Samson Kayo (born 1991 or 1992) is a British actor, comedian, producer and writer. He was nominated for the

British Academy Television Award for Best Male Comedy Performance This page lists the winners and nominees for the British Academy Television Award for Best Male Comedy Performance, since its institution in 2009. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts annua ...

in 2018 for the BBC sketch show '' Famalam'' and in 2022 for the Sky One sitcom ''Bloods'', which he created and wrote. He also created and stars in ''Sliced'', and his other credits include ''

Youngers ''Youngers'' is a British comedy drama series created by Benjamin Kuffuor and Levi David Addai. It began airing on E4 on 20 March 2013. It is produced by Big Talk Productions. The series has been picked up for international distribution by BB ...

'', ''

Timewasters ''Timewasters'' is a British science-fiction comedy television programme, first broadcast on ITV2 in 2017 with a second series broadcast in 2019. It was created by Daniel Lawrence Taylor and written by Taylor and Barunka O'Shaughnessy. It was p ...

'', and ''

Our Flag Means Death ''Our Flag Means Death'' is an American period comedy television series created by David Jenkins. Set in the early 18th century during the Golden Age of Piracy, the series follows the misadventures of gentleman-turned-pirate Stede Bonnet ( Rh ...

''.

Biography

Kayo is of Nigerian descent. He said that growing up in Peckham, he only wanted to be a footballer, but developed an interest in comedy through Jim Carrey,

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

, and British comedian

Jocelyn Jee Esien Jocelyn Jee Esien (born 2 March 1979) is a British comedian, actress and writer of Nigerian origin. She stars in the hidden-camera show ''3 Non-Blondes'', and her own comedy sketch show, '' Little Miss Jocelyn''.Laura Barnett"Jocelyn Jee Esien ...

, who inspired him as a black person to enter comedy. He was a childhood friend of

John Boyega John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega (born 17 March 1992), known professionally as John Boyega, is a British actor and producer. He first rose to prominence in his native Britain for his role as Moses in the sci-fi comedy film ''Attack the Block' ...

, with whom he attended church. When he went out to pick up an iron for his mother, he found an open audition for the

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

comedy ''

'', and was cast. Kayo was nominated for Best Male Comedy Performance at the

2018 British Academy Television Awards The 2018 British Academy Television Awards took place on 13 May 2018 at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The nominations were announced on 4 April, with ''Line of Duty'' leading with four awards. ''Black Mirror'', ''The Crown'' and '' Three Gir ...

for his part in the BBC

sketch show Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and i ...

'' Famalam''. From 2017 to 2019, he was part of the main cast of the ITV2

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

'', in which a Black British jazz quartet are transported through time to the London of the 1920s and 1950s in each series. He is the creator, writer and lead of the takeaway-based sitcom ''

Sliced ''Sliced'' is an American television series that premiered on on The History Channel. The program was hosted by John McCalmont and Budd Kelley, who "slice" everyday objects in half to uncover how they work. The show aired on Thursdays at 10:00 ...

'' on Dave since 2019. He also created and plays the lead Maleek on paramedic-focused sitcom ''Bloods'', which debuted on Sky One in 2021 while being based on an eight-minute short film on

Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...

. He was nominated for Best Male Comedy Performance at the 2022 British Academy Television Awards for this role. In 2020, Kayo featured in

Nick Frost Nicholas Jonathan Frost (born 28 March 1972) is a British actor, author, comedian, painter, producer and screenwriter. He has appeared in the ''Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy of films, consisting of ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz ...

and

Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...

's horror comedy series ''

Truth Seekers ''Truth Seekers'' is a 2020 British supernatural comedy horror streaming television series created by Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, James Serafinowicz, and Nat Saunders. The series was directed by Jim Field Smith and stars Nick Frost and Simon Peg ...

''. A year later, he starred in David Jenkins and

Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at ...

's pirate-based romantic comedy series ''

,'' which was produced in the United States. He told ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' that although many British actors of colour found more opportunity in the United States, he was committed to making more British series.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kayo, Samson 1990s births Living people Black British male actors People from Peckham English male film actors English male television actors English male voice actors 21st-century English male actors British comedy actors English comedy writers English people of Nigerian descent