fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Ben Ashenden is a British-Irish actor, writer and comedian. He is half of the double-act, The Pin, with Alexander Owen, with whom he has made four series for BBC Radio 4, picking up nominations at the 2017 Writers' Guild Awards.[2] and Radio Academy Awards,[3] and winning the BBC Radio Award for Best Comedy.[4]

Ben Ashenden
Born	1989/1990 (age 32–33)[1] Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Alma mater	University of Cambridge
Occupation	Actor, Comedian, Writer
Years active	2009–present

Early life

Ashenden was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, and grew up in Radlett. His father is a builder and his mother is a bookseller. He has one sister. He went to the Haberdashers' Aske's School for Boys[5] and performed with the Chicken Shed Theatre Company before studying English Literature at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.[6]

Career

Ashenden met his double-act colleague, Alexander Owen, at the University of Cambridge. They co-wrote/performed (with Joey Batey, Joe Bannister, Mark Fiddaman and Simon Haines) the sketch show ‘Good Clean Men’.[7][8] Ashenden and Owen then performed with the Cambridge Footlights, as part of the first troupe to tour America, in a show directed by Liam Williams and Daran Johnson.[9]

Upon graduation the pair took their sketch act, The Pin, to the Edinburgh Fringe. Their most recent^[when?] show, The Pin: Backstage, was described by The Guardian as “one of Edinburgh’s most dazzling comedy shows”,[10] and is now in development with Sonia Friedman Productions].

As an actor, his film credits include Bridget Jones Baby, Sulphur and White, and Horrible Histories: The Movie. His TV credits include Avenue 5 (HBO), The English Game (Netflix), W1A (BBC1), Stath Lets Flats (C4), Brotherhood (Comedy Central), Plebs (ITV2) and Sky Christmas special, Cinderella: After Ever After.

As a writer, he co-created the animated series Oi, Leonardo! for BBC3, and has written for BBC1 shows Walliams and Friend and Tracey Ullman's Show, BBC3's Famalam], and Showtime’s Who is America?

In 2020 The Pin released “The Special Relationship”[11] an 8-part series on Audible, co-starring Fred Armisen, Cecily Strong, Jamie Demetriou, Lolly Adefope and Kate Berlant. It largely repurposes sketches from their Radio 4 show within the context of a fictionalised attempt to break into the New York comedy scene.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2016	Bridget Jones's Baby	Pierce
2019	Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans	Messenger
	After Ever After	Pongo	TV film
2020	Sulphur and White	Sean
2022	The Bubble	Tip, the MoCap Guy
2022	Jurassic World: Dominion	Tyler

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	BBC Comedy Feeds		Episode: "Kerry"
2014	Siblings	Michael	Episode: "Balcombe's Funeral"
2015	Drunk History	Drunk Storyteller	Episode: "The Krays/Guy Fawkes"
	Brotherhood	Dan	Series regular
2016	Halloween Comedy Shorts	Nick	Episode: "Jamie Demetriou's Horror: Oh God"
	Crazyhead	Luke	Episode: "Penguin or Cow?"
2016-2017	Witless	PC Colin Naysmith	2 episodes
2017	Henry IX	Damian	3 episodes
	Coconut	James	4 episodes
	W1A	Assistant Floor Manager	1 episode
2017-2018	Tracey Breaks the News	Various	3 episodes
	Tracey Ullman's Show	Various	Series regular
2018	Oi Leonardo	Various	Mini-series
	Sick Note	Officer Errol	Episode: "Operation Thunderbolt"
2018-2019	Stath Lets Flats	Tristan	2 episodes
2019	Plebs	Posh Man	Episode: "The New Flat"
2020	Avenue 5	Rick	2 episodes
	The English Game	Cattermole	1 episode
2021	Ghosts	Captain of the Guards	1 episode

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Notes
2009	Wind in the Willows	Badger	Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh	as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe
	Good Clean Men	Writer/Performer/Director	Corpus Playroom, Cambridge
	Barry! Pull Your Finger Out!	Hugo	udderBELLY, Edinburgh	as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe
	Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves	Amara	ADC Theatre, Cambridge
2010	Armageddapocalypse 2: The Explosioning	Performer	ADC Theatre, Cambridge
	The Oxford Revue and Friends	Writer/Performer	Oxford Arts Theatre, Oxford
	Romeo and Juliet	Gregory	Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge
	Cambridge Comedy Fest	Writer/Performer	Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge
	Good for You	Writer/Performer	International Tour	with Cambridge Footlights
	The Pin	Writer/Performer/Director	ADC Theatre, Cambridge
2011	Pretty Little Panic	Writer/Performer	International Tour	with Cambridge Footlights
2015	Ten Seconds with the Pin	Writer/Performer/Director	Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh	as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe
2020	The Comeback	Writer/Performer	Noël Coward Theatre

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2009	Footlights Harry Porter Award		Barry! Pull Your Finger Out!	Won	[12]
2013	London Sketchfest Prize	Best New Act	The Pin	Won	[13]
2016	Audio and Radio Industry Awards	Best Entertainment Production		Nominated	[14]
	BBC Radio Awards	Best Comedy Production or Moment		Won	[15]
2017	BBC Audio Drama Awards	Best Comedy With a Live Audience		Nominated	[16]
	Writers' Guild Awards	Best Radio Comedy		Nominated	[17]

References

External links

• Ben Ashenden at IMDb
• The Pin on Twitter.
• Ben Ashenden on Hamilton Hodell.
• The Pin official website.
• The Pin on Radio 4.

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