Lee John Martin Evans (born 25 February 1964) is a British former comedian, actor, musician, singer, and writer. He co-founded the production company Little Mo Films with Addison Cresswell, who was also his agent prior to Cresswell's death in December 2013.[1] Evans became one of the United Kingdom's most popular stand-up comedians, with his Roadrunner tour grossing £12.9 million.[2]
In 2008, the DVD of Evans' Big – Live at the O2 show became the highest-selling Christmas DVD in the United Kingdom, only to be surpassed by his own Monsters Tour DVD in 2014. In November 2014, he announced his retirement from stand-up comedy. In 2017, he briefly came out of retirement to star in a run of William Shakespeare and Harold Pinter plays. Evans is also a singer and musician, as shown on his arena tours; he can play the guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, piano, turntables, mandolin, ukulele, and drums.
Early life
Lee John Martin Evans[3] was born in the Avonmouth suburb of Bristol on 25 February 1964,[4][5][6] to Irish mother Shirley Hunt and Welsh father Dave Evans (died June 2019).[7] He has an older brother, Wayne (born 1962).[8][4] His father was a comedian, musician, and impressionist.[9] The family left Bristol in 1975, moving to Essex,[10] where Evans attended The Billericay School. After a spell as a boxer and two years at Thurrock Art College in Essex, he followed his father into entertainment. During his teenage years, he moved to Scarborough, North Yorkshire, where he was a drummer in a punk rock band called the Forgotten Five.[11]
Evans's sweat drenches him on stage. During most of his headlining performances, he often takes an intermission, during which he has a quick shower and changes into a different suit. He has also said that his suits are regularly thrown away after three performances, mainly because of the sweat, with dry-cleaners refusing to handle them.[14] In November 2005, Evans broke the world record for a solo act performing to the biggest comedy audience, performing to 10,108 people at the Manchester Arena.[15]
Evans toured the UK in autumn 2008 with his stand-up act entitled "Big". During his "Big" tour he performed in front of over 500,000 people on 59 dates.[16] This was scheduled to involve the first-ever performance by a comedian at the O2 Arena in London until Chris Rock announced dates that would take place at the venue prior to Evans. The DVD was filmed at the O2 Arena, and was released on 24 November 2008. It became the best-selling comedy DVD in the UK for Christmas 2008, selling over 1,000,000 copies.[17][18] Evans appeared on the Channel 4's Comedy Gala for Great Ormond Street Hospital on 30 March 2010. He was the last act on stage and he received a comedy award and auctioned it to the audience for charity.
Evans toured the UK again in 2011 with a new stand-up act entitled "Roadrunner", with 50 dates starting in Bournemouth in August, running until November in Cardiff. He appeared at the Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, on 10 June to test his new material for the "Roadrunner" tour. He then sold out Bristol's Colston Hall for three nights to perfect his routine in July. The tour visited most of the UK's major cities, plus two nights in Dublin, and included four nights in Wembley Arena and four in the O2 Arena, meaning around 100,000 seats in London alone. Tickets went on sale 15 October 2010 at 9 am.[19]
In 2004, he starred as a paranoid murder suspect in his first non-comic role in the film Freeze Frame. Although warned they may never grow back, he shaved his eyebrows (as well as his hair). In 2004, Evans appeared in Samuel Becket's Endgame, and from 2004 to 2005, he played Leo Bloom in the London production of The Producers along with Nathan Lane, with whom he also starred in Mouse Hunt. For his role in The Producers, Evans received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical; Lane won the award.[23] In 2007 he appeared in the 50th anniversary production of The Dumb Waiter. May 2007 saw him star in a television adaptation of the book The History of Mr. Polly.
In 2001, he co-wrote and starred in the sitcom So What Now? for the BBC; eight episodes were written in total. He also has his own production company that produces his stand-up DVDs called Little Mo Films, named after his daughter, whom he often refers as "Little Mo".
Personal life
Evans met Heather Nudds when they were both 16; they were married on 22 September 1984,[26] and live in Billericay, Essex.[27] They have a daughter.[28][29]
^White, Jim (27 January 1996). "Oooh, er, cripes". The Independent. UK. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
^'All I've ever felt on stage is pain'. The Daily Telegraph. London. 25 October 2004. "I saw his films as a kid. It surprises me because if you watch my act it's nothing like his really."
