Tom Rosenthal (actor)

Thomas Alan Smith Rosenthal was born in the Hammersmith area of London on 14 January 1988, the son of Newsnight producer Christine (née Smith) and television sports presenter Jim Rosenthal.{{cite web |url=http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/whereilive/localheadlines/5017858.Cookham_comic_lands_plum_Channel_4_role/ |title=Television football presenter Jim Rosenthal's son lands plum Channel 4 role|author=James Dunlop |date=20 February 2010 |work=This is local London |accessdate=2 May 2012 }} He is of German-Jewish descent through his father,{{cite web |url=http://www.jmi.org.uk/suppressedmusic/newsletter/obituaries/albirosenthal.html |title=ICSM Online Journal Obituaries; Albi Rosenthal |author-link=Nicolas Barker|first=Nicolas|last=Barker |date=13 November 2005 |publisher=The Jewish Music Institute |accessdate=3 May 2012}}{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/maud-rosenthal-oscar-levys-daughtersecretary-771733.html |title=Maud Rosenthal: Oscar Levy's 'daughter-secretary' |author=Nicolas Barker |date=22 January 2008 |work=The Independent |accessdate=3 May 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://www.blankgenealogy.com/histories/Articles%20and%20Stories/How%20Jewish%20is%20Jim%20Rosenthal.pdf |title=How Jewish is Jim Rosenthal? |author=Simon Round |date=2 February 2008 |work=The Jewish Chronicle |accessdate=2 May 2012 }} with one of his paternal great-grandfathers being German-Jewish physician and writer Oscar Levy.{{cite web |url=http://www.blankgenealogy.com/getperson.php?personID=I1031&tree=Blank1 |title=Levy Maud Ruth genealogy |author=Chris Kearney |publisher=blankgenealogy.com |accessdate=3 May 2012}} He was once dubbed a "super-smart child of privilege" by the London Evening Standard.{{Cite web|url=http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/my-ridiculously-successful-career-the-super-smart-child-of-privilege-tom-rosenthal-9058155.html|title=My ridiculously successful career: the super-smart child of privilege|date=14 January 2014|work=Evening Standard|location=London|language=en|access-date=14 August 2019}} He grew up in Cookham, Berkshire, and went to Reading Blue Coat School{{Cite web |title=RBCS – Facebook |url=https://www.facebook.com/readingbluecoatschool/posts/old-blue-tom-rosenthal-live-on-bbc-radio-1-at-the-moment-from-the-edinburgh-frin/10151754439929235/ |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=www.facebook.com}} before studying philosophy at King's College London.{{Cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/my-ridiculously-successful-career-the-supersmart-child-of-privilege-tom-rosenthal-9058155.html|title=My ridiculously successful career: the super-smart child of privilege|date=15 January 2014|work=Evening Standard|location=London}} His early comedic influences were the TV shows Spaced, Brass Eye, and Da Ali G Show.{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/my-ridiculously-successful-career-the-supersmart-child-of-privilege-tom-rosenthal-9058155.html |title=My ridiculously successful career: the super-smart child of privilege Tom Rosenthal |author=Amira Hashish |work =Evening Standard|date=15 January 2014 |access-date=2 June 2021}}

File:Tom Rosenthal 2010 (cropped).jpg in 2010]]

In 2011, Rosenthal was cast as Johnny Goodman in the Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner,{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/feb/12/channel4-television |title=Tamsin Greig and Pulling's Paul Ritter to star in Channel 4 comedy |work=The Guardian |date=12 February 2010 }} alongside Simon Bird, Tamsin Greig, Paul Ritter, and Mark Heap.{{cite news|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1844923/ |title=Friday Night Dinner (TV Series 2011–2020) |publisher=IMDb |access-date=2 June 2021}} The sitcom focused on the weekly Shabbat dinner in the middle-class secular Jewish Goodman family in North London. Rosenthal played the younger son and he and Greig are the only two main cast members who have Jewish roots in real life. The sixth and final series set the record for the highest audience for any comedy on Channel 4 or E4 for 16-to-34 year olds with a 49.3% share, and the average audience for the series was 3.9 million viewers.{{cite news|url=https://www.channel4.com/press/news/channel-4-announce-friday-night-dinner-night-wt |title=Channel 4 announce Friday Night Dinner (w/t) |publisher=Channel 4 |date=14 January 2021 |access-date=2 June 2021}} Following the death of Ritter in 2021, it was announced that the show would not continue.{{Cite web|title=No More Episodes of Friday Night Dinner Are Currently Planned|url=https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/tv-and-film-no-more-episodes-of-friday-night-dinner-are-currently-planned-20210116|access-date=2021-04-18|website=ladbible.com|date=16 January 2021 |language=en}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/apr/06/friday-night-dinner-star-paul-ritter-dies-of-brain-tumour-at-54 |title=Paul Ritter: Friday Night Dinner star dies of brain tumour at 54 |author=Toby Moses |work=The Guardian |date=6 April 2021 |access-date=2 June 2021}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/may/26/farewell-friday-night-dinner-the-joyous-jewish-sitcom-that-became-a-national-treasure |title=Farewell Friday Night Dinner: the joyous Jewish sitcom that became a national treasure |author=Rachel Aroesti |work=The Guardian |date=26 May 2021 |access-date=2 June 2021}} To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the start of the show, an anniversary special was aired in May 2021.{{cite news|url=https://www.nme.com/news/tv/friday-night-dinner-anniversary-special-to-air-later-this-month-2939837 |title='Friday Night Dinner' anniversary special to air later this month |author=Ella Kemp |work=NME |date=13 May 2021 |access-date=2 June 2021}}

In 2013, he was cast as Marcus in the ITV sitcom Plebs. The sitcom is a comedy set in Ancient Rome, following the main characters of Marcus, Stylax, and Grumio.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/sep/20/plebs-roman-comedy-tom-rosenthal |title=Plebs: 'Ancient Rome allows us to bring in gladiators and orgies' |author=Luke Holland |work=The Guardian |date=20 September 2014 |access-date=2 June 2021}} In 2020, it was announced that a sixth series would not be commissioned and instead a feature-length special would be released.{{cite news|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/itv2s-plebs-end-feature-length-special/#:~:text=ITV%202%27s%20comedy%20Plebs%20will,returning%20for%20a%20sixth%20series.&text=Speaking%20to%20The%20Sun%20about,off%20to%20join%20the%20army. |title=ITV2's Plebs will end with a feature-length special |author=Lauren Morris |work=The Radio Times|date=30 April 2020 |access-date=2 June 2021}}

In 2014, he created and starred in a comedy pilot for BBC iPlayer with Naz Osmanoglu, entitled Flat TV, which was later commissioned into a mini-series.{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03m5b2j/episodes/guide |title=Flat TV |publisher=BBC iPlayer |accessdate=4 March 2017 }}

In 2015, he played a brief role as Gary Thorp in the ITV drama series Broadchurch.

In 2019, he played Private Pike in Dad's Army: The Lost Episodes, a recreation of three missing episodes of the BBC sitcom Dad's Army. That same year, his third stand-up show Manhood received critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.{{cite web |url=https://www.tomrosenthal.net/dates |title=Manhood Tour Dates |work=Tom Rosenthal professional web site}}

Rosenthal was in a relationship with TV and radio presenter, Vick Hope from 2013 to 2017.{{Cite web |title=Vick Hope says break up with Tom Rosenthal had nothing to do with Strictly curse |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/talent-shows/vick-hope-says-break-up-with-tom-rosenthal-had-nothing-to-do-with-strictly-curse/ |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=Radio Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Wiggins |first=Dan |date=2022-11-15 |title=Tom Rosenthal's life from West London childhood to very famous dad |url=https://www.mylondon.news/news/tv/richard-osmans-house-games-tom-25515325 |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=MyLondon |language=en}} In September 2024 he announced he was expecting his first baby with his partner Gabrielle Sky. His daughter was born in February 2025.{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Rebecca |title=Friday Night Dinner star expecting first child as he pays tribute to co-star |url=https://www.ok.co.uk/celebrity-news/friday-night-dinner-star-expecting-33579815 |website=OK! Magazine |access-date=16 December 2024 |language=en |date=1 September 2024}} He is a fan of Arsenal F.C.

Rosenthal said of his Jewish roots in 2011, "I get called a Jewish comedian and I'm totally fine with that, but I can't really inform either of the performances I've done this year with a Jewish background. But I have learnt a lot about the culture and it has given me great pride to do so."{{cite web |author=Kari Rosenberg |date=16 June 2011 |title=Tom turns into a political football |url=http://www.totallyjewish.com/entertainment/features_and_reviews/?content_id=16435 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819091409/http://www.totallyjewish.com/entertainment/features_and_reviews/?content_id=16435 |archive-date=19 August 2014 |accessdate=2 May 2012 |work=TotallyJewish.com}}

In 2019, Rosenthal began to speak out about his negative experience with circumcision and his opposition to it,{{cite web |author=Ryan Gilbey |date=13 August 2019 |title='Whenever you have sex, it's on your mind': Tom Rosenthal on turning circumcision into comedy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/aug/13/tom-rosenthal-manhood-foreskin-edinburgh |accessdate=25 February 2020 |work=The Guardian}} as well as speaking about how the experience intersected with his struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder. He stated, "The truth is that my parents were put in charge of my welfare and they did something to me that can never be remedied. [...] The last proper Jew in our family was four generations back. My dad was circumcised for medical reasons, which is another bloody rabbit hole because a lot of those cases are misdiagnosed. [...] The aim is to recognise that if this has happened to you and you feel fine about it, that's great. But if you don't feel fine, which I don't, then you're justified."

Rosenthal has questioned whether he is autistic, saying "I do clearly have quite a lot of the behavioral traits that people who are diagnosed as autistic do have". He also explained his friends believe him to be autistic. While taking part in BBC One show, Pilgrimage, model Christine McGuinness, who is the mother of three autistic children, and is autistic herself, said to Rosenthal that she believed him to have the same condition.{{cite web |url=https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/1882319/tom-rosenthal-pilgrimage-bbc |title=Tom Rosenthal: 'My parents think I'm crazy... In the proudest way' |date=27 March 2024 |accessdate=12 April 2024 |work=The Express}}

• Chortle Student Comedian of the Year Finalist 2009{{cite web |title=Chortle Student Comedy Award finalists 2009 : About Chortle 2009 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/about/2009/08/27/9507/chortle_student_comedy_award_finalists_2009 |website=Chortle |access-date=26 November 2024 |language=en |date=27 August 2009}}
• Nominated for a British Comedy Award as Best Breakthrough Act of 2011{{cite web |title=The British Comedy Awards - The British Comedy Awards - Winners 2011 |url=https://www.britishcomedyawards.com/past-winners/2011.aspx |website=The British Comedy Awards |access-date=26 November 2024}}
• Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year (Joint winner with Ben Target) 2011{{cite news |url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/features/2011/02/20/12790/mercury_rising |title=Mercury Rising: Marissa Burgess reviews the Leicester Comedian of the Year |work=Chortle |date=20 February 2011 }}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{Official website|https://www.tomrosenthal.net/}}
• {{IMDb name|id=4332304}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Tom}}

Category:1988 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century English comedians

Category:21st-century English male actors

Category:Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

Category:Alumni of King's College London

Category:English male comedians

Category:English male television actors

Category:English male voice actors

Category:English people of German-Jewish descent

Category:People educated at Reading Blue Coat School

Category:People from Cookham

Category:People with obsessive–compulsive disorder

Category:Male actors from London

Category:People from Hammersmith

Category:Comedians from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham