05/16/43055/whos-up-for-a-2019-broadcast-digital-award}} How Europe Stole My Mum, described by The Guardian as "nothing short of a miracle",{{cite news |title=How Europe Stole My Mum review |newspaper=The Guardian |date=November 2019 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/nov/01/how-europe-stole-my-mum-review-brexit-miracle |last1=Mangan |first1=Lucy }} and How We Forgot To Save The Planet, which won the 2022 RTS Scotland Award for Best Comedy.{{cite web |title=RTS Scotland Awards 2022 |date=31 October 2022 |url=https://rts.org.uk/award/rts-scotland-awards-2022-winners}}
In 2022 it was announced that Bird and Sweet were setting up a new company, People Person Pictures, in partnership with BBC Studios.{{cite web |title=BBC Studios strikes pact with Inbetweeners star's new prodco |url=https://tbivision.com/tag/people-person-pictures/}} In 2023 they produced Netflix's A Whole Lifetime With Jamie Demetriou which went on to win the Rose D'Or for Best Comedy Entertainment.{{cite web |title=Jamie Demetriou Scoops A Rose D'Or |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2023/11/28/54574/jamie_demetriou_scoops_a_rose_dor |website=Chortle |access-date=17 January 2024}} People Person Pictures was also named as a co-producing partner on Wicked Little Letters, a feature film starring Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley and Timothy Spall, released in 2024.
Personal life
In 2012, Bird married author Lisa Owens. They have two children.{{cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/simon-bird-interview-days-of-the-bagnold-summer-release-date-book-the-inbetweeners-433875|title=Simon Bird on Days of the Bagnold Summer: 'I don't see myself as an actor'|publisher=The I Paper|date=4 June 2020|accessdate=26 August 2021}}{{cite book |last1= Richardson |first1= Matthew |last2= Dodgson |first2= Mike |year= 2014 |title= The Inbetweeners : Moving on |publisher= John Blake |location= London |isbn= 978-1-7821-9985-4 |page= 32}}
Bird is a supporter of Crystal Palace Football Club.{{cite web|url=https://www.joe.co.uk/entertainment/simon-bird-there-was-one-night-that-involved-a-crate-of-beer-and-a-loaded-rifle-112889|work=Joe|title=SIMON BIRD: "THERE WAS ONE NIGHT THAT INVOLVED A CRATE OF BEER AND A LOADED RIFLE"|first=Richard|last=Cooper|date=17 February 2017 |access-date=29 May 2021}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class = "wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 2011
| |
| rowspan=2 |2013
| Jonathan Hodge | |
| The Harry Hill Movie
| Ed | |
| 2014
| Will McKenzie | |
| 2016
| Ernestine & Kit | | Short film; director |
| 2018
| Ben Miller | |
| 2019
|Days of the Bagnold Summer{{Cite web|url=http://film.britishcouncil.org/days-of-the-bagnold-summer|work=British Council - British film directory|title=Days of the Bagnold Summer|access-date=29 May 2021}} | |Director |
=Television=
| class = "wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class = "unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2008–2010
| 18 episodes |
| 2010
| Himself (Host) | 7 episodes; also creator and writer |
| 2011
| Cecil | Episode: "Chickens" |
| 2011–2020
| Adam Goodman | 37 episodes |
| 2013
| Chickens | Cecil | 6 episodes; also creator and writer |
| 2015–2016
| D.I. Charles Buggy / Winston Churchill | 2 episodes |
| 2019
| The Inbetweeners: Fwends Reunited | Himself | 1 episode (special) |
| 2020 - 2021
| Nathan Wild | 6 episodes |
| 2021
| Simon Bird: Debrief | Self, Host/Presenter |
| 2023 - Present
| Everyone Else Burns{{cite web|url=https://www.channel4.com/press/news/channel-4-commissions-new-apocalyptic-comedy-everyone-else-burns-starring-simon-bird|title=Channel 4 Commissions New Apocalyptic Comedy 'Everyone Else Burns', Starring Simon Bird|website=channel4.com/press|access-date=12 May 2022}} | David Lewis | Lead role, also an uncredited executive producer |
| 2023
| | Director 6 episodes |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Simon Bird}}
- {{IMDb name|3020713}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Simon}}
Category:21st-century English comedians
Category:21st-century English male actors
Category:Male actors from Guildford
Category:Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London
Category:Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
Category:English male comedians
Category:English male film actors
Category:English male television actors
Category:English stand-up comedians
Category:English film directors