Mathew Baynton

Mathew John Baynton (born 18 November 1980) is an English actor, writer, comedian, singer, and musician best known as a member of the British Horrible Histories troupe in which he starred in the TV series Horrible Histories, Yonderland and Ghosts. He was also the co-creator, writer and star of the sitcom The Wrong Mans. Other major television roles include Deano in Gavin & Stacey, Chris Pitt-Goddard in Spy, Simon in Peep Show, and twin brothers Jamie Winton and Ariel Conroy in You, Me and the Apocalypse.

Baynton was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex with two older brothers, Daniel and Andrew. He was educated at Southend High School for Boys. He graduated with first class honours from the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama, and later trained in clowning at École Philippe Gaulier in Paris. Baynton explained his motivation in an interview with Metro: "The performing instinct came from making my family laugh, so I've always been drawn to the funny side of things. Comedy is really rewarding."

Acting and writing

In 2009, Baynton featured in the video for The Maccabees' single "No Kind Words" alongside Mathew Horne.

Baynton is also familiar as one of the stars of the hit children's television series Horrible Histories, appearing over all five series as a singer, actor, and occasional writer. Along with the five other members of the Horrible Histories cast, Baynton is the creator, writer, and star of Yonderland, an eight-part family fantasy comedy series that premiered on Sky1 on 10 November 2013. He starred with the same troupe in Bill, a BBC family comedy film based loosely around the early life of William Shakespeare, who ventures to London to pursue his dream of becoming a playwright. The troupe also reunited in 2019 to create the BBC series Ghosts, with Baynton appearing as a romantic poet named Thomas Thorne.

Baynton teamed with friend and fellow Gavin & Stacey alumnus James Corden to create, write, and star in The Wrong Mans, a comedy-thriller for BBC Two that premiered in autumn 2013. The series is co-produced by online television provider Hulu.com in the United States, where it premiered in November 2013. The first six-part series proved a critical and commercial success, and a similarly well-received two-part sequel was broadcast in December 2014.

Other notable TV comedy roles include the recurring character of Deano in Gavin & Stacey;co-starring as Chris in the Darren Boyd sitcom vehicle Spy; and William in the 2017 black comedy series Quacks.

Baynton appeared at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, starring in the world premiere of Tom Basden's play Holes. He reprised his role of Gus in a London revival of the same play in summer 2014.

In late 2015, Baynton starred in a dual role as Jamie Winton and his evil twin Ariel Conroy in Sky1's science fiction comedy-drama miniseries You, Me and the Apocalypse.

Music

Baynton is a former member of the band Special Benny as a vocalist and guitarist. Their debut album Toys was released in 2010.

He has also performed as a solo act under the name Dog Ears. His debut solo EP, So It Goes, was released in November 2011. It consists of four self-penned songs.

He and his wife Kelly Robinson, a film historian, have two children: a son, Bo, born in 2011, and a daughter, Ida.

Baynton has commented on his son's skewed view of his father's profession: "He thinks work is putting on a beard. One day his eyes will be opened, but I do find it wonderful that that’s his view of work."He commented during the same interview that while many actors do not want their children to become an actor as well, but Baynton has said that he sees no problem with his son following in his footsteps by stating that "[he] enjoy[s] it, so why shouldn't I let him?".

Baynton tries to keep Bo and Ida out of the spotlight.However, Baynton raised awareness about breaking gender barriers after Bo was mocked in the park for wearing a pink bicycle helmet.Baynton expressed his belief that he lets his son express his likes and dislikes freely without categorising toys and colours in gendered categories. Baynton stated "I won't be teaching my boy how to be a 'boy.'"

BAFTA Awards

RTS Awards