Stuart Ashen
Stuart Ashen | |
---|---|
Born | Stuart Clive Ashen 16 December 1976 Norwich, Norfolk, England |
Education | PhD in Psychology |
Occupation(s) | Actor, YouTube reviewer, animator |
Years active | 2003–present |
Template:Infobox person/Internet info | |
Website | www |
Stuart Clive Ashen (born 16 December 1976), commonly known by his online alias Ashens /ˈæʃənz/, is a British reviewer of various (usually poor quality) products, comedian, animator and actor.
Early life
Ashen is from Heartsease Estate, Norwich and attended Heartsease High School.[1] He previously worked for PC World and Norwich Union.[1]
Career
Ashen made his first television appearance on a 2008 episode of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe, where he played a cameo role as Mr Noseybonk, a character from the 80's BBC children's show Jigsaw.[2]
Ashen guest starred on The Armstrong and Miller Show for their "The Node" segment in October 2009.[3]
In 2010, Ashen created the series Ashen's Tech Dump for BBC Online Comedy.[4] In 2011 Ashens co-starred alongside Karen Hayley in another BBC Online Comedy series Back Space.[5] In 2012 he starred as himself in The Proxy, a sci-fi webseries produced by ChannelFlip in partnership with Dell Alienware.[6][7] The series took eight days to film, consists of 10 episodes and won a Marketing Week "Engage Award" in the "Gaming and Entertainment" section.[8]
Ashen released the book Fifty-Thousand Shades of Grey on 23 September 2012; it parodies the erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey.[9]
In 2013, Ashen, along with Emma Blackery, Dan Howell (danisnotonfire) and Phil Lester (AmazingPhil), starred as a contestant in a re-make of the 1980s TV show Knightmare during the YouTube Geek Week event.[10][11][12][13]
As of December 2014[update] Ashen has produced over 400 videos, has over 600k subscribers to his primary YouTube channel Ashens, and over 140 million video views.[10][14] His secondary channel, used mainly for DVD-extra style clips, has over 200k subscribers and 19 million views.[15] In addition to his own channels he has also produced videos for other YouTube channels, which include "The Multiverse", a geek themed channel controlled by ChannelFlip.[16]
Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild
Ashen wrote and starred in Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild, a feature film released in August 2013, for YouTube's "Geek Week".[16][17] The film also stars Warwick Davis and Robert Llewellyn, and was produced by the multi-channel network ChannelFlip,[10][16] in association with The Multiverse. The film was partially paid for through crowdfunding website Indiegogo with contributions totalling US$73,690 at the end of the month, which comprised 41% of the US$180,000 budget.[16][18][19][20] As of May 2014[update] it has been viewed over half a million times on YouTube. A remastered and slightly extended edition of the movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 14 July 2014.
Personal life
Ashen was born and currently lives in Norwich, England.[10][6]
Filmography
Web series
Year | Title | Role | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Ashen's Tech Dump | Himself, lead role | Five episodes over two series |
2011 | Back Space | Himself | Six episodes |
2012 | The Proxy | Himself, lead role | Ten episodes |
2013-2014 | Ideas Men | Himself | Nine episodes over two series plus Series One and Two Bloopers |
2013 | Knightmare | Himself, dungeoneer | Special online one-off episode |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe | Mr Noseybonk | Cameo appearance, one episode |
2009 | The Armstrong and Miller Show | Himself | Guest star, one episode |
Film
Year | Title | Role | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild | Himself, lead role | Co-writer |
TBA | Ashens: Age of Excellence[21] |
References
- ^ a b Briscoe, Kim (12 November 2014). "YouTube success helped Stuart to realise his film-making dream". Norwich Evening News. Archant. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- ^ Nick Akerman (31 May 2009). "Stuart Ashen Interview - feature at Thunderbolt". Thunderboltgames.com. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ "Comedy - The Armstrong and Miller Show - The Node: Gadgets (featuring Ashens)". BBC. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
- ^ Thair, David (17 September 2010). "Comedy Blog: Ashens returns to the Tech Dump". BBC. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ "BBC - Back Space". 16 May 2014.
- ^ a b Kate, Laura (19 May 2012). "Interview with Stuart Ashens". MCM Buzz. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ "ChannelFlip makes 10-part sci-fi series with IT giant Dell". Televisual.com. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
- ^ "Engage Awards: The magnificent winners". Marketing Week. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ "Fifty-Thousand Shades of Grey by SC Ashen". Fifty Shades of Grey Parodies. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d McGuinness, Ross (2 August 2013). "The Knightmare begins again as YouTube launches its own Geek Week". Metro. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ Edwards, Luke (9 August 2013). "10 amazing YouTube Geek Week videos you can't afford to miss". Stuff. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ Woollaston, Victoria (24 July 2013). "Knightmare returns on YouTube: Google films one-off special of cult children's TV show". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ Dredge, Stuart (5 August 2013). "Knightmare remake launches for YouTube Geek Week – watch it here". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ "Ashens about page". YouTube. 23 February 2006. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ "ExtraAshens about page". YouTube. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ a b c d "YouTube Geek Week movie premiere online". SFX. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ Collins, Katie (25 July 2013). "In depth: 90s gameshow Knightmare reborn for YouTube, may spawn new TV series (Wired UK)". Wired. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ "Interview with Robert Llewellyn". WUWO Magazine. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ "Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild". Sci-fi London. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ "Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild". Indiegogo. 7 April 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ^ "There is real hope for a Gamechild sequel!". reddit. Retrieved 14 February 2015.