Karl Theobald is good at playing men who want to seem capable and cannot quite manage it. We like his earnest awkwardness most in ensemble comedy, provided the writing gives him more to do than look uncomfortable.
Fi1m perspective
Karl Theobald's anxious men tend to sound as though they are trying hard to get things right. The earnestness makes their awkwardness funny, but also gives us a reason to care when they struggle. His breakthrough as the under-confident Dr Martin Dear in Green Wing (2004), directed by Victoria Pile, established that useful combination. The physical comedy and odd timing belong to a performer who came through stand-up and sketch writing. Playing Oliver Leek in the science-fiction series Primeval (2008) took him beyond sitcoms.
Twenty Twelve (2011) puts him in a setting particularly suited to that earnest awkwardness: a committee where talking can become a way of avoiding a decision. As infrastructure head Graham Hitchens, he contributes to John Morton's deadpan ensemble without needing to dominate it. Morton's writing and direction give the actors room to be foolish without treating their characters as contemptible. We laughed at the committee's verbal evasions, and found its members harder to dismiss because the programme allows them some dignity. It is good workplace comedy, particularly when it lets the actors reveal what the official language conceals.
That generosity is also the reservation about Twenty Twelve: some jokes need a harder edge than Morton gives them. For Theobald, though, a sympathetic setting makes sense. His strength is making insecurity recognisable, rather than merely presenting an awkward man for inspection. The danger with such parts is repetition, and we would not mistake another hapless character for a fresh comic idea. He needs writing that gives the character something to do besides be embarrassed.
Plebs (2013), with Sam Leifer directing, gives him the opportunistic Landlord, a useful change from the under-confident doctor. Supporting film parts include Greg Frampton in Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013) and Terry in Danny Boyle's Yesterday (2019). The ensemble comedies remain the clearest place to see why he is worth watching. Start with Twenty Twelve for his deadpan work, allowing for a programme that sometimes lets its committee off too lightly.
Biography
Karl Julian Theobald (born 5 August 1969) is an English actor, comedian and musician. He was born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, and trained at the Drama Centre London before joining Theatre de Complicite. He began his career as a stand-up comedian and formed a double act with Russell Brand in the 1990s.
Theobald is best known for playing Martin Dear in the Channel 4 sitcom Green Wing (2004–2006). He has also appeared as the Landlord in Plebs (2013–2019), Oliver Leek in Primeval (2008), and in films including Get Him to the Greek (2010), Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013) and Yesterday (2019). He has written comedy for The Sketch Show and Smack the Pony.
