Rufus Hound, the actor and comedian, reflects on a career that has taken him from standup stages to West End productions. Born in Essex in 1979, he left a job in PR in 2000 to pursue comedy full-time, later becoming a familiar face on panel shows such as Mock the Week and Celebrity Juice. He currently stars in The Mesmerist at Watford Palace Theatre from 2-21 March.
Hound says therapy has changed how he views his childhood. 'By the time I started to do standup, I realised I’d been training for it my entire life,' he notes. His first word was 'look', and he recalls performing a Muppet Show routine at age three, realising that a special performance could win approval. His early school reports often noted his tendency to prioritise making people laugh over schoolwork.
A pivotal influence was teacher David Proudlock at Frensham Heights school. Proudlock challenged Hound to consider what he actually achieved with attention, and helped secure a scholarship when his parents could no longer afford fees. Hound credits this teacher with instilling a rigorous approach to theatre, which later informed his stage career in productions such as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and One Man, Two Guvnors.
In standup, Hound was inspired by a quote from comedian Boothby Graffoe, who said the craft is 70% confidence and 30% material. Meeting Graffoe again, Hound was told it was actually 90% confidence. That conversation transformed his approach: 'I approached the stage as if I was the world’s funniest human.'
His mother’s advice to talk his way out of trouble also shaped his comic instincts. The pandemic brought an abrupt halt to his plans, when the West End shut down during rehearsals for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, leaving 18 months of work cancelled. Nevertheless, Hound’s varied career has provided resilience, with skills in comedy, theatre, and radio presenting.
