Thomas Derek Bastow (born 26 August 1991) is an English actor and musician from Epsom, Surrey. He is best known for playing the character Dave the Laugh in Paramount Pictures' Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, as Joe in the British Telecom (BT) adverts and as the lead singer in the band FranKo.

Tommy Bastow
Born
Thomas Derek Bastow

(1991-08-26) 26 August 1991 (age 32)
Epsom, Surrey, England
Occupations
  • Actor
  • musician
Years active2005–present

Education edit

Bastow attended the independent City of London Freemen's School, and later transferred to the BRIT School in Croydon, a state school that specialises in the performing arts .[1][2] Bastow then graduated with a BA Acting from the Drama Centre London (Class of 2015/2016).[3]

Acting career edit

Bastow wanted to become an actor after watching films like A Clockwork Orange, Pulp Fiction and American Psycho with his dad and being inspired by the performances of the actors, "Watching those great performances sent tingles down my spine and I wanted to have that ability myself. I wanted other people to watch me and get that same feeling, I wanted to entertain."[4] Bastow first got involved with acting at the age of thirteen.[4] Since 2005, Bastow has appeared in several BT adverts.[1] In 2008, he appeared in two episodes of the CBBC program M.I.High as Lewis Chuckworth, and in a short film titled Londongrad.[5] Bastow landed his first major film role playing the character of "Dave the Laugh" in Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, released in July 2008.[6] In December 2008, he played the role of a young Sir Guy of Gisborne for an episode of the BBC One mini-series Robin Hood which aired on 6 June 2009.[4] In 2009, he also had a role in The Boys Are Back starring Clive Owen.[5] Bastow starred in the 2010 Spanish-American horror film Exorcismus,[7] which is produced by Filmax.[8] He also appeared in a recurring role in teen drama The Cut, a BBC Switch program, playing Greg Cranborne. In 2011 he appeared in EastEnders as Seb Parker.[9]

Music career edit

In 2005, Bastow became the lead singer of a band called Blackspray.[10] In October 2007, Bastow and members of another band called Hawkwood (two of which are also students from the BRIT School) formed FranKo.[10] In 2008, FranKo played their first gigs in the UK and recorded their debut EP with producer Jim Lowe (Stereophonics, Foo Fighters, Manic Street Preachers).[10] Later that year, the band toured Thailand which included an appearance on MTV Thailand.[11] They also toured with Elliot Minor and Me vs Hero.[citation needed] On 31 March 2010, FranKo released their 10 track debut album 'Vote FranKo'. The first single off the album was "Night Time" released in September 2009. In July 2011 FranKo released their second album 'FranKo'. They played a tour supporting ROOM 94 (July 2011) and a tour with Dave Giles (October 2011).

Filmography edit

Films
Year Title Role References
2008 Londongrad Young Konstantin
2008 Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging Dave the Laugh [2]
2010 Exorcismus Alex
2013 Off The Aisle Dylan Watson [12]
Television
Year Title Role Other notes References
2008 M.I.High Lewis Chuckworth Two episodes [5]
2009 Robin Hood Young Sir Guy of Gisborne One episode (Episode 10)
2010 The Cut Greg Cranborne 4 episodes
2011 EastEnders Seb Parker Recurring role
2013 Reetie: The Friendship Jason Lane
2016 Harley and the Davidsons Otto Walker Miniseries
2017 Man in an Orange Shirt Bates Miniseries
2018 The Crossing Marshall Recurring Role
2018 Agatha Raisin Barry Jackson One episode (2-02)
2024 Shōgun Father Martin Alvito Recurring Role
TV commercials
Year Title Role
2005-14 BT Group Joe

Theatre edit

Year Title Role Venue References
2012 Harold and Maude Harold Chasen Tron Theatre, Glasgow [13][14][15]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging Production Notes" (Press release). Paramount Pictures. 2008. Archived from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  2. ^ a b "OK! Magazine: First For Celebrity News :: Lifestyle :: Interview: Olivia Scott-Taylor and Tommy Bastow". Ok.co.uk. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  3. ^ "BA ACTING - CLASS OF 2015/2016". arts.ac.uk.
  4. ^ a b c Savage, David (December 2008). "Tommy Bastow Interview". Popcorn.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
  5. ^ a b c "Tommy Bastow". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  6. ^ Elley, Derek (25 July 2008). "Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging". Variety. Archived from the original on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  7. ^ "Creepy Promo Art for Filmax's 'Exorcismus'". Bloody Disgusting. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  8. ^ Miska, Brad (10 November 2009). "AFM '09: First Images from Filmax's 'Exorcismus'". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on 18 November 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  9. ^ Director: Gwennan Sage; Executive Producer: Bryan Kirkwood; Writer: Jeff Povey (24 February 2011). "Episode dated 24/02/2011". EastEnders. BBC. BBC One.
  10. ^ a b c "Franko Biography". City Showcase. 2008. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  11. ^ Savage, David (December 2008). "Tommy Bastow Interview: Part 2". Popcorn.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
  12. ^ Williams, Jennifer. "Off The Aisle Cast". Kate Metcalfe. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  13. ^ Alan Morrison (13 October 2012). "The shock of the older woman". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  14. ^ Gillian Provan (24 October 2012). "Tommy Bastow stars in love story with a twist in Harold and Maude [Video] | Events | Glasgow | STV". Local.stv.tv. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  15. ^ Alan Chadwick. "Harold and Maude at the Tron is a life-affirming black comedy | Home | Entertainment | STV". Entertainment. Retrieved 2 November 2012.

External links edit