Benjamin Harvey Bailey Smith (born 21 September 1977), also known by the stage name Doc Brown, is an English actor, comedian, rapper, screenwriter, songwriter, and voiceover artist. He portrayed DS Joe Hawkins in the television series '' Law & Order: UK''. He is also known for portraying Nathan Carter in the

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

television series ''

4 O'Clock Club ''4 O'Clock Club'' is a British comedy drama and musical children's television series set in a secondary school, which premiered on 13 January 2012 on CBBC. A second series began airing on 4 January 2013, and the third series premiered on 20 Dec ...

'' from 2012 to 2015. He also voiced a number of episodes of the popular show ''Funny Animals: Unleashed''. This show was aired via

4MUSIC 4Music is a British music television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. The original incarnation was launched on 15 August 2008, and until 29 June 2022, showed a mix of music and entertainment programming. It ...

Early life

Doc Brown was born Benjamin Harvey Bailey Smith, son of a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n immigrant, Yvonne Bailey, and an Englishman, Harvey Smith, who was 30 years his wife's senior. Raised in the

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed ...

area of north-west London, Smith is the younger brother of novelist and essayist

Zadie Smith Zadie Smith FRSL (born Sadie; 25 October 1975) is an English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. Her debut novel, ''White Teeth'' (2000), immediately became a best-seller and won a number of awards. She has been a tenured professor ...

. Smith attended

Hampstead School Hampstead School is a large comprehensive school in the London Borough of Camden, England. The school building is one of the oldest in the borough. It has about 1,300 students between the ages of 11 and 19 attending the Lower School (Year 7 thro ...

. Explaining his stage name, he has said: "Doc Brown's been my nickname since school, after the scientist in ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

'', because I was gangly and geeky. When I started doing rap battles in my teens, it became my hip-hop handle and it's stuck."Hogan, Michael (14 April 2013)
"Doc Brown: 'I'm an accidental comedian. That makes me dangerous'"
''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

''.

Music

Doc Brown began performing as a

battle rapper Battle rap (also known as rap battling)Edwards, Paul, 2009, p. 25. is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults and wordplay. Battle rap is often performed or freestyled spontaneously in live ...

in 2000, appearing at the

Dingwalls Dingwalls was a live music and comedy venue adjacent to Camden Lock, Camden, London, England. The building itself is one of many industrial Victorian buildings that were put to new use in the 20th century. The original owner of the building, ...

nightclub in

Camden Lock Camden Lock is a small part of Camden Town, London Borough of Camden, England, which was formerly a wharf with stables on the Regent's Canal. It is immediately to the north of Hampstead Road Locks, a twin manually operated lock. The twin locks ...

, and later at the "Jump Off" competition in

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

Film and television

Smith appeared in the BBC series '' Rev'' and '' Miranda'', as well as

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's ''

The Inbetweeners ''The Inbetweeners'' is a British coming-of-age television teen sitcom, which originally aired on E4 from 2008 until 2010 and was created and written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris. The series follows the misadventures of suburban teenager ...

'', and the CBBC series ''

Big Babies ''Big Babies'' is a 2010 British comedy children's television series. The main characters are two babies (actually babies with adult heads and voices superimposed) named Brooks and Rocco, who are reluctantly dragged away from watching television ...

''. In 2013 Smith guest starred in the

comedy-drama series ''

Derek Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of ''Diederik'', the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler". Common variants of the name are ...

'', in which he played a young man sentenced to community service in a nursing home. He appeared in Ben Miller's film ''Huge'', and co-starred in ''Other Side of the Game''. He wrote music for the 2011

Joe Cornish Joseph Murray Cornish (born 20 December 1968) is an English comedian and filmmaker. With his long-time comedy partner, Adam Buxton, he forms the comedy duo Adam and Joe. In 2011, Cornish released his directorial debut ''Attack the Block''. He ...

film ''

Attack the Block ''Attack the Block'' is a 2011 British science fiction comedy horror film written and directed by Joe Cornish and starring John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker and Nick Frost. It was the film debut of Cornish, Boyega and composer Steven Price. The f ...

''. Smith created a teen comedy-drama for the BBC called ''

''. He starred in the show in series 1, and made guest appearances in series 2–4. Since series 5 his brother writes the raps. The show has currently run for 118 episodes. Most recently, he has delved deeper into dramatic acting, starring in the

Frank Spotnitz Frank Charles Spotnitz is an American television screenwriter and executive producer, best known for his work on ''The X-Files'' and ''The Man in the High Castle''. Spotnitz is also the chief executive officer and founder of Big Light Production ...

television show '' Hunted'', a thriller for

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent net ...

. Smith then went on to shoot an episode of ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

'' and in 2014, he played the role of DS Joe Hawkins in the final series of ITV's '' Law & Order: UK'' Also he had a viral song on the TV show ''

Russell Howard's Good News ''Russell Howard's Good News'' was a British comedy and topical news television show which was broadcast on BBC Three between 2009 and 2014, and on BBC Two between 2014 and 2015. Hosted by comedian Russell Howard, it offered his commentary on th ...

'' called "My Propertea". Smith has also appeared in new

Ann Summers Ann Summers is a British multinational retailer company specialising in sex toys and lingerie, with 80 high street stores in the UK, Ireland, and the Channel Islands. In 2000, Ann Summers acquired the Knickerbox brand, a label with an emphas ...

series '' Brief Encounters''. In 2016, Doc guest starred on the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

television film ''

Damilola, Our Loved Boy ''Damilola, Our Loved Boy'' is a British television film about the events surrounding the 27 November 2000 death of Damilola Taylor. The film aired on BBC One on 7 November 2016, and was written by Levi David Addai, directed by Euros Lyn, and st ...

'' as a taxi driver. He also participated in the second series of the comedy game show '' Taskmaster''. In February 2017, he appeared on

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

's ''

Crackanory ''Crackanory'' is a storytelling television series aimed at adults and inspired by the popular children's series '' Jackanory''. It is broadcast on the UKTV channel Dave. Each episode features tales narrated by contemporary comedians and actors, ...

'' reading "Devil's Haircut" by Sarah Morgan, then in October, Smith appeared as a guest on Episode 100 of '' The Gaffer Tapes: Fantasy Football Podcast''. In late 2017, he performed the role of DS Evans in Sky One's ''

Bounty Hunters A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...

''. His love of film means he has been a guest presenter several times on the

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...

film review show hosted by

Simon Mayo Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio ...

and

Mark Kermode Mark James Patrick Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for ''The Observer'', contributes to the magazine ''Sight & Sound'', prese ...

. In 2018, Smith appeared in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' episode "

The Tsuranga Conundrum "The Tsuranga Conundrum" is the fifth episode of the eleventh series of the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who''. It was written by showrunner and executive producer Chris Chibnall, directed by Jennifer Perrott, and first ...

". In 2020, he played Richie Hansen, an abusive husband, in the second series of BBC TV drama '' The Split''. In 2022 he played Lieutenant Supervisor Blevin in five episodes of the first series of the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' TV series '' Andor''.

Picture book

A children's picture book entitled ''I Am Bear'', illustrated by Sav Akyüz, which has been described as "a rap-style read-aloud story", was published by

Walker Books Walker Books is a British publisher of children's books, founded in 1978 by Sebastian Walker, Amelia Edwards, and Wendy Boase. In 1991, the success of Walker Books' ''Where's Wally?'' series enabled the company to expand into the American ma ...

in February 2016.

Production

As of May 2014, Smith was the producer of ''

The Football Ramble ''The Football Ramble'' is a podcast, book and website about association football, produced in London by The Football Ramble Ltd. Originally provided fortnightly, this was increased to a weekly show at the beginning of the 09/10 football season ...

Live''.

Personal life

Smith is a supporter of

Crystal Palace F.C. Crystal Palace Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon, Borough of Croydon, South London, England, who compete in the Premier League, the highest level of English ...

He has two daughters.

Discography

Filmography

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Doc 1977 births Living people 20th-century English comedians 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English comedians 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the University of East Anglia Black British male rappers Black British male comedians English comedy musicians English people of Jamaican descent People from Kilburn, London Rappers from London