Only Fools and Horses
David Jason

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David Jason

Whether he's a cocky cockney or a dour detective, David always seems to pull off the rare feat of delighting both the critics and the public. Here's our cushty overview of a British TV institution...

Background info

Born David John White in 1940, the future telly legend had stints as a waiter, mechanic and electrician before landing his first stage roles. He decided to change his surname after discovering that another David White was already registered with Equity, the Actor's Union. His choice of Jason as a replacement was a homage to his twin brother, who had sadly died in infancy.

The big break

Though he'd already appeared in Crossroads, David's breakthrough came when he was cast as a sullen wife-killer in Porridge (!) A bit-part it may have been, but it led to his career-making collaboration with Ronnie Barker in Open All Hours, which in turn would inspire TV bosses to cast him as a wily entrepreneur in a certain Peckham-based sitcom.

Career highs

Only Fools and Horses would have been the crowning achievement of most showbiz careers, but for David it was merely the highest in a mountain range of career peaks. Granville, Del Boy, Pop Larkin, Jack Frost... there's not many actors who could list such an eclectic array of immortals on their CV.

Career lows

Career lows for David Jason are hard to come by. Even his less enduring roles (such as that of bungling spy Edgar Briggs) were handled with undeniable aplomb. If pushed, however, one could say that providing the voices for the shopping trolleys in a run of supermarket TV ads doesn't quite match the dizzy heights of Dangermouse.

Did you know?

One of David's greatest passions is deep-sea diving, about which he made a documentary in 1997. Incidentally, he's not the only member of his family in the acting game. His brother, Arthur White, has appeared in The Bill and Goodnight Sweetheart as well as alongside David in The Darling Buds of May and A Touch of Frost.

The final word

As wide-ranging as it is, David's acting career has always been kept in check by his resolutely-held beliefs. As the man himself once said: "I've always tried very carefully to ensure the programmes I work on have family values. I'm not very fond of the graphic violence we sometimes see on television."
 

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