Jake Pratt

Jake Stephen Pratt (born 25 September 1996) is an English actor. He entered the public eye when he appeared on the first series of the ITV1 television show Britain's Got Talent in June 2007 where he reached the semi-finals, and lost a place in the grand final.[1] He has since appeared in the British children's television programme, Green Balloon Club, and also worked as a voice-over artist. He stars as Alfie in the BBC comedy film Nativity!, which was released on 27 November 2009.[2]

Jake Pratt
Born (1996-09-25) 25 September 1996
Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationActor
Years active2007–2013 (comedian)
Known forBilly Elliot the Musical, Britain's Got Talent, Green Balloon Club

Pratt's debut in the West End was in Billy Elliot the Musical, where he played the role of Michael from 1 June 2009 to 28 August 2010.[3][3][4][5] A year later, Pratt got the part of Nigel Hicks in the Stratford production of Matilda the Musical, and Tommy in the West End production.

In 2017, Pratt became a voice artist of the various animals in the CBBC mockumentary The Zoo.

Early life

Pratt was born on 25 September 1996 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. He has been attending the Sylvia Young Theatre School since his appearance on Britain's Got Talent.[2] He previously attended YMCA Scarborough, and the Scarborough Dance Centre.[6][7]

Career

Early career

Pratt won the Park Resorts National Finals for the 11 & Under Section for three years in a row.[8]

Before Britain's Got Talent, Pratt appeared at BBC Radio York's stand-up comedy event, More Front Than Scarborough, on 11 March 2007. He impressed the judges with his jokes, coming in at second place to Karen Tite.[8]

Pratt has also appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show.[8]

2007: Britain's Got Talent

Pratt, at the age of 10, was a contestant on the first series of the ITV television talent show Britain's Got Talent.[9] In his audition, which took place at the Manchester auditions at the Apollo Theatre in March 2007, and was televised on 9 June 2007,[10] he performed a stand-up comedy routine and at the end sang a part of the song "Life is a Cabaret" by Liza Minnelli. His performance received positive comments from all three judges, from Piers Morgan's "You've got brilliant, distinctive comic timing", to Amanda Holden's "You're a real star in the making, real showman, great confidence, you were fantastic", with the exception of Simon Cowell, saying "I think you're funnier than Peter Kay", but said that the singing was terrible but the comedy was fantastic.[11] He was placed into the next round, after receiving three yeses from the judges. However, on the day the judges were to choose the 24 semi-finalists for the live semi-finals, on 10 May 2007, at first the judges decided not to put Pratt through. The following day, the judges changed their minds after they realised they made a mistake, and decided to put Pratt and a beatboxing group called Crew 82, the two acts they previously rejected, through to the live semi-finals.

In the live semi-final, on 15 June 2007, he performed again a stand-up comedy routine, and sang the chorus of "There's No Business Like Show Business", where this time Cowell buzzed. He told Pratt he should have stuck to telling jokes, so did Holden, who said he should "ditch" the singing at the end, but Morgan decided that he should carry on singing. Cowell asked him why he sang, and he replied "'Cos the producers said I should'". Cowell considered firing the producer, but instead gave him a "done" to finish off. He also said that if he made it to the final, he would improve the singing. He failed to get through to the final and was eliminated from the competition.

2007–present: Post-Talent

Pratt has also performed at the fair in Braeburn House, an old people's home in Moor Lane, Eastfield, alongside Bessie Cursons, who reached the final of the talent show, but lost to Paul Potts.[12] Pratt also entered a talent show called Beeon.tv at the end of 2007. He performed a variety of talents – poetry, singing, jokes etc. Pratt appeared on Lori Kellett's fundraising show Lori's One Night Only at the Spa Theatre on 24 June 2007.[13]

Pratt's first major acting role was as nature reporter Jay in the CBeebies television series Green Balloon Club about the environment. Pratt presented segments about birds. The show began in June 2008 and finished in May 2009. Pratt also sang several songs for the show, along with the cast.[2][14][15]

In the summer of 2008, Pratt worked on a film called Nativity! alongside Martin Freeman and Ashley Jensen, playing the role of Alfie. It was released on 27 November 2009.[2]

Pratt has also been commended by the Mayor of Scarborough, Janet Jefferson, for his success on Britain's Got Talent.[16] He has also been appearing in cabaret shows organised by his theatre school.[2] He has also opened the mayor of Scarborough's summer fair in 2007, with Sir Jimmy Savile. Money raised went towards local charities.[17]

Pratt also provided the voices of several cartoon characters. He voices one of the main characters in a cartoon based on the Wibbly Pig books by Mick Inkpen on CBeebies where he is the narrator, which started on 7 September 2009. For the cartoon Claude, broadcast on the channel Playhouse Disney, he provided the voice for grizzly bear Boris. He was also the first voice of Darwin Watterson, from the Cartoon Network show The Amazing World of Gumball. He voiced the character in the 2008 early reel and was replaced in the main series by Kwesi Boakye and Terrell Ransom, Jr..[2]

The Scarborough Evening News on 5 June 2009 reported that Pratt had joined the cast of Billy Elliot the Musical. On 1 June 2009 he made his West End debut, taking the role of Billy's best friend, Michael. Pratt did a comic performance for his audition, which got him the role of Michael.[3][4][5] He moved into the Billy Elliot house, along with the other youngsters who play the lead roles in the musical.

In 2011, Pratt was cast as Nigel in the Stratford production of Matilda the Musical, and rejoined the West End, where he played Tommy.

Jake attended Hurtwood House, a sixth form college in Surrey, from 2013 - 2015. He starred in several productions including Jesus Christ Superstar, Love & Money and several other showcases. His biggest success however was landing the role of 'Murdered Man' in Hurtwood's Christmas production of Chicago, for which he was awarded the 'Cyrano Award'.

Personal life

Pratt currently lives in Ickenham, London (after previously living in Scarborough) with his mother Joanne, father Steve and sisters Ellie-Jo, 19, and Tilly, 14, who also made an appearance on Green Balloon Club on 20 February 2009.[18]

Filmography
Film
Year Film Role Notes
2009 Nativity! Alfie
Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
2007 Britain's Got Talent Himself Contestant
2009 Wibbly Pig Wibbly Pig Narrator, Voice
Green Balloon Club Jay
Claude Boris Voice
The Amazing World of Gumball Darwin Voice (Only in the episode 'Early reel')
Stage
YearTitleRoleTheatreNotes
1 June 2009 –
28 August 2010		 Billy Elliot the Musical Michael Victoria Palace Theatre West End
2011–2011 Matilda the Musical Nigel Courtyard Theatre Original cast
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References
  1. Porter, Rachel (14 June 2007). "Express Yourself :: Britain's Got Talent". Daily Express. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  2. Stephenson, Susan (7 November 2008). "Jake's busy with film and TV roles". Scarborough Evening News. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  3. "Jake Pratt joins the cast of a top West End show". Scarborough Evening News. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  4. Yeomans, Fay (22 August 2009). "From silly billy to Billy Elliot!". BBC Yorkshire. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
  5. Paddock, Terry (6 May 2009). "Cast: Real Twin Brothers, Billy, Praed Tours Music". What's on Stage. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  6. "YMCA Leisure Centre News: Jake Pratt". YMCA Leisure Centre. Archived from the original on 1 November 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  7. "Scarborough's got talent". ymca.org.uk. Scarborough YMCA. 12 June 2007. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  8. Seymour, Matthew (11 March 2007). "Jakey P steals the spotlight". BBC Yorkshire. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  9. "Jake Pratt, 10, auditions on TV talent show". Scarborough Evening News. 9 June 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  10. McGarry, Lisa (9 June 2007). "Britain's Got Talent starts tomorrow!". Unreality TV. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  11. Fulton, Rick (9 June 2007). "Check out the talent!". Daily Record. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  12. "Jake and Bessie charm residents". Scarborough Evening News. 25 August 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  13. Derrick, Paul (20 June 2007). "Jake stars in line-up with Lori for One Night Only". Scarborough Evening News. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  14. Conlan, Tara (14 April 2008). "CBeebies to broadcast eco season". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  15. McGarry, Lisa (6 June 2008). "CBeebies goes green with EcoBeebies". Unreality Primetime. Archived from the original on 8 June 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  16. Barley, Sophie (20 July 2007). "TV talents get a mayoral greeting". Scarborough Evening News. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  17. "Sir Jimmy and Jake boost mayor's fair". Scarborough Evening News. 9 August 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  18. Barley, Sophie (19 February 2009). "Jake's sister act". Scarborough Evening News. Retrieved 28 July 2009.

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