Tim Renkow (born 1989) is an American actor, writer and comedian.

Tim Renkow
Born1989 (age 3637)
Mexico City, Mexico
Educationart school
OccupationsActor, comedian, writer
Years active2010 – present

He is best known for playing the leading role of Tim in the British black comedy television series Jerk (2019–2023), which he also co-wrote. In 2022, Renkow received a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Male Comedy Performance.[1]

Early life

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Renkow was born in Mexico City,[2][clarification needed] and grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He later attended art school in Memphis, Tennessee.[3]

Career

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Pre-2019

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In Memphis, at age nineteen, Renkow began performing stand-up comedy. He continued in this activity in New York City, before moving to the United Kingdom to study creative writing in 2012.[3]

He participated in the Chortle Student Comedy Award Final at 2013's Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[4]

In 2014, Renkow performed his debut show, At Least Hell Has Ramps,[5] and was nominated for Chortle's Best Newcomer Award.[6]

Renkow's first television appearance was in 2016, in an episode of the BBC Three sketch show Comedy Feeds, "A Brief History of Tim".

In 2017, Renkow appeared in four episodes of Bobby & Harriet Get Married, Bobby Mair and Harriet Kemsley's comedic television series about their wedding.

Since 2019

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In February 2019, Series 1 of Renkow's comedy television series, Jerk, was released by BBC Three.[7] It was subsequently replayed on BBC One, and its approval for a second series was announced in September 2019.[8] The series is largely built on the characters established in A Brief History of Tim. The show's second series aired in 2021.

In April 2019, Renkow performed a one-man show at London's Soho Theatre entitled Tim Renkow Tries to Punch Down.[9]

In 2021, Renkow was announced as a member of the U.K. jury for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts's BAFTA Breakthrough Initiative.[10]

Renkow appears in two episodes of BBC's Live at the Apollo, in series 16 and as host in series 19.[11][12]

Personal life

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Renkow has cerebral palsy.[2]

In September 2020, he married fellow comedian Spring Day.[13]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2016 BBC Comedy Feeds episode "A Brief History of Tim" Tim television movie
2017 Bobby & Harriet Get Married Tim 4 episodes
2019–2023 Jerk Tim television series
2021–2025 Live at the Apollo himself 2 episodes

References

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