Stephen John Oram (born 1973)[1] is an English actor, comedian, writer, and filmmaker. He is known for his role in the multi-award winning 2012 film Sightseers, which he also co-wrote. His other credits include People Like Us (2001), It's All Gone Pete Tong (2004), Tittybangbang (2006–2007), Suburban Shootout (2006), The Mighty Boosh (2007), Connections (2008), The World's End (2013), Wipers Times (2013), The Secrets (2014), The Canal (2014), Altar (2014), Paddington (2014), Glue (2014), Aaaaaaaah! (2015), The Living and the Dead (2016), A Dark Song (2016), The End of the F***ing World (2017–2019), Ghosts (2019), Doctor Who (2021), Killing Eve (2022), and D.I Ray (2022–2023).
Steve Oram | |
|---|---|
 Steve Oram at Sightseers Premiere at the 2012 Dublin Film Festival | |
| Born | Stephen John Oram 1973 (age 50–51) Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2001–present |
Life and career
editOram was born in 1973,[1] in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England.[2][3] He studied at the University of East Anglia, taking degrees in both English and film.[1][3]
Career
editHe started as a character comedian on the comedy circuit and performed several comedy shows at the Edinburgh Fringe with comedy partner Tom Meeten during the early 2000s.[4] He also appeared at Ealing Live, a comedy night at Ealing Studios, where he met and started working with Alice Lowe.[5]
In 2002, Oram and Meeten wrote, composed the music and starred in Channel 4's Matthew & Tone: Tales of Friendship and Innocence.[3] It was directed by Dominic Brigstocke and screened in season 5 of the Comedy Lab series.[3]
Oram appeared in various TV & film roles throughout the 2000s including the second series of People Like Us (2001), the feature film It's All Gone Pete Tong (2004) starring Paul Kaye, Tittybangbang (2006–07) and Suburban Shootout (2006).[6] He also played Donnie the tramp in the series written by and starring Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding, series 3 of The Mighty Boosh (2007).[6]
In 2008, his short film Connections screened at Cannes Film Festival as part of the official Straight 8 selection.[7]
He also appeared alongside Alice Lowe as a support act in Steve Coogan's 2008–09 stand up tour "Steve Coogan is.....Alan Partridge and other less successful characters".[6]
Oram has written and directed numerous short films under the pseudonym "Steve Aura" and released under the banner of Lincoln Studios.[8]
With Meeten, he performs a long-running comedy show in London called Oram & Meeten's Club Fantastico.[9]
In 2012, Oram and Lowe starred in Ben Wheatley's dark comedy Sightseers.[6] The film was written by Oram and Lowe with additional material by Amy Jump.[10][11]
Since then, Oram has taken on roles in films including Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's The World's End (2013),[6] The Canal (2014),[6] Altar (2014) and Paddington (2014).[6]
On television, he has appeared in Wipers Times (2013) written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, an episode of The Secrets (2014) alongside Alison Steadman and Olivia Colman,[12] an episode of Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy (2014), the Jack Thorne series Glue (2014) and The Living and the Dead (2016).[6]
Oram released his directorial debut Aaaaaaaah! in 2015,[3] a film in which the characters communicate entirely in ape-like grunts.[3] It starred Oram himself alongside Julian Barratt, Toyah Willcox, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Noel Fielding and Holli Dempsey.[3] The film's soundtrack features a number of tracks from the King Crimson ProjeKcts albums.[13]
In 2016, he starred as Joseph Solomonin in A Dark Song.[14]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Ant Muzak | Marco | Short film |
| 2004 | It's All Gone Pete Tong | Blinky | |
| 2005 | The Wingnut Tapes | Dad | Short film. Co-writer |
| 2008 | Connections | Man | Short film; Writer/director |
| 2011 | Kill List | Radio Reporter | |
| 2012 | Sightseers | Chris | Also co-writer |
| 2013 | Welcome to the Punch | Journalist | |
| The World's End | Motorcycle Policeman | ||
| 2014 | The Last Summer On Earth | Ginger Goofball | Short film. Co-writer |
| Cuban Fury | Security guard Kevin | ||
| The Canal | McNamara | ||
| Altar | Nigel Lean | ||
| Paddington | Paddington Station Security Guard | ||
| 2015 | Captain Webb | Professor Fred Beckwith | |
| The Bad Education Movie | Officer Rowe | ||
| Aaaaaaaah! | Smith | Writer / Director | |
| Sarah Chong Is Going To Kill Herself | The Bosses | Short film | |
| 2016 | A Dark Song | Joseph Solomon | [14] |
| 2018 | In Fabric | Clive | |
| 2022 | This is Christmas | Conductor | |
| Mind-set | Paul | ||
| 2023 | Love Again | Richard Hughes | |
| Sky Peals | Jeff |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | People Like Us | Policeman/Sound Engineer | |
| 2002 | Live Floor Show | Mr Richards | |
| Hardware | Builder | ||
| Green Wing | Security Guard | ||
| Comedy Lab: Matthew & Tone: Tales of Friendship and Innocence | Tone | ||
| 2005 | Twisted Tales | Detective Sergeant Jack Tanner | Episode: "Death Metal Chronicles" |
| Comedy Lab: Skin Deep | Carl | ||
| 2006 | Suburban Shootout | Plumber | |
| 2006–07 | Tittybangbang | Various characters | |
| 2007 | Where Are the Joneses? | Carston Whelk | |
| The Mighty Boosh | Donni | The Strange Tale of the Crack Fox | |
| 2008 | LifeSpam: My Child is French | Various characters | |
| 2011 | Dick and Dom's Funny Business | Teacher | |
| The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret | Officer Petty Hurt | ||
| 2012 | Miranda | Policeman | |
| 2013 | Life's Too Short | Paul Jacobs | |
| Heading Out | Daniel | ||
| The Wipers Times | Sergeant Harris | ||
| NTSF:SD:SUV:: | Mr Smyth | ||
| 2014 | The Job Lot | Keith Taylor | |
| The Secrets | Shaun | The Dilemma | |
| Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy | Terry | Series 2 Episode 2 Fantasy Block | |
| Glue | George | ||
| 2016 | Midsomer Murders | Nathan Tonev | |
| The Living and the Dead | John Roebuck | ||
| 2017 | The Moorside | DC Alex Grummit | |
| 2017–2019 | The End of the F***ing World | Phil | |
| 2018 | Death in Paradise | Dean Shanks | S7:E3 "Written in Murder" |
| Hang Ups | Neil Quinn | ||
| Sally4Ever | Mick | ||
| 2019 | Ghosts | Terry | |
| Not Going Out | Dave the builder | Series 10 (Episode 7) | |
| 2021 | Line of Duty | Medical counsellor | Series 6 (Episode 7) |
| Doctor Who | Joseph Williamson | Series 13 | |
| 2022 | Killing Eve | Phil | |
| 2022–present | D.I Ray | DS Clive Bottomley |
Awards and recognition
edit- 2012: Awarded Best Screenplay (with Alice Lowe) by British Independent Film Awards for Sightseers
- 2012: Nominated Best Actor by British Independent Film Awards for Sightseers
- 2012: Awarded Best Screenplay (with Alice Lowe) by Mar del Plata Film Festival for Sightseers
- 2012: Awarded Best Screenplay (with Alice Lowe) by Sitges Film Festival for Sightseers
- 2013: Nominated Best Male Newcomer by Empire Awards for Sightseers
- 2013: Awarded Breakthrough British Filmmaker (with Alice Lowe) by London Critics Circle Film Awards for Sightseers
- 2013: Nominated ALFS Award – British Actor of the Year by London Critics Circle Film Awards for Sightseers
- 2013: Nominated Best First Feature-Length Film Screenplay (with Alice Lowe) by Writers' Guild of Great Britain for Sightseers
- 2015: Nominated The Discovery Award by British Independent Film Awards for Aaaaaaaah!
- 2016: Special Jury Mention New Direction Competition by Cleveland International Film Festival for Aaaaaaaah!
References
edit- ^ a b c "Steve Oram". iffr.com. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Steve Oram in director Q&A". Phoenix Square. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g "57th Karlovy vary IFF June 30th - July 8th 2023 - Archive of films - Aaaaaaaah!". kviff.com. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Oram & Meeten Ding Dong review". Chortle Edinburgh. 2002.
- ^ Gibson, Anthony (27 March 2013). "Steve Oram, star of Sightseers: Why I dressed up as a serial killer to go on holiday". Metro. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Steve Oram Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Connections- a straight 8 film by steve oram & nick lear". 10 February 2009.
- ^ Dawtrey, Adam (7 January 2013). "A case study of Internet's impact on filmmakers". Variety. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ "Oram & Meeten's Club Fantastico". 23 May 2013.
- ^ "Sightseers – review". The Guardian. 29 November 2012. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023.
- ^ Sightseers at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ Ellen E. Jones
- ^ Aaaaaaaah! film review, Variety
- ^ a b Brady, Tara (5 April 2017). "A Dark Song review: a nifty, novel Irish horror". The Irish Times. Retrieved 23 April 2017.