Neg Dupree, 30 year old Comedy performer from East London, is well known for Neg’s Urban Sports on the Brit-Hit Channel 4 show Balls of Steel [which was featured in our June edition] The Urban Cowboy has so far had over 30 million YouTube views, but in this, Dupree’s first ever interview, he reveals there is so much more to the Whooping man in the Stetson than meets the eye.

Search “Balls of Steel” on Wikipedia, and you’ll see Neg described as “the most controversial act of them all”. Balls of Steel is a UK Channel 4 comedy creation, where special guests competed against each other and performed hidden camera set-ups and stunts in public, or at celebrity events. Neg was not only the most controversial, but the most popular act.

Urban Sports involved Dupree pranking strangers for sport, with a score or time to beat.  Often the stunts involved an element of personal risk or injury.  During ‘Neg’s Red Carpet Run’ (below) he was actually arrested. For Dupree the risk is worth it. Getting “nicked as part of the stunt” didn’t tarnish the reputation of Urban Sports “I think it was better, and was also 99% going to happen when you jump out screaming and going mental metres away from Will Smith at his own premiere”. He laughs “The Old Bill thought I was insane!”

Neg’s Red Carpet Run…
Vezi mai multe video Haioase

It’s dramatically different to some of his other work. Neg has appeared in Eastenders, Footballer’s Wives and The Bill. He’s also had a cameo as a zombie in blockbuster film 28 Weeks Later, which landed him on the back cover of the DVD. Directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary, The Beach), 28 Weeks Later is the sequel to Smash Zombie Flick 28 Days Later. “28 Weeks was full on trying to be scary, running around all day long covered in red syrup gunk and soaking wet for a week or so in the freezing UK in October! It was torture mostly, but yeah, I loved it. Cool job and a wicked film. Working with Danny Boyle was a very cool experience. Good guy.”

Dupree also has a list of multi-media accolades to his name, such as FHM’s online “The 100% Useful Guide” (a collection of household and grooming tips just for blokes), and more recently a bizarre birthday prank on Peaches Geldof that landed him in the UK Sun newspaper (her friends arranged for Neg to jump semi-naked from a giant birthday present, singing “Happy Birthday” to the highly embarrassed Peaches).

He has teamed up with UK controversial radio star, Tim Shaw. Tim was fired from Kerrang (the UK’s national indie and alternative rock station) for one of his more outlandish radio pranks. “He’s (Tim) not bothered, but it’s a shame as we were presenting together on his morning show, and I was really enjoying being on Kerrang. It’s cool though because now I write and perform several characters on Tim’s new weekend show on Absolute Radio (Virgin).” Neg said the pair are working on some big TV ideas, with some recent prospects on the horizon for the pair to continue working together. It certainly beats being thrown out of a restaurant for a food fight which caused thousands worth of damage (which they also did together) but possibly may not be as messy or as fun. But knowing what those two are capable of, we highly doubt it. Which is the way it should be.

“A treatment has also been written for a Neg Show in the USA. I have about 5 or 6 ideas for other new shows already too. Balls of Steel is a drop in the ocean compared to what I have planned…”

Neg was born with the knack of rodeo-riding through the chaos. “I got shy at school and tried to cover it up by being a twat and coming up with alter egos in the playground. I was always in trouble. I have ADHD, so it just left me constantly unable to concentrate or focus. I’d wind the teachers up relentlessly, come in to school drunk in skirts and things like that, or sit in lessons naked from the waist down just to get a reaction from the other kids.”

“That continued throughout my teens until I chilled a bit and found that I can actually harness the energy into acting, writing and comedy. I find it hard to sit down for long periods”. Not much seems to bother him, although he admits there’s still the shy side. “Jumping on someone’s back doesn’t faze me at all, but walking into a store to buy a pair of jeans can freak me out. Being recognized in public can do that to you. I’m a lot calmer these days. My beautiful missus keeps me in check nowadays.”

“Urban Sports is the kind of thing I’ve been pulling for years as a kid. I just get paid for it now rather than being chased by the old bill every Friday night outside various pubs. I used to be a livewire, believe me, but not in a bad way, just doing mad stuff, attention seeking. The ‘Whoops’ and ‘Toots’ catchphrases are actually from me – I used to walk about screaming it. Things are sweet now. I can turn on the craziness for the cameras. Far more rewarding”

His comedy writing team ‘Queeen’ (Neg, Tosh and Upsy) are growing in popularity on YouTube. “The Queeen boys are diamonds. I’ve known them since school. They’re more writer writers – they’ve worked on Hotel Babylon, but we write and perform comedy sketches together. I think being in a team is better for me. If you find a group where you bounce off each other it can be very rewarding and fruitful. There’s nothing better than sitting around the pub all day laughing and pissing about. When it clicks, the three of us sit and drink and just laugh for hours on end. We probably have about 100 sketches written up. I love getting into costume and character, getting an accent, prop or an outfit and then finding a character with their little idiosyncrasies. That’s often how I come up with a new persona. Hopefully you’ll get to see more of these characters in my new shows”.

Not being able to get all the ideas out of his head and on to film is “real frustrating when I know what people want”.  And he should know – Balls of Steel had 1.2 million viewers on Channel 4 in the UK, and has been sold to several countries including Australia, New Zealand, and Denmark. At last count, Neg said that he had over 30 million YouTube views “Can’t believe I’m like a cult figure around the world!” He laughs and seems genuinely surprised, but also admits the prospect of working overseas excites him. Neg recently graced Canadian shores for a shoot in Toronto, has been all over Europe, and to the US, and lists Sydney as his favorite destination. “Me and the wife fell in love with Australia and would dearly love to go back soon”.

Because he is so energetic and socially-savvy, some would be surprised by his unassuming sincerity and gratitude when it comes to his fans. “Thanks to everyone for all the lovely feedback and all the wicked messages on MySpace and the Facebook fan club.” Neg explains that he has been busy working on his scripts and website, and trying to keep up with the demands from his fans. “Thanks so much to you all! Love ya!! Please keep showing your appreciation and maybe we’ll get our own show soon and you can see more of me”. All we can do is wait to see what sort of magic he pulls out of his Stetson next. Toot!

-Thanks to Emma for providing the article and awesome Neg insites-