Jason Forbes facts for kids

Jason Forbes (born 27 October 1990) is a British actor, writer, and comedian. He is also an impressionist and a TV presenter. You might know him best from the CITV show Horrible Science. He also appeared in The Mash Report on BBC Two and played PC Peasey in the Professor Branestawm TV movies on BBC One.

Jason is also part of a funny group called 'Daphne'. This group has won awards for their sketches. He also helped create, star in, and write the BBC Radio 4 series, Daphne Sounds Expensive.

Early Life and Education

Jason Forbes was born in Bristol, England. He went to school at Queen Elizabeth's Hospital in Clifton. After school, he went to Jesus College at the University of Cambridge. He studied English there and finished in 2012.

When he was at school, Jason joined a club called the 'Gabblers' Club'. This club was for young students who wanted to practice speaking after dinner. In 2008, he won the 'Best Speaker' award from this club. A famous comedian named Mark Watson had won this award before him.

At Cambridge University, Jason wrote and performed in many comedy shows. He was a member of the famous Cambridge Footlights comedy group. In 2012, he helped write and perform in Perfect Strangers. This was the 50th annual show by the Footlights group. They even toured around the UK and the United States with it. He also acted in serious plays, from old ones by Shakespeare to modern ones. He even performed in London's West End as part of a special show.

Career

Comedy Work

In September 2014, Jason Forbes teamed up with his friends from Cambridge Footlights, Phil Wang and George Fouracres. They formed a sketch group called 'Daphne'.

The group started hosting a comedy night called Nova Nova. They held it every other month at the Cockpit Theatre, Marylebone. Here, they tried out their new jokes and sketches. Other famous British comedians like Harry Hill and James Acaster also performed there.

Daphne won the 'Best New Act' award at the London Sketchfest in 2015. Their first show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe was called Daphne Do Edinburgh. Critics really liked it! Daphne was even nominated for the 2015 Foster's Award for 'Best Newcomer'.

Radio Work

Daphne Sounds Expensive (BBC Radio 4)

In February 2016, the BBC announced that Daphne would have their own comedy show on BBC Radio 4. It was described as a bit like The Goon Show. The show was called Daphne Sounds Expensive. The first episode aired on 14 July 2016. Each series had four episodes, and each episode was thirty minutes long.

Daphne Sounds Expensive was nominated for the 'Best Radio Sketch Show' award in 2016. Because it was so popular, Radio 4 ordered a second series. This second series started on 13 July 2017.

Other Radio Shows

Jason Forbes often appears as a guest on the funny satirical sketch show Newsjack. This show is on BBC Radio 4 Extra.

In 2017, he was in a two-part BBC Radio 4 sitcom called Life on Egg. He acted alongside comedians like Harry Hill and Gyles Brandreth.

Film and Television Work

Jason Forbes first appeared on TV in 2013. This was in Kerry, a BBC Three Comedy Feeds episode. It was created by the actress Kerry Howard.

He later appeared in The Mimic on Channel 4. He was also in Pompidou on BBC One. This show was made by Little Britain star Matt Lucas.

In 2014, he was on BBC One in a show based on The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm. He played PC Peasey in this show. Other stars included Harry Hill and David Mitchell.

In May 2015, ITV announced that Jason Forbes would be in their new series Horrible Science. This show is based on the popular Horrible Science books by Nick Arnold.

Jason also joined the cast of Tracey Ullman's sketch show, Tracey Ullman's Show. This show was for BBC One and HBO. He was a regular in the second series of Tracey Ullman's Show. In 2017, he played the famous tennis player Arthur Ashe in the movie Borg/McEnroe.

In 2021, the TV channel UKTV said that Jason Forbes would be a co-host on a new panel show called The Island. This show is on the comedy channel Dave. The first eight episodes started being filmed in June 2021.

In 2024, he starred in the Netflix science fiction TV series, 3 Body Problem. In this show, he played a character named Omar Khayyam.

Style and Influences

Jason Forbes really loves physical comedy. This means he often uses slapstick humour in his acts. Slapstick is a type of comedy where people fall over or bump into things in a funny way. He has said that comedians like Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Rowan Atkinson, and Sir Norman Wisdom have influenced him. He also said that Michael Crawford influenced him "most of all".

In an interview, Jason said that he would try everything his comedy heroes did at home. He would bump into things, fall over, and even throw himself down the stairs! He joked that his mother was not very happy about this.

Jason apparently became very good at falling down stairs in a university play called Noises Off. A magazine called The List wrote about Daphne's first show. They mentioned a "wild slapstick moment" that they hoped wouldn't hurt Jason during the show.

Credits

Film and Television

Radio

Video Games

Awards and Nominations

Jason Forbes' sketch group Daphne won an award in 2015. They received the 'Best New Act' prize at the London Sketchfest. Their first show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Daphne Do Edinburgh, was highly praised. Daphne was also nominated for the 2015 Edinburgh Comedy Award for 'Best Newcomer'.