Elis James
| Elis James | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Elis James |
| Born |
3 November 1980 Haverfordwest, Wales |
| Medium | Stand-up, television, radio |
| Nationality | British |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Genres | Observational comedy |
| Subject(s) | Everyday life |
| Partner(s) | Isy Suttie (1 child) |
| Website | elisjames |
Owain Elis James (born 3 November 1980) is a Welsh comedian and actor originally from Haverfordwest. He grew up in Carmarthen and later lived in Cardiff. He is now based in London. He is bilingual in Welsh and English, and has performed in both languages.
James was born in Haverfordwest and grew up in Carmarthen, Wales. He has two younger sisters. James's mother worked with the father of Welsh comedian Rhod Gilbert and the mother of Welsh musician Euros Childs.
Prior to becoming a professional comedian, James engaged in various forms of employment, including temp work, charity work and part-time work at a cafe. James explained in 2012:
... I did normal office work which I was absolutely terrible at—I once got sacked from a temping job for slouching, and would routinely lie to get myself out of trouble before forgetting what lie I had told and thus making the problem worse. I did one temping job where I could do the work I needed to in about an hour so I’d take books in and read them when the boss wasn’t looking.
James began his comedy career in 2005, but made the transition to full-time comedy work in 2008. Prior to moving full-time to comedy, James was guitarist with the Cardiff-based indie/punk band Heck, fronted by Jemma Roper. The band recorded an EP and received airplay on BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Introducing's Wales show, then broadcast on Radio 1. They also performed on new bands nights organised by the NME.
James commenced his role as Rex Jones, an old caretaker who is a post-Marxist with a health-and-safety obsession, in the live show Chris Corcoran's Committee Meeting in 2009. The show, conceived by Welsh comedian Chris Corcoran, was held for three years at the now-closed Muni Arts Centre. Corcoran explained in 2014: "We would write each show from scratch in the space of five days and the first time we'd perform it would be in front of the audience."
...
Wikipedia