Steve Speirs (born Steven Roberts, 22 February 1965)
is a
Welsh actor and writer who has appeared in films such as ''
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' and ''
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest''.
Early life
He was born as Steven Roberts in
Troed-y-rhiw
Troed-y-rhiw (, translation: foot of the slope) is a large community village in the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Its population at the 2011 census was 5,296. It features the Troed-y-rhiw railway station.
Governance
The community ...
, a village now in the borough of
Merthyr Tydfil,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
and went to school at
Afon Taf High School where he found a taste for drama. He joined the National Youth Theatre of Wales and studied drama at
Loughborough University.
He says he took his stage name, Speirs, from the surname of a lecturer at college.
Career
Since graduating from university, Speirs has played
Sloan in ''
Eragon
''Eragon'' is the first book in ''The Inheritance Cycle'' by American fantasy writer Christopher Paolini. Paolini, born in 1983, began writing the novel after graduating from home school at the age of fifteen. After writing the first draft for a ...
'', Andy Fellows in ''
Making Waves'' and with
Ricky Gervais in ''
Extras'', as well as playing
Captain Tarpals in ''
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' and having a small role in ''
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest''.
He appears in ''
Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire
''Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire'' is a British-American comedic sword and sorcery series created by Peter A. Knight, co-produced by Hat Trick Productions and Media Rights Capital for Comedy Central and BBC Two, which premiered on ...
'', a comedy fantasy series in which he plays Loquasto, an oafish servant, "who belongs to a race of pig-like creatures known as Grobble".
He wrote his first film, ''
Caught in the Act'', in 2008 and starred in it as the lead character. Based on his memories of growing up in south Wales, it was filmed in the Merthyr Tydfil area.
Speirs often goes by the name of "Dullard" in honour of his role in ''Extras'', as he considers the character a mirror of himself. Speirs also appeared in the Gervais and
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer.
Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...
film ''
Cemetery Junction'' released in 2010, a part which was written particularly for him.
Speirs also starred as the bouncer at Mother McOakley's Tavern in ''
Burke and Hare
The Burke and Hare murders were a series of sixteen killings committed over a period of about ten months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were undertaken by William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses to Robert Knox for dissection ...
'', a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...
directed by
John Landis
John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978 ...
and released (in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
) in October 2010.
He also starred in a CBBC show called Sadie J where he portrayed Sadie's dad, a mechanic.
Other roles which Speirs is known for include his portrayal of
Bernard Bresslaw in ''
Cor, Blimey!
''Cor, Blimey!'' is a 2000 TV film that follows the relationship between Carry On (film series), ''Carry On'' film actors Sid James (played by Geoffrey Hutchings) and Barbara Windsor (played by Samantha Spiro).
The film, first broadcast on ITV (T ...
'', Big Alan Williams in ''
Stella'' and Colour Sergeant Wormwood in ''
Sharpe's Peril
''Sharpe's Peril'' is a British TV film from 2008, usually shown in two parts, which is part of an ITV series based on Bernard Cornwell's historical fiction novels about the English soldier Richard Sharpe during the Napoleonic Wars. Unlike mo ...
''.
He also appears as a postman on the last episode of
Miranda season 3.
Speirs played depressed geography teacher and caretaker Mr Gareth Barber in 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, ...
sitcom ''
Big School'' for two series in 2013 and 2014.
In 2013, Spiers played PC McClintock in the Christmas TV film ''
Gangsta Granny
''Gangsta Granny'' is a 2011 British children's comedy fiction book, written by David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross and published by HarperCollins. A sequel, '' Gangsta Granny Strikes Again'', was released in 2021.
Plot
Ben, a curious ...
'', an adaptation of the book written by
David Walliams
David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Br ...
. He played the role of Dad in the 2014 TV film ''
The Boy in the Dress'', also written by Walliams.
In 2015 he appeared in the TV spin off ''
The Bad Education Movie
''The Bad Education Movie'' is a 2015 British comedy film directed by Elliot Hegarty and written by Freddy Syborn and Jack Whitehall.
The movie is based on Whitehall's sitcom of the same name, and follows a similar plot-line, with young teac ...
'' playing Don alongside the main cast of ''
Bad Education'' as well as many other guests in the movie. The same year, he also appeared in the pilot of the radio sitcom ''
Ankle Tag
''Ankle Tag'' is a situation comedy series which aired on BBC Radio 4 in 2017 and 2018. The show was aired as a pilot in November 2015 before two series were broadcast from August 2017. It stars Elis James, Katy Wix and Steve Speirs, and was w ...
'', which went on to air three series in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
In 2016 he appeared in
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles Elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'' and ''Bla ...
's
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, ...
comedy series ''
Upstart Crow
Upstart or upstarts may refer to:
* HMS ''Upstart'', a Royal Navy U-class submarine
*Upstart (company), an online lending marketplace
*Upstart (software), a process management daemon used in several operating systems.
*Upstart (sculpture), a public ...
'' playing ''
Richard Burbage
Richard Burbage (c. 1567 – 13 March 1619) was an English stage actor, widely considered to have been one of the most famous actors of the Globe Theatre and of his time. In addition to being a stage actor, he was also a theatre owner, entr ...
'' , the actor and leader of Will's acting company. He has continued in this role for three series ( 2016, 2017 & 2018) with two Christmas spin-offs in 2017 & 2018 and in the London West End in Elton's stage version of the show titled
The Upstart Crow
''The Upstart Crow'' is a stage play by Ben Elton developed from his BBC TV sitcom ''Upstart Crow''.
Production history
The play, directed by Sean Foley (director), Sean Foley, began previews at the Gielgud Theatre in West End theatre, London' ...
.
He has created, written and starred in The Tuckers for BBC Wales and BBC iPlayer.
In 1998 he appeared in the video for the
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian Ciar ...
song
Ice Hockey Hair.
Personal life
Speirs lives in
Brighton, East Sussex. He has two sons, Jack and Lewes with his first wife.
He remarried and has a son and a daughter with his second wife Joanna.
His brother is opera singer Jeffrey Lloyd Roberts.
Filmography
;Film
;Television
References
External links
Steve Speirsat the
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiers, Steven
1965 births
Living people
Alumni of Loughborough University
Welsh male film actors
Welsh male television actors
People from Merthyr Tydfil