Jonny Sweet

Jonny Sweet
Born
Jonathan Huw Sweet

1985 (age 38–39)
Nottingham, England
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian, writer
Years active2008–present

Jonathan Huw Sweet (born 1985) is a British comedian and the recipient of the 2009 Edinburgh Comedy Award for best newcomer.

Early life

Sweet was born in Nottingham and educated at the local independent school Nottingham High School. He read English at Pembroke College, Cambridge and met writing partner Joe Thomas, and both were members of the Footlights.[1] Sweet served as vice-president to Simon Bird while Thomas was secretary.[2] After graduating, the three shared a flat together before their big break into comedy and television.[3] He graduated with a first and was expected to follow his father into the legal profession but joined Endemol UK on an internship instead.[1] He is a supporter of Nottingham Forest Football Club.

Career

In 2009 Sweet won The Edinburgh Comedy Award for best newcomer for his show 'Mostly About Arthur'.[4] He also starred in Tom Basden's debut play Party alongside Basden himself, 2009 Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Tim Key, Anna Crilly, Katy Wix and Nick Mohammed. The play won a Fringe First before travelling to the Sydney Arts Festival and appearing in London's West End and in adaptation as a BBC Radio 4 sitcom.

Sweet became known for playing posh characters after his role as future Prime Minister David Cameron in the 2009 More 4 satirical show When Boris Met Dave, which details how Cameron and Mayor of London Boris Johnson first met.[1] He also appeared alongside Alistair McGowan, Adrian Edmondson and Hugh Dennis in Pete and Dud: The Lost Sketches, a revival of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's works on BBC Two.[5]

In 2012, he had a small role in BBC's Him & Her as one of Paul's newly found relatives.

He is also writing partner with Inbetweeners stars Simon Bird and Joe Thomas and together they make up the sketch group The House of Windsor. Following their critically acclaimed Edinburgh show The Meeting, they are now developing projects together for TV and film. Their period sitcom Chickens, about 3 conscientious objectors during World War I was broadcast in Autumn on Sky One, also starring Barry Humphries. Thomas and Sweet have also performed as a double-act, garnering many rave reviews and being nominated for a Writer's Guild Award.[6]

He has recorded two series of his Radio 4 sitcom, Hard to Tell, a romance, starring Charlotte Ritchie as his love interest. The structure mainly consists of conversation between Tom (Sweet) and his sister Maeve (Katy Wix) telling his side of the developing romance, and between Ellen (Ritchie) and best friend Hermione (Sarah Solomani). In 2013, he was nominated for the Best Breakthrough Artist at the British Comedy Awards.

In 2014 Sweet starred as Tom Oliver in the Channel 4 police comedy-drama series Babylon. In 2015, Sweet created, wrote and starred in the BBC sitcom Together based loosely on his radio series Hard to Tell.[7] He also wrote an episode of Tom Basden's E4 series Gap Year.[8]

In mid-2017 Sweet starred in the sitcom Loaded (Channel 4), about a group of IT entrepreneurs who become millionaires when their company is bought out.

Sweet's debut novel, The Kellerby Code, was published by Faber in March 2024.[9]

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Director Notes
2011 A Trick of the Light Jonny Vanessa Whyte Short film
Also co-writer
2012 Get Lucky Christopher Hound Norma Burke Short film
2012 Asylum Seekers Begbie Adams Hollie Ebdon Short film
2016 The Darkest Universe Howard Will Sharpe
Tom Kingsley
2018 Dead to the World Ben Freddie Hall Short film
2018 Johnny English Strikes Again Tour Guide David Kerr
2019 Greed Jules Michael Winterbottom
2023 Wicked Little Letters Daily Mail Reporter Thea Sharrock Also Writer

TV series

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Delta Forever Johnny 1.01 "Pilot"
2009 Not Safe for Work Andy Television film
2009 Brave Young Men Mr. Knowles Television film
2009 The Inbetweeners Dean Episode: "A Night Out in London"
2009 When Boris Met Dave David Cameron Television documentary
2009 Off the Hook Figaro 1.06 "Series 1, Episode 6"
2010 Pete & Dud: The Lost Sketches Performer Television film
2010 Popatron Giles Stone 3 episodes
2011 Comedy Showcase Bert Walpole 3.01 "Chickens"
Also co-writer
2011–2013 Chickens Bert Walpole 7 episodes
Also co-writer
2012–2013 Him & Her Ian 5 episodes
2012 Threesome Billy 2.02 "Vacuum"
2012 Games On 1.01 "Curby"
2012 Twenty Twelve Justin Carter 2.01 "Boycott: Part 1"
2013 Playhouse Presents Freddie Fleet 2.06 "Stage Door Johnnies"
2014 Plebs Julius Priscus 2.06 "The Candidate"
2014 Babylon Tom Oliver 7 episodes
2015 Together Tom 6 episodes
Also creator and writer
2017 Loaded Ewan 8 episodes
2022 I Hate You Bob Oxygen 5 episodes

Writing credits

Production Notes Broadcaster/Distributor
Comedy Showcase
  • "Chickens" (2011)
Channel 4
A Trick of the Light
  • Short film (co-written with Joe Thomas, 2011)
Cargo Collective
Chickens
  • 5 episodes (2013)
Channel 4
Together
  • 6 episodes (2015)
BBC Three
Gap Year
  • "Kuala Lumpur: The Expats" (2017)
E4
Wicked Little Letters
  • Film (2023)
StudioCanal

References

  1. ^ a b c "Jonny Sweet: smell of success". The Independent. 18 January 2011. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Interview: Jonny Sweet and Nick Mohammed". The Cambridge Student. 11 May 2010. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  3. ^ "Chickens: What the Inbetweeners did next". The Guardian. 29 August 2011.
  4. ^ "Poet named Edinburgh comedy king". BBC News. 29 August 2009.
  5. ^ "Unknown cast in Cameron TV drama". BBC News. 27 July 2009.
  6. ^ Quainton, David (19 August 2009). "Latest from Edinburgh Fringe: Jonny Sweet's "Mostly About Arthur"". eventmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  7. ^ Fullerton, Huw (6 October 2015). "Together review: a charming new comedy in the last days of BBC3". Radio_Times#Website.
  8. ^ "Interview with Tim Key for Gap Year". Channel 4. 14 February 2017.
  9. ^ Leith, Sam (20 March 2024). "The Kellerby Code by Jonny Sweet review – social-climbing satire". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
Preceded by if.comedy award for
Best Newcomer

2009
Succeeded by