Luke Kempner

Luke Garrod Kempner (born 5 June 1987) is an English impressionist, comedian and actor. After appearing in various films and musicals, he established a career in comedy, developing his own stand-up comedy show, and has since appeared as an impressionist on numerous sketch shows including Newzoids (2016), Tracey Ullman's Show (2017), Murder in Successville (2017), Spitting Image (2020–2021), The Last Leg (2021) and Deep Fake Neighbour Wars (2023), as well as appearing regularly on Big Brother's Bit on the Side (2016–2018).

Luke Kempner
Born
Luke Garrod Kempner

(1987-06-05) 5 June 1987
Burstow, Surrey, England
Alma materGuildford School of Acting
Occupations
  • Impressionist
  • comedian
  • actor
Spouse
Alana MacFarlane
​
(m. 2016)​
Children1
RelativesSooz Kempner (sister)

Early and personal life

Luke Garrod Kempner was born on 5 June 1987 to Mark and Anna Kempner (née Schneider) in Smallfield, a settlement in Burstow, Surrey, England.[1][2] He is the younger brother of comedian Sooz Kempner.[3] Kempner attended Burstow Primary School and subsequently Oakwood School in Horley.[1] He then went on to attend Reigate College and studied drama at the Guildford School of Acting. Kempner said he "[impersonated] the teachers all the way through [his] education."[1][4]

Kempner married Alana MacFarlane in 2016 and they have a daughter, born in 2021.[1]

Career

After finishing drama school, Kempner began his career as an actor, portraying minor roles in the films Fathers of Girls (2009) and Fly Trap (2010) and appearing in musicals including Lift, Les Misérables, South Pacific and Avenue Q but said that he "always wanted to do [his] comedy professionally."[1][5][6]

In 2012, he began posting videos of himself impersonating celebrities including Andy Murray and Tom Daley, however it wasn't until his comedy skit Downstairs at Downton, inspired by the characters of the ITV drama Downton Abbey, gained traction on social media and his career as a comedian and impressionist subsequently took off.[1] He developed the online sketch into a one-man show titled The Only Way Is Downton, touring around the UK at venues including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and later developing an American version America's Got Downton that he performed in the United States.[7][8]

In December 2015, Kempner fronted his own ITV2 sketch show Luke Kempner's Impression of 2015, which featured Kempner's various impersonations of celebrities.[7] In 2016, he appeared in an episode of Drunk History and provided the voices for the ITV sketch show Newzoids, before joining Big Brother's Bit on the Side as a regular comedian and impressionsist, in which he impersonated the housemates throughout the series.[9][10][11][12] In 2017, he appeared as various characters in Tracey Ullman's Show and Murder in Successville.[13][14]

In 2019, he narrated the ITV2 dating series Singletown.[15] In 2020, Kempner appeared as a contestant on the first series of Celebrity Karaoke Club, and finished in third place.[16] Between 2020 and 2021, he provided the voices for the puppets on the revival series of Spitting Image and went on to star in the musical adaption.[17] In 2021, he appeared as various characters in The Last Leg.[18]

In 2022, Kempner toured his new show Macho Macho Man at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which was described as a "deep dive into the thorny issues of modern masculinity" and ranked four out of five stars by The Daily Telegraph.[19] In 2023, Kempner impersonated various celebrities in the ITV2 comedy series Deep Fake Neighbour Wars, before it was announced he would be appearing in the West End production of Les Misérables as Thénardier.[20][21][22]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2009 Fathers of Girls Simon Film [5]"
2010 Fly Trap Jack Film [6]
2015 Luke Kempner's Impression of 2015 Various Sketch show [7]
2016 Drunk History Dr. William Beatty 1 episode [9]
2016 Newzoids Various 1 episode [10]
2016–2018 Big Brother's Bit on the Side Himself Regular guest [11]
2016–2018 Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side Himself Regular guest [12]
2017 Tracey Ullman's Show Various Sketch show [14]
2017 Murder in Successville Various Sketch show [13]
2019 Singletown Himself Narrator [15]
2020–2021 Spitting Image Various Sketch show [17]
2020 Celebrity Karaoke Club Himself Contestant [16]
2021 The Last Leg Various Sketch show [18]
2023 Deep Fake Neighbour Wars Various Sketch show [20]
2023 Pointless Celebrities Himself Contestant [23]

References
  1. "Interview: Luke Kempner, Surrey's Downton impressionist". Essential Surrey. 2 November 2015. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  2. "Luke Garrod KEMPNER". freeBMD. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  3. "'I almost died. Just kidding! I only broke my leg': comedians share their Edinburgh fringe horror stories". The Guardian. 5 August 2023. Archived from the original on 7 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  4. "Impressionist Luke Kempner: 'I do sometimes get mixed up!'". BBC. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  5. "Fathers of Girls, Film". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  6. "Fly Trap at Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  7. "Wednesday's best TV: What Britain Bought In 2015, Charlie Brooker's End Of Year Wipe 2015, and more". The Guardian. 30 December 2015. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  8. "Luke Kempner and Tom Neenan do their best Attenborough and Love Island impressions in The Trip spoof". Digital Spy. 9 August 2017. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  9. "Drunk History, Series 2, Episode 6". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 3 July 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  10. "Impressionist heads to Eastleigh". Eastleigh News. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  11. "Big Brother legends bid farewell as reality show airs final episode on Channel 5". Radio Times. 5 November 2018. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  12. "Luke Kempner at SpeakOut". Speak Out. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  13. "Professor Green, Richard Osman and Reggie Yates join Tom Davis in Murder in Successville". Radio Times. 5 February 2017. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  14. "Tracey Ullman's Show". BBC. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  15. "Meet the hilarious voice over of ITV's Singletown – move over Iain Stirling!". Reality Titbit. 5 September 2019. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  16. "Who is Celebrity Karaoke Club star Luke Kempner and how is he famous?". Heart. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  17. "'Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical' announces cast and voiceover artists". London Theatre. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  18. "The Last Leg, Series 22, Episode 4". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  19. "Edinburgh Fringe comedy reviews: the best shows of 2022, from Sam Campbell to Lara Ricote". Daily Telegraph. 27 August 2022. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  20. "Who are the comedians and impressionists behind the famous faces in Deep Fake Neighbour Wars?". Metro. 27 January 2023. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  21. "Luke Kempner joins Les Mis". Chortle. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  22. "Luke Kempner and more to join West End cast of Les Misérables". WhatsOnStage. 10 August 2023. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  23. "BBC iPlayer - Pointless Celebrities - Series 16: Special". BBC iPlayer. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
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