Steve Coogan
Encyclopedia
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan (born 14 October 1965) is a British comedian
, actor
, writer
and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image
. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating original comic characters which he presented in stage shows, this led to him winning the 1992 Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe
, for his show with long-time collaborator John Thomson
. The most prominent characters he developed at this time was Paul Calf, a stereotypical lower class Mancunian
and his sister the promiscuous Pauline (played by Coogan in drag
).
Working with Chris Morris
, Patrick Marber
and Armando Iannucci
for On The Hour
and The Day Today
, Coogan developed what became his best known and most developed character; Alan Partridge
, a socially awkward and politically incorrect
regional media personality, who developed to feature in his own eponymous television series, Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge
and I'm Alan Partridge
. Outside the UK, Coogan is better known for his roles in films such as 24 Hour Party People
, Night at the Museum
, Tropic Thunder
, Hamlet 2
, and The Other Guys
.
On 22 November 2011, Coogan gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry
on phone hacking
.
engineer. He was born in his parents' house and raised in Alkrington
, a suburb of Middleton
, north of Manchester
, in an Irish working class family. Coogan was raised as a Roman Catholic. He had a happy childhood growing up with four brothers and two sisters, and in addition his parents fostered children on a short-term basis, sometimes accommodating two or three foster children at a time. Coogan had a talent for impersonation, and wanted to go to drama school, despite being advised by a teacher that it could lead to a precarious profession.
He went to five interviews for drama school in London, and then – after gaining confidence by joining a theatre company in Manchester called New Music – gained a place at the Manchester Polytechnic
School of Theatre. Coogan's brother Martin was the vocalist and wrote the music for The Mock Turtles
, a successful indie rock
band in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
, as well as doing voice-over work for adverts and impressions on Spitting Image
. In 1988, he did impressions of Prince Charles
which featured on the Urban label release "Don't Believe the Hype
" by acid house
artist Mista E. The impressions were also used as jingles in 1988/89 on the BBC Radio 1
FM Friday night dance music show Jeff Young's Big Beat.
In 1993 Coogan starred alongside Caroline Aherne
and John Thomson in a one-off Granada TV
sketch show The Dead Good Show.
and Armando Iannucci
, amongst others, on the Radio 4
comedy show On the Hour
, where he helped give birth to his most famous creation, Alan Partridge
. Alan went on to have his own radio show, as well as appearing on TV in The Day Today
and his own chat show, Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge
. In 1997, he returned with the sitcom I'm Alan Partridge
, which was followed by a second series in 2002.
Partridge is part of Coogan's 2008 stand-up tour, and an Alan Partridge movie is in production.
on Channel 4. Paul has appeared in two video diaries, an episode of Coogan's Run
, and in various stand-up performances. He is an unemployed Manchester
wastrel with a particular hatred of students. His catchphrase is "Bag o' shit
e".
Paul lives in a council house
in the fictional town of Ottle with his mother and his sister, Pauline Calf (also played by Coogan). His father died some time before the first video diary was made. For a long time he was obsessed with getting back together with his ex-girlfriend, Julie. Paul's best friend is "Fat" Bob (played by John Thomson), a car mechanic who eventually married Pauline. Paul supports Manchester City
and is very partial to Wagon Wheels
.
He wears Burton suits, sports a bleached mullet
and drives a Ford Cortina
.
Other Coogan creations include Tommy Saxondale, Duncan Thicket, and Portuguese Eurovision winner Tony Ferrino. Duncan Thicket has appeared in a tour of live shows. Other TV shows he has starred in include Coogan's Run, Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible
, Monkey Trousers
and Saxondale
. Coogan has provided voices for the animated series I Am Not an Animal
and Bob and Margaret
, the one-off BBC2 comedy about sheep Combat Sheep, two Christmas specials starring Robbie the Reindeer
, and an episode of the BBC Radio Four spoof sci-fi series Nebulous
.
During the 1989 series of The Krypton Factor
, Coogan was invited to participate in a series of mini-movies for the observation round.
He starred in BBC2's The Private Life of Samuel Pepys
in 2003, and Cruise of the Gods
in 2002. In 2006, he had a cameo in the Little Britain
Christmas special as a pilot taking Lou and Andy to Disneyland. In 2007, Coogan played a psychiatrist on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm
, and in 2008, starred in the BBC1 drama Sunshine
.
In 2010, he reunited with actor Rob Brydon
and director Michael Winterbottom
(both of whom he had worked with on the 2006 film A Cock and Bull Story
(see Film Roles below)), for the partially improvised BBC2 sitcom The Trip
, in which he and Brydon do a tour of northern restaurants, which he is writing up for the Observer
. The Trip was nominated for a 2011 Television BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy, and Coogan won Best Male Performance in a Comedy Role.
He provided the voices of Philip Masterson-Bowie (a horse) and Mark Andrews (a sparrow) for animated comedy series I Am Not an Animal
. He was also the voice of Satan on Neighbors from Hell
.
boss Tony Wilson
in the film 24 Hour Party People
, Mole in Terry Jones
' The Wind in the Willows
, Phileas Fogg
in a remake of Jules Verne
's Around the World in 80 Days
with Jackie Chan
, Ambassador Mercy
in Marie Antoinette
, Bruce Tick in Sweet Revenge
, and Octavius in Night at the Museum
. He has also played himself three times on screen. First, in one of the vignettes of Jim Jarmusch
's 2003 film Coffee and Cigarettes
, alongside Alfred Molina
. Second, in 2006 Coogan starred with Rob Brydon
in Michael Winterbottom's
A Cock and Bull Story
, a self-referential film of the "unfilmable" self-referential novel Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne
. In the film, Coogan plays a fictional, womanizing version of himself. Thirdly he played himself in the 2010 film The Trip
.
The first film, which he co-wrote with Henry Normal
, was The Parole Officer
. He also acted in this alongside Ben Miller and Lena Headey
. Coogan has an uncredited cameo in Hot Fuzz
, scripted by Shaun of the Dead
writers Simon Pegg
and Edgar Wright
. He stars as a failed actor turned high school drama teacher in the 2008 film Hamlet 2
and had a role in Tropic Thunder
, playing the inexperienced director. It was announced on 8 August 2007, that he is also to star in a film adaptation of the life of Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, which is still in pre-production.
In 2009, he also starred as a lying reporter in What Goes Up with Olivia Thirlby, Molly Shannon
and Hilary Duff
. Also recently, he appeared in Finding Amanda
alongside Brittany Snow and Matthew Broderick
, returned as Octavius in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
, and played Hades
in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
.
, BAFTAs, and The South Bank Show
award for comedy. In 2003, he was listed in The Observer
as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2005, a poll to find The Comedians' Comedian saw him being voted amongst the top 20 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.
, founded Baby Cow Productions
in 1999. Together they are the executive producers for such shows as The Mighty Boosh
, starring Noel Fielding
and Julian Barratt
, Nighty Night
, starring Julia Davis
, Marion and Geoff
, starring Rob Brydon
, and Human Remains, starring Davis and Brydon. Baby Cow Productions' latest venture is Where Are the Joneses, an online sitcom which uses wiki
technology to allow the audience to upload scripts and storyline ideas.
He has been a popular target of the British tabloid press
since 1996, whom he stated have subjected him to entrapment
and blackmail
, printed obvious falsehoods about him , also targeting his family and friends in attempts to extract stories from them.
Coogan in some cases gave a strong denial to allegations, but in others did not contest them because he wanted to shield vulnerable friends from from adverse publicity.
The tabloids also published intrusive information about his relationships and the schooling of his child. Coogan has also been critical of the broadsheet
press, saying they have colluded with the tabloids in the interests of selling newspapers. In 2005 he said "The Guardian tends to have its cake and eat it. It waits for the tabloids to dish the dirt and then it talks about the tabloids dishing the dirt while enjoying it themselves."
However Coogan later gave credit to the same newspaper for its investigation of the phone hacking scandal.
Coogan said that because of the persistent intrusion into his private life, the press had effectively made him "immune" to further attack, as his "closet is empty of skeletons".
of "possible anomalies" on his phone around the time in 2005 and 2006 In 2010 Coogan's legal firm obtained a partially redacted
version of Glenn Mulcaire
's hacking
notebook by a court order
which showed Coogan had been targeted and his personal information was in the possession of Mulcaire.
Mulcaire was forced by the High Court of Justice
to disclose to Coogan's legal team who amongst the staff at the News of the World
ordered him to hack phones. This information was obtained by Coogan's lawyers on the 26th August 2011.
Interviewed on Newsnight
on 8 July 2011, Coogan said he was "delighted" by the closure of the News of the World and said it was a "fantastic day for journalism". He said the idea of press freedom was used by the tabloids as a "smokescreen for selling papers with tittle-tattle" and said the argument against press regulation was "morally bankrupt
"
Coogan provided an 8-page witness statement to the Leveson Inquiry
and appeared at the inquiry on on November 22, 2011 to discuss the evidence. He said he was there reluctantly representing a lot of celebrities who felt they could not speak out for fear of reprisals from the tabloid press.
, is a former Top Gear presenter, and another, Martin, was the lead singer of the early 1990s band The Mock Turtles
. All the brothers attended the Cardinal Langley RC High School.
Coogan married Caroline Hickman in 2002,the couple divorced in 2005. He lives in Brighton
to be close to Clare, his daughter from a previous relationship.
On the commentary for Series 2 of I'm Alan Partridge, Coogan states that he is a socialist who enjoys paying taxes, whilst discussing the eponymous character's investigation by the Inland Revenue.
Coogan reportedly has a wealth of £5 million and supports the Labour Party
.
A well noted car enthusiast, he has had a succession of Ferrari
s, but stopped buying them after realising that the depreciation and running costs were greater than hiring a private plane. He helped Jeremy Clarkson
test a Ferrari 575M against an Aston Martin Vanquish S on the fifth series of Top Gear. Coogan drives one of the final air-cooled Porsche 911
Carrera 4s
.
Awards and Nominations sourced from IMDb
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0176869/awards 2/12/2010
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image
Spitting Image
Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating original comic characters which he presented in stage shows, this led to him winning the 1992 Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
, for his show with long-time collaborator John Thomson
John Thomson
John Thomson may refer to:*John Arthur Thomson , Scottish naturalist*John Charles Thomson , New Zealand politician*John Edgar Thomson , American civil engineer, railroad executive and industrialist...
. The most prominent characters he developed at this time was Paul Calf, a stereotypical lower class Mancunian
Mancunian
Mancunian is the associated adjective and demonym of Manchester, a city in North West England. It may refer to:*The city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England**The people of Manchester, or the list of people from Manchester...
and his sister the promiscuous Pauline (played by Coogan in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
).
Working with Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Chris Morris may refer to:* Chris Morris , gay rights activist* Chris Morris , American football player for the Detroit Lions...
, Patrick Marber
Patrick Marber
Patrick Albert Crispin Marber is an English comedian, playwright, director, puppeteer, actor and screenwriter.-Early life and education:...
and Armando Iannucci
Armando Iannucci
Armando Giovanni Iannucci is a Scottish comedian, satirist, writer, director, performer and radio producer. Born in Glasgow, he studied at Oxford University and left graduate work on a PhD about John Milton to pursue a career in comedy....
for On The Hour
On the Hour
On the Hour was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992.Written by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring and David Quantick, it starred Morris as the overzealous and...
and The Day Today
The Day Today
The Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs programmes, broadcast in 1994, and created by the comedians Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992...
, Coogan developed what became his best known and most developed character; Alan Partridge
Alan Partridge
Alan Gordon Partridge is a fictional radio and television presenter portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan and invented by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring for the BBC Radio 4 programme On The Hour...
, a socially awkward and politically incorrect
Politically incorrect
The phrase "politically incorrect" may refer to:* Someone or something which does not meet a standard of political correctness* Politically Incorrect, a late-night U.S. political talk show* Politically Incorrect, a German political blog...
regional media personality, who developed to feature in his own eponymous television series, Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge
Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge (TV series)
Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge is a BBC Television series of six episodes , and a Christmas special in 1995...
and I'm Alan Partridge
I'm Alan Partridge
I'm Alan Partridge is a BBC situation comedy starring Steve Coogan, of which two series of six episodes each were produced — the first in 1997 and the second in 2002...
. Outside the UK, Coogan is better known for his roles in films such as 24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom...
, Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum is a 2006 fantasy adventure-comedy film based on the 1993 children's book The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc. It follows a divorced father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny...
, Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder is a 2008 American action satire comedy film written, produced, and directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., and Jack Black. The main plot revolves around a group of prima donna actors who are making a Vietnam War film...
, Hamlet 2
Hamlet 2
Hamlet 2 is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Andrew Fleming, written by Fleming and Pam Brady, and starring Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, and David Arquette. It was produced by Eric Eisner, Leonid Rozhetskin, and Aaron Ryder. Hamlet 2 was filmed primarily at a high school in...
, and The Other Guys
The Other Guys
The Other Guys is a 2010 American action comedy film directed and co-written by Adam McKay, starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, and featuring Dwayne Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Eva Mendes, Steve Coogan, and Ray Stevenson...
.
On 22 November 2011, Coogan gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry
Leveson Inquiry
The Leveson Inquiry is an ongoing public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal. On 6 July 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron announced to Parliament that a public government inquiry would convene to further...
on phone hacking
Phone hacking
Phone hacking is a term used to describe the practice of intercepting telephone calls or voicemail messages, often by accessing the voicemail messages of a mobile phone without the consent of the phone's owner...
.
Early life
Coogan is one of seven children born to Kathleen (née Coonan), a homemaker, and Anthony Coogan, an IBMIBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
engineer. He was born in his parents' house and raised in Alkrington
Alkrington
Alkrington Garden Village, more commonly known as Alkrington, is a suburb of Middleton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England....
, a suburb of Middleton
Middleton, Greater Manchester
Middleton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Irk, south-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester...
, north of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, in an Irish working class family. Coogan was raised as a Roman Catholic. He had a happy childhood growing up with four brothers and two sisters, and in addition his parents fostered children on a short-term basis, sometimes accommodating two or three foster children at a time. Coogan had a talent for impersonation, and wanted to go to drama school, despite being advised by a teacher that it could lead to a precarious profession.
He went to five interviews for drama school in London, and then – after gaining confidence by joining a theatre company in Manchester called New Music – gained a place at the Manchester Polytechnic
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
School of Theatre. Coogan's brother Martin was the vocalist and wrote the music for The Mock Turtles
The Mock Turtles
The Mock Turtles are a Manchester based indie rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1985, who enjoyed some success in the early 1990s...
, a successful indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Career
Coogan started out as a comic and mimic in IpswichIpswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, as well as doing voice-over work for adverts and impressions on Spitting Image
Spitting Image
Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
. In 1988, he did impressions of Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
which featured on the Urban label release "Don't Believe the Hype
Don't Believe the Hype
"Don't Believe the Hype" is the second single of Public Enemy's second album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. The song's lyrics are mostly about the political issues that were current in the U.S. at the time of its release. "Don't Believe the Hype" charted at number 18 on the U.S....
" by acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
artist Mista E. The impressions were also used as jingles in 1988/89 on the BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
FM Friday night dance music show Jeff Young's Big Beat.
In 1993 Coogan starred alongside Caroline Aherne
Caroline Aherne
Caroline Mary Aherne is an English comedian and BAFTA winning writer and actress, best known for Mrs Merton and The Royle Family.- Background :...
and John Thomson in a one-off Granada TV
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
sketch show The Dead Good Show.
Alan Partridge
Coogan collaborated with Chris MorrisChris Morris (satirist)
Christopher Morris is an English satirist, writer, director and actor. A former radio DJ, he is best known for anchoring the spoof news and current affairs television programmes The Day Today and Brass Eye, as well as his frequent engagement with controversial subject matter.In 2010 Morris...
and Armando Iannucci
Armando Iannucci
Armando Giovanni Iannucci is a Scottish comedian, satirist, writer, director, performer and radio producer. Born in Glasgow, he studied at Oxford University and left graduate work on a PhD about John Milton to pursue a career in comedy....
, amongst others, on the Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
comedy show On the Hour
On the Hour
On the Hour was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992.Written by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring and David Quantick, it starred Morris as the overzealous and...
, where he helped give birth to his most famous creation, Alan Partridge
Alan Partridge
Alan Gordon Partridge is a fictional radio and television presenter portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan and invented by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring for the BBC Radio 4 programme On The Hour...
. Alan went on to have his own radio show, as well as appearing on TV in The Day Today
The Day Today
The Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs programmes, broadcast in 1994, and created by the comedians Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992...
and his own chat show, Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge
Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge (TV series)
Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge is a BBC Television series of six episodes , and a Christmas special in 1995...
. In 1997, he returned with the sitcom I'm Alan Partridge
I'm Alan Partridge
I'm Alan Partridge is a BBC situation comedy starring Steve Coogan, of which two series of six episodes each were produced — the first in 1997 and the second in 2002...
, which was followed by a second series in 2002.
Partridge is part of Coogan's 2008 stand-up tour, and an Alan Partridge movie is in production.
Other TV roles
Paul Calf first began as a character named 'Duncan Disorderly' in Coogan's early stand-up routines. Calf first came to wider public notice in 1993, with several appearances on Saturday Zoo, a late-night variety show presented by Jonathan RossJonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
on Channel 4. Paul has appeared in two video diaries, an episode of Coogan's Run
Coogan's Run
Coogan's Run was a 1995 UK TV series featuring Steve Coogan as a series of odd characters living in the fictional town of Ottle. It was written by various people including Coogan, Patrick Marber, David Tyler, Graham Linehan, Arthur Mathews, Geoffrey Perkins and Henry Normal...
, and in various stand-up performances. He is an unemployed Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
wastrel with a particular hatred of students. His catchphrase is "Bag o' shit
Shit
Shit is usually considered vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun it refers to fecal matter and as a verb it means to defecate or defecate in; in the plural it means diarrhea...
e".
Paul lives in a council house
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
in the fictional town of Ottle with his mother and his sister, Pauline Calf (also played by Coogan). His father died some time before the first video diary was made. For a long time he was obsessed with getting back together with his ex-girlfriend, Julie. Paul's best friend is "Fat" Bob (played by John Thomson), a car mechanic who eventually married Pauline. Paul supports Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
and is very partial to Wagon Wheels
Wagon Wheels
Wagon Wheels are a snack food sold in Australia, Canada, Iran, United Kingdom, Russia, Malta and the Republic of Ireland. They are biscuits topped with marshmallow and covered in a chocolate flavoured coating. The biscuit itself is round to represent the wheel of a wagon .Wagon Wheels were created...
.
He wears Burton suits, sports a bleached mullet
Mullet (haircut)
The mullet is a hairstyle that is short at the front and sides, and long in the back. . The mullet began to appear in popular media in the 1960s and 1970s but did not become generally well-known until the early 1980s...
and drives a Ford Cortina
Ford Cortina
As the 1960s dawned, BMC were revelling in the success of their new Mini – the first successful true minicar to be built in Britain in the postwar era...
.
Other Coogan creations include Tommy Saxondale, Duncan Thicket, and Portuguese Eurovision winner Tony Ferrino. Duncan Thicket has appeared in a tour of live shows. Other TV shows he has starred in include Coogan's Run, Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible
Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible
Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible is a British television series, created by Graham Duff, co-written by and starring Steve Coogan. Originally aired on BBC2 in 2001, the programme was designed as an anthology series, in the style of Tales from the Crypt, and lampooned many aspects of the horror...
, Monkey Trousers
Monkey Trousers
Monkey Trousers was a short-lived comedy series on ITV in 2005, featuring Alistair McGowan, John Thomson, Ronni Ancona, Mackenzie Crook, Griff Rhys Jones, Neil Morrissey, Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Marc Wootton and Steve Coogan...
and Saxondale
Saxondale
Saxondale is a British television situation comedy programme, starring Steve Coogan and co-written by Steve Coogan and Neil Maclennan. The series is directed by Matt Lipsey and produced by Ted Dowd. Coogan and Henry Normal served as executive producers...
. Coogan has provided voices for the animated series I Am Not an Animal
I Am Not an Animal
I Am Not an Animal is an animated comedy series telling the tale of highly intelligent animals rescued from a vivisectionist laboratory and forced to live on their own. The series was made and directed by Peter Baynham. It was produced by Baby Cow Productions and ran on BBC2 in the United Kingdom...
and Bob and Margaret
Bob and Margaret
Bob and Margaret was a Canadian/UK animated television series that was also shown in the United States and all over the world. The series was produced by Nelvana, a Toronto animation studio, and created by Canadian David Fine and Brit Alison Snowden...
, the one-off BBC2 comedy about sheep Combat Sheep, two Christmas specials starring Robbie the Reindeer
Robbie the Reindeer
Robbie the Reindeer is a series of three animated comedy television specials shown on BBC One at Christmas, filmed in aid of Comic Relief. Written by Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley, the programmes are based on the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, with Robbie as Rudolph's son and the tenth of...
, and an episode of the BBC Radio Four spoof sci-fi series Nebulous
Nebulous
Nebulous is a post apocalyptic science fiction comedy radio show written by Graham Duff and produced by Ted Dowd from Baby Cow Productions; it is directed by Nicholas Briggs. The series premiered in the United Kingdom on BBC Radio 4...
.
During the 1989 series of The Krypton Factor
The Krypton Factor
The Krypton Factor was a British game show produced by Granada Television for broadcast on ITV. The show originally ran from 7 September 1977 to 20 November 1995, and was hosted by Gordon Burns and usually broadcast on the ITV network on Mondays at 19:00....
, Coogan was invited to participate in a series of mini-movies for the observation round.
He starred in BBC2's The Private Life of Samuel Pepys
The Private Life of Samuel Pepys
The Private Life of Samuel Pepys is a 2003 British comedy television film directed by Oliver Parker and starring Steve Coogan, Lou Doillon and Nathaniel Parker. It portrayed the historical diarist Samuel Pepys. It was aired on BBC2 on 16 December 2003, drawing an audience of 2.9 million...
in 2003, and Cruise of the Gods
Cruise of the Gods
Cruise of the Gods was a one-off comedy/drama produced by Baby Cow Productions for the BBC. It starred Rob Brydon, Steve Coogan, David Walliams and James Corden...
in 2002. In 2006, he had a cameo in the Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
Christmas special as a pilot taking Lou and Andy to Disneyland. In 2007, Coogan played a psychiatrist on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
, and in 2008, starred in the BBC1 drama Sunshine
Sunshine (UK TV series)
Sunshine is a three-part comedy drama that began on 7 October 2008 on BBC1 from the co-writers of The Royle Family and Early Doors. These co-writers, Craig Cash and Phil Mealey, also appear in the series.-Plot:...
.
In 2010, he reunited with actor Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...
and director Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom is a prolific English filmmaker who has directed seventeen feature films in the past fifteen years. He began his career working in British television before moving into features...
(both of whom he had worked with on the 2006 film A Cock and Bull Story
A Cock and Bull Story
A Cock and Bull Story is a 2006 British comedy film directed by Michael Winterbottom...
(see Film Roles below)), for the partially improvised BBC2 sitcom The Trip
The Trip (2010 TV series)
The Trip is a BAFTA award-winning television sitcom series which was first broadcast on BBC Two and BBC HD in the United Kingdom. The series stars Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as fictionalised versions of themselves undertaking a restaurant tour of northern England.The six episode series, which is...
, in which he and Brydon do a tour of northern restaurants, which he is writing up for the Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
. The Trip was nominated for a 2011 Television BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy, and Coogan won Best Male Performance in a Comedy Role.
He provided the voices of Philip Masterson-Bowie (a horse) and Mark Andrews (a sparrow) for animated comedy series I Am Not an Animal
I Am Not an Animal
I Am Not an Animal is an animated comedy series telling the tale of highly intelligent animals rescued from a vivisectionist laboratory and forced to live on their own. The series was made and directed by Peter Baynham. It was produced by Baby Cow Productions and ran on BBC2 in the United Kingdom...
. He was also the voice of Satan on Neighbors from Hell
Neighbors from Hell
Neighbours from Hell is a strategy video game for Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Windows, and Xbox. In Europe, it was released for Windows on June 20, 2003, and the GameCube and Xbox on March 4, 2005...
.
Film roles
Notable film roles include Factory RecordsFactory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...
boss Tony Wilson
Tony Wilson
Anthony Howard Wilson, commonly known as Tony Wilson , was an English record label owner, radio presenter, TV show host, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC....
in the film 24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom...
, Mole in Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
' The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)
The Wind in the Willows, released on video in the U.S. as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, is a 1996 adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic novel The Wind in the Willows , although it differs substantially from the novel...
, Phileas Fogg
Phileas Fogg
Phileas Fogg is the main fictional character in the 1873 Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days.Fogg attempts to circumnavigate the late Victorian world in eighty days, or less, for a wager of £20,000 with members of London's Reform Club. He takes the wager and leaves with Passepartout,...
in a remake of Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
's Around the World in 80 Days
Around the World in 80 Days (2004 film)
Around the World in 80 Days is a 2004 American comedy adventure film based on Jules Verne's novel of the same name. It stars Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan and Cécile de France. The film is set in 19th-century Britain and centers on Phileas Fogg , here reimagined as an eccentric inventor, and his...
with Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
, Ambassador Mercy
Florimond Claude, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau
Florimond Claude, comte de Mercy-Argenteau was an Austrian diplomat.He was the son of Antoine, comte de Mercy-Argenteau, and entered the diplomatic service of Austria going to Paris in the train of Reichsfürst Kaunitz...
in Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette (2006 film)
Marie Antoinette is a 2006 biographical film, written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It is very loosely based on the life of the Queen consort in the years leading up to the French Revolution. It won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design...
, Bruce Tick in Sweet Revenge
Sweet Revenge (1998 film)
Sweet Revenge is a 1998 British comedy film written and directed by Malcolm Mowbray. The screenplay is based on the epic two-part play The Revengers' Comedies by Alan Ayckbourn....
, and Octavius in Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum is a 2006 fantasy adventure-comedy film based on the 1993 children's book The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc. It follows a divorced father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny...
. He has also played himself three times on screen. First, in one of the vignettes of Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch
James R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
's 2003 film Coffee and Cigarettes
Coffee and Cigarettes
Coffee and Cigarettes is the title of three short films and a 2003 feature film by independent director Jim Jarmusch. The 2003 film consists of 11 short stories which share coffee and cigarettes as a common thread, and includes the earlier three films....
, alongside Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina is a British-born American actor. He first came to public attention in the UK for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears...
. Second, in 2006 Coogan starred with Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...
in Michael Winterbottom's
Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom is a prolific English filmmaker who has directed seventeen feature films in the past fifteen years. He began his career working in British television before moving into features...
A Cock and Bull Story
A Cock and Bull Story
A Cock and Bull Story is a 2006 British comedy film directed by Michael Winterbottom...
, a self-referential film of the "unfilmable" self-referential novel Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne
Laurence Sterne
Laurence Sterne was an Irish novelist and an Anglican clergyman. He is best known for his novels The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, and A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy; but he also published many sermons, wrote memoirs, and was involved in local politics...
. In the film, Coogan plays a fictional, womanizing version of himself. Thirdly he played himself in the 2010 film The Trip
The Trip (2010 film)
The Trip is a British comedy film, edited from the BAFTA award-winning television sitcom series of the same name. The film stars Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as fictionalised versions of themselves undertaking a restaurant tour of northern England. It premiered at the Toronto International Film...
.
The first film, which he co-wrote with Henry Normal
Henry Normal
Henry Normal is an English comedian, television producer, poet and writer. He is Managing Director of Baby Cow Productions Ltd which he set up with Steve Coogan....
, was The Parole Officer
The Parole Officer
The Parole Officer is a 2001 film, directed by John Duigan and was the first feature film to star comedian Steve Coogan. The film follows a mismatched group of former criminals as they assist their probation officer in proving his innocence after a murder accusation.-Plot:Simon Garden is a...
. He also acted in this alongside Ben Miller and Lena Headey
Lena Headey
Lena Headey is an English actress. Headey's performance in a one-off show when she was 17 caught the attention of a casting agent, who took a photo and asked her to audition and eventually she got a supporting role alongside Jeremy Irons and Ethan Hawke in the 1992 British drama film Waterland and...
. Coogan has an uncredited cameo in Hot Fuzz
Hot Fuzz
Hot Fuzz is a 2007 British action dark comedy film written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost. The three had previously worked together on the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead as well as the television series Spaced...
, scripted by Shaun of the Dead
Shaun of the Dead
Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 British zombie comedy directed by Edgar Wright, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and written by Pegg and Wright. Pegg plays Shaun, a man attempting to get some kind of focus in his life as he deals with his girlfriend, his mother and stepfather...
writers Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
and Edgar Wright
Edgar Wright
Edgar Howard Wright is an English film and television director and writer. He is most famous for his work with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost on the films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, the TV series Spaced, and for directing the film Scott Pilgrim vs...
. He stars as a failed actor turned high school drama teacher in the 2008 film Hamlet 2
Hamlet 2
Hamlet 2 is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Andrew Fleming, written by Fleming and Pam Brady, and starring Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, and David Arquette. It was produced by Eric Eisner, Leonid Rozhetskin, and Aaron Ryder. Hamlet 2 was filmed primarily at a high school in...
and had a role in Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder is a 2008 American action satire comedy film written, produced, and directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., and Jack Black. The main plot revolves around a group of prima donna actors who are making a Vietnam War film...
, playing the inexperienced director. It was announced on 8 August 2007, that he is also to star in a film adaptation of the life of Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, which is still in pre-production.
In 2009, he also starred as a lying reporter in What Goes Up with Olivia Thirlby, Molly Shannon
Molly Shannon
Molly Helen Shannon is an American comic actress best known for her work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995–2001 and for starring in the films Superstar and Year of the Dog. More recently, she starred in NBC's Kath & Kim from 2008–2009 and on the TBS animated series Neighbors from...
and Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...
. Also recently, he appeared in Finding Amanda
Finding Amanda
Finding Amanda is a 2008 comedy film directed by Peter Tolan and starring Matthew Broderick and Brittany Snow. The plot revolves around a television producer with a penchant for drinking and gambling, who is sent to Las Vegas to convince his troubled niece to enter rehabilitation.Finding Amanda was...
alongside Brittany Snow and Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his...
, returned as Octavius in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is an American adventure comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, and starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, and Steve Coogan. The film is a sequel to Night at the Museum...
, and played Hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is a 2010 fantasy-adventure film directed by Chris Columbus. The film is loosely based on The Lightning Thief, the first novel in the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series by Rick Riordan...
.
Achievements
Coogan's show Steve Coogan in character with John Thomson was winner of the Perrier award for best show at the 1992 Edinburgh Fringe. He has won numerous awards for his work in TV including British Comedy AwardsBritish Comedy Awards
The British Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year.-History:...
, BAFTAs, and The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show was a television arts magazine show, originally made by London Weekend Television , presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast on ITV and seen in over 60 countries worldwide — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States...
award for comedy. In 2003, he was listed in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2005, a poll to find The Comedians' Comedian saw him being voted amongst the top 20 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.
Comeback to stand-up comedy
In March 2008, it was confirmed that Coogan would return to doing stand-up comedy as part of his first stand-up tour in ten years. The tour, named "Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge and other less successful characters", saw the return of some of his old characters including Paul Calf and Alan Partridge. Reviews of the opening night were mixed with many very unfavourable. and such reviews continued as the tour progressed. Much of the criticism focused on the apparent unrehearsed quality of much of Coogan's performance. Chortle comedy guide wrote "Steve Coogan’s stage comeback after ten years is most definitely a show of two halves: the superlative Alan Partridge plus a collection of characters that are not only less successful, but woefully less funny."Production work
Coogan, along with writing partner Henry NormalHenry Normal
Henry Normal is an English comedian, television producer, poet and writer. He is Managing Director of Baby Cow Productions Ltd which he set up with Steve Coogan....
, founded Baby Cow Productions
Baby Cow Productions
Baby Cow Productions Ltd is a UK comedy television production company established in 1999 by Steve Coogan and Henry Normal based in London and Manchester. It has since diversified into radio, animation and film. In 2008, BBC Worldwide bought a 25% stake in the company...
in 1999. Together they are the executive producers for such shows as The Mighty Boosh
The Mighty Boosh
The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six episode radio series, it has since spawned a total of twenty television episodes for BBC Three and two live tours of the UK, as well as two live shows in the...
, starring Noel Fielding
Noel Fielding
Noel Fielding is a British artist, comedian and actor. He is known for his roles as Vince Noir in The Mighty Boosh, which he co-writes with comedy partner Julian Barratt, and as team captain on the music panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks.-Stand-up comedy:Noel Fielding performed regularly as a...
and Julian Barratt
Julian Barratt
Julian Barratt is an English comedian, musician, music producer and actor. Barratt is best known for playing the character of Howard Moon in the cult comedy The Mighty Boosh, which he also co-writes with comedy partner, Noel Fielding.-The Mighty Boosh:Barratt stars as the character Howard Moon...
, Nighty Night
Nighty Night
Nighty Night is a British dark comedy sitcom written by and starring Julia Davis. It was first broadcast on 6 January 2004 on BBC Three before moving to BBC2....
, starring Julia Davis
Julia Davis
Julia Davis is an English comedy writer and performer, best known for writing and starring in the BBC Three comedy Nighty Night.-Background:...
, Marion and Geoff
Marion and Geoff
Marion and Geoff is a BBC television mockumentary, produced by Baby Cow Productions and screened on BBC Two in 2000, with a second series following in 2003. The series starred Rob Brydon as Keith Barret, a naïve taxicab driver going through a messy divorce from his wife, Marion, who, though he...
, starring Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...
, and Human Remains, starring Davis and Brydon. Baby Cow Productions' latest venture is Where Are the Joneses, an online sitcom which uses wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
technology to allow the audience to upload scripts and storyline ideas.
In the media
Coogan said he "liked to keep himself private", adding; "I have never wanted to be famous, as such - fame is a by-product,"He has been a popular target of the British tabloid press
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
since 1996, whom he stated have subjected him to entrapment
Entrapment
In criminal law, entrapment is conduct by a law enforcement agent inducing a person to commit an offense that the person would otherwise have been unlikely to commit. In many jurisdictions, entrapment is a possible defense against criminal liability...
and blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
, printed obvious falsehoods about him , also targeting his family and friends in attempts to extract stories from them.
Coogan in some cases gave a strong denial to allegations, but in others did not contest them because he wanted to shield vulnerable friends from from adverse publicity.
The tabloids also published intrusive information about his relationships and the schooling of his child. Coogan has also been critical of the broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
press, saying they have colluded with the tabloids in the interests of selling newspapers. In 2005 he said "The Guardian tends to have its cake and eat it. It waits for the tabloids to dish the dirt and then it talks about the tabloids dishing the dirt while enjoying it themselves."
However Coogan later gave credit to the same newspaper for its investigation of the phone hacking scandal.
Coogan said that because of the persistent intrusion into his private life, the press had effectively made him "immune" to further attack, as his "closet is empty of skeletons".
Phone hacking
Coogan became a prominent figure in the News International phone hacking scandal as one of the celebrities who took action against the British tabloids in light of these events. He was made aware by his phone service providerTelecommunications Service Provider
A telecommunications service provider or TSP is a type of communications service provider that has traditionally provided telephone and similar services...
of "possible anomalies" on his phone around the time in 2005 and 2006 In 2010 Coogan's legal firm obtained a partially redacted
Sanitization (classified information)
Sanitization is the process of removing sensitive information from a document or other medium, so that it may be distributed to a broader audience. When dealing with classified information, sanitization attempts to reduce the document's classification level, possibly yielding an unclassified...
version of Glenn Mulcaire
Glenn Mulcaire
Glenn Mulcaire, born September 8, 1970, is a former professional footballer, latterly a private investigator. He has been closely associated with the News International phone hacking scandal. In January 2007 he was found guilty of illegally intercepting phone messages from Clarence House and...
's hacking
Hacking
Hacking may refer to:* Computer hacking, including the following types of activity:** Hacker , activity within the computer programmer subculture** Hacker , to access computer networks, legally or otherwise...
notebook by a court order
Court order
A court order is an official proclamation by a judge that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out of certain steps by one or more parties to a case...
which showed Coogan had been targeted and his personal information was in the possession of Mulcaire.
Mulcaire was forced by the High Court of Justice
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
to disclose to Coogan's legal team who amongst the staff at the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
ordered him to hack phones. This information was obtained by Coogan's lawyers on the 26th August 2011.
Interviewed on Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
on 8 July 2011, Coogan said he was "delighted" by the closure of the News of the World and said it was a "fantastic day for journalism". He said the idea of press freedom was used by the tabloids as a "smokescreen for selling papers with tittle-tattle" and said the argument against press regulation was "morally bankrupt
Moral bankruptcy
Moral bankruptcy is a synonym for immorality that has gained popular usage in the fields of business and politics, in which it specifically implies some instance of political corruption or corporate crime...
"
Coogan provided an 8-page witness statement to the Leveson Inquiry
Leveson Inquiry
The Leveson Inquiry is an ongoing public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal. On 6 July 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron announced to Parliament that a public government inquiry would convene to further...
and appeared at the inquiry on on November 22, 2011 to discuss the evidence. He said he was there reluctantly representing a lot of celebrities who felt they could not speak out for fear of reprisals from the tabloid press.
Personal life
One Coogan's brothers, BrendanBrendan Coogan
Brendan Coogan is a British television presenter, from Middleton, Lancashire, best known for previously presenting Top Gear on the BBC. His brothers are actor-comedian Steve Coogan and former Mock Turtles frontman Martin Coogan....
, is a former Top Gear presenter, and another, Martin, was the lead singer of the early 1990s band The Mock Turtles
The Mock Turtles
The Mock Turtles are a Manchester based indie rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1985, who enjoyed some success in the early 1990s...
. All the brothers attended the Cardinal Langley RC High School.
Coogan married Caroline Hickman in 2002,the couple divorced in 2005. He lives in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
to be close to Clare, his daughter from a previous relationship.
On the commentary for Series 2 of I'm Alan Partridge, Coogan states that he is a socialist who enjoys paying taxes, whilst discussing the eponymous character's investigation by the Inland Revenue.
Coogan reportedly has a wealth of £5 million and supports the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
A well noted car enthusiast, he has had a succession of Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
s, but stopped buying them after realising that the depreciation and running costs were greater than hiring a private plane. He helped Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
test a Ferrari 575M against an Aston Martin Vanquish S on the fifth series of Top Gear. Coogan drives one of the final air-cooled Porsche 911
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is a luxury 2-door sports coupe made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a distinctive design, rear-engined and with independent rear suspension, an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. The engine was also air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998...
Carrera 4s
Porsche 993
The Porsche 993 is the company's internal name for the version of the Porsche 911 model manufactured and sold between late 1993 and early 1998, replacing the 964...
.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Resurrected Resurrected (film) Resurrected is a 1989 drama film starring David Thewlis based on the story of the British soldier Philip Williams, who is presumed dead and left behind in the Falklands but is accused of desertion when he reappears seven weeks after the Falklands War ends. The film was written by Martin Allen and... |
Youth 2 | |
| 1995 | The Indian in the Cupboard The Indian in the Cupboard (film) The Indian in the Cupboard is a 1995 American fantasy film based on the children's book of the same name by Lynne Reid Banks. The story is about a boy who receives a cupboard as a gift on his ninth birthday... |
Tommy Atkins | |
| 1996 | The Wind in the Willows The Wind in the Willows (1996 film) The Wind in the Willows, released on video in the U.S. as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, is a 1996 adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic novel The Wind in the Willows , although it differs substantially from the novel... |
Mole | |
| 1998 | Alice Through the Looking Glass | Gnat | |
| 1998 | Sweet Revenge Sweet Revenge (1998 film) Sweet Revenge is a 1998 British comedy film written and directed by Malcolm Mowbray. The screenplay is based on the epic two-part play The Revengers' Comedies by Alan Ayckbourn.... |
Bruce Tick | |
| 2001 | The Parole Officer The Parole Officer The Parole Officer is a 2001 film, directed by John Duigan and was the first feature film to star comedian Steve Coogan. The film follows a mismatched group of former criminals as they assist their probation officer in proving his innocence after a murder accusation.-Plot:Simon Garden is a... |
Simon Garden | Also Writer Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer -Best British Director, Producer or Writer in the First Film:*2006 - Red Road - Andrea Arnold**Black Sun – Gary Tarn**Pierrepoint – Christine Langan**London to Brighton – Paul Andrew Williams... |
| 2002 | 24 Hour Party People 24 Hour Party People 24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom... |
Tony Wilson Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson, commonly known as Tony Wilson , was an English record label owner, radio presenter, TV show host, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC.... |
Nominated – Empire Award for Best British Actor Empire Awards An Empire Award is an accolade bestowed by Empire, Britain's biggest selling film magazine, to recognize excellence of professionals in the locale and global film industry. The awards are voted for by readers of the magazine and in an annual ceremony, the Empire Awards, the winners are presented... Nominated – Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Breakthrough Performance The Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Breakthrough Performance is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best breakthrough performance of the year.-Winners:... |
| 2003 | Coffee and Cigarettes Coffee and Cigarettes Coffee and Cigarettes is the title of three short films and a 2003 feature film by independent director Jim Jarmusch. The 2003 film consists of 11 short stories which share coffee and cigarettes as a common thread, and includes the earlier three films.... |
Steve | Segment: Cousins? |
| 2004 | Ella Enchanted Ella Enchanted (film) Ella Enchanted is a 2004 British-American romantic-comedy film loosely based on Gail Carson Levine's 1997 novel of the same name. The film stars Anne Hathaway as Ella and Hugh Dancy as Prince Charmont. It plays with the usual fairy-tale genre... |
Heston the snake | Voice Only |
| Around the World in 80 Days Around the World in 80 Days (2004 film) Around the World in 80 Days is a 2004 American comedy adventure film based on Jules Verne's novel of the same name. It stars Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan and Cécile de France. The film is set in 19th-century Britain and centers on Phileas Fogg , here reimagined as an eccentric inventor, and his... |
Phileas Fogg Phileas Fogg Phileas Fogg is the main fictional character in the 1873 Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days.Fogg attempts to circumnavigate the late Victorian world in eighty days, or less, for a wager of £20,000 with members of London's Reform Club. He takes the wager and leaves with Passepartout,... |
||
| 2005 | Happy Endings | Charley | Nominated – Satellite Award for Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical |
| A Cock and Bull Story A Cock and Bull Story A Cock and Bull Story is a 2006 British comedy film directed by Michael Winterbottom... |
Tristram Shandy/ Walter Shandy/ Steve Coogan | ||
| 2006 | The Alibi The Alibi The Alibi is a 2006 American film written by Noah Hawley and directed by Matt Checkowski and Kurt Mattila. The film was released to DVD on December 5, 2006 under the title Lies and Alibis.-Plot:... |
Ray Elliot | |
| Night at the Museum Night at the Museum Night at the Museum is a 2006 fantasy adventure-comedy film based on the 1993 children's book The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc. It follows a divorced father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny... |
Octavius | ||
| Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (2006 film) Marie Antoinette is a 2006 biographical film, written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It is very loosely based on the life of the Queen consort in the years leading up to the French Revolution. It won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design... |
Ambassador Mercy Florimond Claude, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau Florimond Claude, comte de Mercy-Argenteau was an Austrian diplomat.He was the son of Antoine, comte de Mercy-Argenteau, and entered the diplomatic service of Austria going to Paris in the train of Reichsfürst Kaunitz... |
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| 2006-2007 | Saxondale Saxondale Saxondale is a British television situation comedy programme, starring Steve Coogan and co-written by Steve Coogan and Neil Maclennan. The series is directed by Matt Lipsey and produced by Ted Dowd. Coogan and Henry Normal served as executive producers... |
Tommy Saxondale | |
| 2007 | For the Love of God For the Love of God (animation) For the Love of God is a 2007 award-winning short animation starring Steve Coogan and Ian McKellen, directed by Joe Tucker.... |
Graham | |
| Hot Fuzz Hot Fuzz Hot Fuzz is a 2007 British action dark comedy film written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost. The three had previously worked together on the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead as well as the television series Spaced... |
Metropolitan Police Inspector | Uncredited | |
| 2008 | Finding Amanda Finding Amanda Finding Amanda is a 2008 comedy film directed by Peter Tolan and starring Matthew Broderick and Brittany Snow. The plot revolves around a television producer with a penchant for drinking and gambling, who is sent to Las Vegas to convince his troubled niece to enter rehabilitation.Finding Amanda was... |
Michael Henry | |
| Tales of the Riverbank Tales of the Riverbank Tales of the Riverbank, sometimes called Hammy Hamster, is a Canadian children's television show starring Hammy Hamster and other animals.... |
Roderick | Voice Only | |
| Tropic Thunder Tropic Thunder Tropic Thunder is a 2008 American action satire comedy film written, produced, and directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., and Jack Black. The main plot revolves around a group of prima donna actors who are making a Vietnam War film... |
Damien Cockburn | ||
| Hamlet 2 Hamlet 2 Hamlet 2 is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Andrew Fleming, written by Fleming and Pam Brady, and starring Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, and David Arquette. It was produced by Eric Eisner, Leonid Rozhetskin, and Aaron Ryder. Hamlet 2 was filmed primarily at a high school in... |
Dana Marschz | ||
| 2009 | What Goes Up | Campbell Babbitt | Also Producer |
| In the Loop In the Loop (film) In the Loop is a 2009 British satirical black comedy film directed by Armando Iannucci. It is based on the BBC Television series The Thick of It satirising Anglo-American politics in the 21st century and the Invasion of Iraq... |
Paul Michaelson | Chlotrudis Award for Best Cast Chlotrudis Award for Best Cast The Chlotrudis Award for Best Cast is an award given by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film to the ensemble cast that is voted as the best by participating members. The Chlotrudis Awards is an annual ceremony where the best of the previous year's independent and international film are... |
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| Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian | Octavius | ||
| 2010 | Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is a 2010 fantasy-adventure film directed by Chris Columbus. The film is loosely based on The Lightning Thief, the first novel in the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series by Rick Riordan... |
Hades Hades Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades... |
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| The Other Guys The Other Guys The Other Guys is a 2010 American action comedy film directed and co-written by Adam McKay, starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, and featuring Dwayne Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Eva Mendes, Steve Coogan, and Ray Stevenson... |
David Ershon | ||
| Marmaduke Marmaduke (film) Marmaduke is an American live action film adaptation of Brad Anderson's comic strip Marmaduke. The film centers on a rural Kansas family and their pets – a Great Dane named Marmaduke and a Balinese cat named Carlos – as the family relocates to California.-Plot:Marmaduke is a Great Dane living in... |
Raisin | Voice Only | |
| 2011 | The Trip | Steve Coogan | Limited Release |
| Our Idiot Brother | Dylan |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Nominated For | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | In Character With John Thompson | Perrier Comedy Award | Best Comedy Show | |
| 1994 | Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge (TV series) Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge is a BBC Television series of six episodes , and a Christmas special in 1995... |
British Comedy Awards British Comedy Awards The British Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year.-History:... |
Best Male TV Performer | |
| 1995 | Pauline Calf's Wedding Video | BAFTAs | Best Comedy Performance | |
| 1995 | Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge | BAFTAs | Best Light Entertainment Performance | |
| 1998 | I'm Alan Partridge I'm Alan Partridge I'm Alan Partridge is a BBC situation comedy starring Steve Coogan, of which two series of six episodes each were produced — the first in 1997 and the second in 2002... |
British Comedy Awards | Best TV Comedy Actor | |
| 1998 | I'm Alan Partridge | BAFTAs | Best Comedy Performance | |
| 1998 | I'm Alan Partridge | BAFTAs | Best Comedy (Programme or Series) | |
| 2002 | The Parole Officer The Parole Officer The Parole Officer is a 2001 film, directed by John Duigan and was the first feature film to star comedian Steve Coogan. The film follows a mismatched group of former criminals as they assist their probation officer in proving his innocence after a murder accusation.-Plot:Simon Garden is a... |
BAFTAs | BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer -Best British Director, Producer or Writer in the First Film:*2006 - Red Road - Andrea Arnold**Black Sun – Gary Tarn**Pierrepoint – Christine Langan**London to Brighton – Paul Andrew Williams... |
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| 2003 | Cruise of the Gods | British Comedy Awards | Best TV Comedy Actor | |
| 2003 | I'm Alan Partridge | BAFTAs | Best Comedy Performance | |
| 2003 | I'm Alan Partridge | Royal Television Society Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world... |
Best Comedy Performance | |
| 2003 | 24 Hour Party People 24 Hour Party People 24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom... |
Empire Awards Empire Awards An Empire Award is an accolade bestowed by Empire, Britain's biggest selling film magazine, to recognize excellence of professionals in the locale and global film industry. The awards are voted for by readers of the magazine and in an annual ceremony, the Empire Awards, the winners are presented... |
Best British Actor | |
| 2003 | 24 Hour Party People | Online Film Critics Society Online Film Critics Society The Online Film Critics Society is a professional association for film critics who publish their reviews, interviews, and essays on the Internet.The OFCS was founded in 1997... |
Best Breakthrough Performance | |
| 2005 | Happy Endings | Satellite Award | Best Supporting Actor | |
| 2010 | In the Loop In the Loop (film) In the Loop is a 2009 British satirical black comedy film directed by Armando Iannucci. It is based on the BBC Television series The Thick of It satirising Anglo-American politics in the 21st century and the Invasion of Iraq... |
Chlotrudis Award Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film The Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film is a Boston-area non-profit organization that teaches audiences to view films actively through discussion, formal and informal education, discourse, film festivals, special screenings and collaboration. Their focus is on international and independent film... |
Best Cast Chlotrudis Award for Best Cast The Chlotrudis Award for Best Cast is an award given by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film to the ensemble cast that is voted as the best by participating members. The Chlotrudis Awards is an annual ceremony where the best of the previous year's independent and international film are... |
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| 2011 | The Trip The Trip (2010 TV series) The Trip is a BAFTA award-winning television sitcom series which was first broadcast on BBC Two and BBC HD in the United Kingdom. The series stars Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as fictionalised versions of themselves undertaking a restaurant tour of northern England.The six episode series, which is... |
BAFTAs | Best Male Comedy Performance |
Awards and Nominations sourced from IMDb
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0176869/awards 2/12/2010
Stand-up VHS and DVDs
- Live 'N' Lewd (7 November 1994)
- Live – The Man Who Thinks He's It (9 November 1998)
- As Alan Partridge And Other Less Successful Characters – Live (30 November 2009)