Steve Steen
Encyclopedia
Steve Steen is a British
actor
and comedian
best known for his improvisation partnership with Jim Sweeney.
The pair met at school in London
and joined a theatre
club in 1972. The two then wrote and starred in a show which parodied much of the other shows being held in London that year. They then formed their own theatre company and wrote and toured productions around the UK for the rest of the 1970s.
The two have worked together as writers, guest comics, support acts and improvisers ever since, although Steen has done his share of straight acting, including a part in the movie version of BBC
sitcom Porridge in 1979. Although he had lines to say as young convict
Wellings, the final cut showed him frequently onscreen yet without saying a word. He was, however, credited
.
Steen and Sweeney appeared on television together for the first time in 1981 with the ITV
children's show CBTV
, followed by one of Channel 4
's first comedies, Little Armadillos and a role for Steen in Ben Elton
's idyllic comedy Happy Families
. Rory Bremner
then recruited them as resident support performers on his first sketch show for the BBC, and shortly afterwards they starred as poets Byron
(Steen) and Coleridge
(Sweeney) in an episode of Blackadder the Third
.
Steen had a major roles in Sweeney's award winning play "Danny's Wake", which was subsequently adapted into a sitcom for Radio 4. Steen continued to play Billy throughout the two series. Steen also played Liam in another radio play "Any Bloke".
Sweeney was recruited as a solo performer thereafter for Whose Line Is It Anyway?
, but Steen was soon summoned for the Channel 4 improvisation show, and was a runaway success in his six episodes. He also guested on Have I Got News For You
in 1992 (without Sweeney, who to date has never been on that programme) and combined one-off acting roles on TV with taking improv tours, with Sweeney and others, around the UK and beyond.
Along with Sweeney, Steen appeared in a series of language teaching videos made by Oxford University Press.
Their performing partnership has now effectively ended due to Sweeney's continuing battle with multiple sclerosis
, which forced him to retire from stage work.
Steen is a fan of Fulham
football club.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
best known for his improvisation partnership with Jim Sweeney.
The pair met at school in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and joined a theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
club in 1972. The two then wrote and starred in a show which parodied much of the other shows being held in London that year. They then formed their own theatre company and wrote and toured productions around the UK for the rest of the 1970s.
The two have worked together as writers, guest comics, support acts and improvisers ever since, although Steen has done his share of straight acting, including a part in the movie version of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom Porridge in 1979. Although he had lines to say as young convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
Wellings, the final cut showed him frequently onscreen yet without saying a word. He was, however, credited
Credit (creative arts)
In general, the term credit in the artistic or intellectual sense refers to an acknowledgement of those who contributed to a work, whether through ideas or in a more direct sense.-Credit in the arts:...
.
Steen and Sweeney appeared on television together for the first time in 1981 with the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
children's show CBTV
CBTV (Thames)
CBTV was a Thames TV magazine programme for younger viewers, in the 1980s.Its main presenters were the comedy duo Jim Sweeney & Steve Steen who at the start of each show would have to sneak past the security guard on the gates of Teddington Studios to get their rooftop studio. Other presenters...
, followed by one of Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's first comedies, Little Armadillos and a role for Steen in Ben Elton
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
's idyllic comedy Happy Families
Happy Families (TV series)
Happy Families was a rural comedy drama written by Ben Elton which appeared on the BBC in 1985 and told the story of the dysfunctional Fuddle family....
. Rory Bremner
Rory Bremner
Roderick "Rory" Keith Ogilvy Bremner, FKC is a Scottish impressionist, playwright and comedian, noted for his work in political satire...
then recruited them as resident support performers on his first sketch show for the BBC, and shortly afterwards they starred as poets Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...
(Steen) and Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
(Sweeney) in an episode of Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third is the third series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987....
.
Steen had a major roles in Sweeney's award winning play "Danny's Wake", which was subsequently adapted into a sitcom for Radio 4. Steen continued to play Billy throughout the two series. Steen also played Liam in another radio play "Any Bloke".
Sweeney was recruited as a solo performer thereafter for Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy TV show. Originally a British radio programme, it moved to television in 1988 as a series made for the UK's Channel 4, for a 10 series run...
, but Steen was soon summoned for the Channel 4 improvisation show, and was a runaway success in his six episodes. He also guested on Have I Got News For You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
in 1992 (without Sweeney, who to date has never been on that programme) and combined one-off acting roles on TV with taking improv tours, with Sweeney and others, around the UK and beyond.
Along with Sweeney, Steen appeared in a series of language teaching videos made by Oxford University Press.
Their performing partnership has now effectively ended due to Sweeney's continuing battle with multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
, which forced him to retire from stage work.
Steen is a fan of Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
football club.