Tom Davis used to be a scaffolder but since becoming a comedian he has really been going up in the world. The imposing London-born comic has become a regular face onscreen, starring in series including King Gary and Murder In Successville, both of which he co-created. He has also acted in films including Wonka and Paddington 2. This year he is set to appear in a number of shows, but stand-up comedy is his first love and he is also currently on a major tour entitled Spudgun.

 

Below Davis, 46, talks about his passion for comedy, what he learns from acting and how he is always determined to push himself hard.

 

For Tom Davis tour dates click here: https://bigtomdavis.com/

 

 

It's always hard to come up with a name for a show before you've written it. I was picking my brains and Spudgun was the nickname I had when I worked on building sites. I thought it was affectionate but looking back maybe it wasn't. But it felt like a good title because the show is about perception and what people perceive me to be compared with what I am. It's my first tour where I'm settled into a style and I've got a clearer voice. It's me at my most honest and open. I've tried to write a show like the shows I like, where people are telling stories, not just a sequence of jokes.

 

 

I'm a 6 foot 7 guy and I used to be a labourer, so in this industry people have expectations of me. We all do that. I don't want to say too much but, for example, I talk about the idea of what is it to be a man approaching fifty, comparing that to how women deal with it. I'd like to be a bit more like my wife, but I don't think I have the social skills to do that!

 

What is your writing process?

I start by coming up with ideas and thinking maybe there's something in this, but then you have to do it through work in progress shows to find out what's landing and what isn't. It's a constant quest to get better. You have to test things in front of an audience. Sometimes I'll come up with something I think is the best thing I've ever done then I'll do it in front of an audience at a work in progress and it dies on its arse. You have to work out why it didn't work. Sometimes that's the most fun, having to craft something, whereas stuff that smashes it straight out the block isn't always quite so satisfying.

 

In a way structuring a stand-up set is a little like putting scaffolding up. It's all got to fit. But the consequences of a bad punchline are different to the consequences of getting scaffolding wrong.

If you put scaffolding up wrong you've got yourself a big mess...

 

 

I'm all of the above, but the thing for me is that stand-up was my way in. That was what took me from working on building sites. I've always thought of myself as a stand-up who became an actor rather than vice versa. Stand-up is my first love, but I think these days we all have to diversify. I love acting too and I hope I have a certain amount of talent for it.

 

 

Variety is one of the things that appeals to me. I try and do stuff that's new and challenging and work with people that help you. In one way it's very much like stand-up, you're always watching people and learning, studying how they get into character. I try to learn something in every project I'm doing and come out a little bit better.

 

 

Yes, I play Charlie Mitchell, a kind of unofficial doctor. That was a big education for me just to be around Stephen Graham, director Ashley Walters and the team. For someone like me who has never had any acting training, to be standing alongside such incredible people it's very humbling. You're a fool to yourself if you're not learning when you get the chance. Watch, learn and enjoy the ride.

 

And there's a new BBC comedy in the pipeline, The Reluctant Vampire?

It's a very special project. It's based on a novel by Eric Morecambe about a boy, played by Lenny Rush, whose family are vampires. I play his dad. As a kid I was obsessed with Eric Morecambe. Lenny Rush is phenomenal, he's a real superstar, he's got everything in his locker. And it's written by the Gibbons brothers, who write Alan Partridge and I'm a great fan of that, so it's funny and there's a lot of heart to it.

 

Apart from Eric Morecambe who are your comedy heroes?

I love comedians who mix comedy and acting, like Eddie Murphy or Billy Connolly. I grew up watching Lee Evans. And there are so many great newer comics, Red Richardson, Joanne McNally, Laura Smyth, Jack Skipper. Plus the people I came up with, Rob Beckett, Romesh, Michelle de Swarte, Katherine Ryan. I get inspired by all of them.

The Reluctant Vampire sounds very different to A Thousand Blows

I'm always trying to add more strings to my bow. As a dad with a young daughter I want to do things that she can watch. Having done Paddington 2 and Wonka it's nice to do things that a family can watch together. And that has an impact on my stand-up because now younger people come to see me so in Spudgun I try not to swear a lot, which I find difficult!

 

 

I'm actually a really good chef. I cook at home, but once I was in the tent I melted like a meringue. I really fell apart. Cakes and bakes aren't really what I'm good at. I can do Indian food, roasts and savoury dishes but sweet stuff I struggle with. Not to give away too much, but I don't come out on top.

 

Do you prefer touring or filming?

One of the nice things about TV is that you get to hang out with friends and that's very different to stand-up tours. That was one of the nice things about The Reluctant Vampire. Joe Wilkinson is also in it – we started out on the circuit around the same time, but we've never actually been on set together. And then he was also on Bake Off, so I was able to hang out with Joe, Judi Love, Roisin Conaty and Jon Richardson there.

By contrast does touring get lonely?

I like to have a team on the road, my tour manager and my support, Dinesh Nathan, but once you are onstage it's very lonely. It comes down to just you and you have to make sure you're at your best every night. With TV or film it's more of a team sport, you have other people there if you're not quite feeling it. And they can be kind in the edit, whereas with live stand-up there's no hiding place.

 

On the other hand there is an energy to stand-up and being in the moment which is brilliant. We have such a great stand-up scene in this country I feel very honoured to be part of it. It's the greatest comedy scene in the world.