Jim Smallman | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Daniel Smallman Leicester, England |
| Children | 2 |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Medium | Stand-up |
| Website | www.jimsmallman.com |
James Daniel Smallman is a stand-up comedian, radio presenter,professional wrestling promoter, blogger andvoice-over artist.[1] Smallman attended school inHinckley, and went on toDe Montfort University, graduating with a first-class Honours degree inEnglish Literature.
Smallman first entered into comedy at the age of 27, whilst working at the head office ofNext plc. He attended a 12-week comedy workshop to help him with his nerves whilst giving presentations, which led to his decision to engage in comedy on a professional level. His stand-up combines storytelling and improvisation.
In 2006, Smallman was a finalist in theLaughing Horse New Act of the Year competition. He was also a finalist in the Leicester Mercury/Equity New Comedian of the Year 2007.[2]
In 2009, his first hour-long show,The Boy Next Door Gone Wrong, was nominated for the Best Debut Show at theLeicester Comedy Festival. In 2010 he picked up two awards at theHollywood Fringe Festival: Best International Show and Best Comedy performance, both forThe Boy Next Door Gone Wrong. He also became the Saturday morning presenter atBBC Radio Leicester.[3]
In 2011, Jim took his second full-length show 'Tattooligan' to theEdinburgh Fringe. As a publicity stunt he had the show title tattooed across his stomach, and for the year was a columnist forSkin Deep magazine. In 2012 he made his first appearance onBBC Radio 5 Live'sFighting Talk, before taking his third full-length show 'Let's Be Friends' to theEdinburgh Fringe. In both 2011 and 2012 Smallman performed atThe Gilded Balloon. 'Tattooligan' was filmed as a DVD / digital download in September 2011 in Leicester.[4]
From 2013 to 2015, Smallman voiced theNational Geographic Channel seriesCar SOS.
2013 saw further appearances on Fighting Talk, plus a weekly news review slot called 'All the Small Things" onXFM, while Smallman also supportedMick Foley on his stand-up comedy tour. His 2015 show "My Girls", about Smallman's wife and daughter, was nominated for best new show at the Dave Leicester Comedy Festival[5] and will have a full run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Smallman also runs a football blog called The Football Neutral.[6]
Smallman is heavily involved in professional wrestling, and is the co-founder and former ring announcer ofPROGRESS Wrestling.[7] He previously hosted a weekly wrestling magazine show called 'The Slam' which aired onSports Tonight Live[8] and 'Tuesday Night Jaw', a weekly podcast that was focused on the world of wrestling, with a main focus onWWE NXT UK and his own company, PROGRESS. In 2013, he supported bothMick Foley andWilliam Regal on their stand-up tours of the UK.On 2 August 2019 Smallman revealed that Chapter 100 would be the last show he produces for PROGRESS, citing his increasing production role with NXT UK.[9]
Smallman has beenstraight edge since 1998 and avegan since the start of 2018.[10][11] He was avegetarian prior to becoming vegan.[12] He lives in NorthWales with his wife, has a daughter from a previous relationship (born 2003) and a son (born 2016). Smallman is heavily tattooed, with several of his designs representing publicity stunts, including a portrait of Northern Irish comedianMartin Mor on his upper right arm as the result of a lost bet. He also has designs representing his love of video games andtrainers as well as portraits ofMick Foley andRon Burgundy.[13]