Stephen Mangan

Stephen James Mangan (born 16 May 1968)[1] is an English actor, writer, comedian and presenter. He has played Guy Secretan in Green Wing, Dan Moody in I'm Alan Partridge, Sean Lincoln in Episodes, Bigwig in Watership Down, Postman Pat in Postman Pat: The Movie, Richard Pitt in Hang Ups and Andrew in Bliss (2018).

Stephen Mangan
Stephen Mangan in 2011
Born
Stephen James Mangan

(1968-05-16) 16 May 1968
Alma mater
OccupationActor, writer, comedian and presenter
Years active1994–present
Spouse(s)
(m. 2007)
Children3

As a stage actor, he was Tony-nominated for his portrayal of Norman in The Norman Conquests on Broadway. He also starred as Bertie Wooster in Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense at the Duke of York's Theatre, which won the 2014 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.[2] He also presented Children In Need 2020 for the BBC.

Early life and education

Mangan was born in Ponders End, in Enfield, north London, to Irish parents.[3] He has two sisters, Anita and Lisa.[4]

Mangan was educated at two Independent schools, Lochinver House School for boys in Potters Bar, and Haileybury and Imperial Service College (now co-educational), a boarding school in the village of Hertford Heath (in Hertfordshire). He was in a school prog rock band called Aragon, who recorded an album called The Wizard's Dream.[5]

After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Law at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, Mangan took a year out to care for his mother, Mary, who died of colon cancer at age 45. Weeks after her death, he auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and went on to study there for three years. His father, James, died of a brain tumour at age 63;[6] his cousin-in-law also died of a brain tumour in 2019. Mangan backed the 2020 National Brain Appeal's a charity supporting research at the National Brain Hospital, with a unique online art gallery exhibition sale.[7][8]

Career

Theatre

After graduating from RADA in 1994, Mangan did not pursue lead roles on-screen, preferring to take what he saw as the less limited opportunities on the stage. Between 1994 and 2000, he performed in plays throughout the UK and the West End[9] before joining the theatre company Cheek by Jowl for an international tour of Much Ado About Nothing, earning him a nomination for a National Theatre Ian Charleson Award. He worked again for director Declan Donnellan at the Royal Shakespeare Company in School for Scandal, and at the Savoy Theatre in Hay Fever.

In 2008 he played the title role in The Norman Conquests, directed by Matthew Warchus, at The Old Vic and then at the Circle in the Square on Broadway.[10] The production was a huge critical success earning several Tony Award nominations, including one for Mangan himself[11] and won the Tony Award for Best Revival.

In 2012 he appeared at the Royal Court in a Joe Penhall play, Birthday, directed by Roger Michell,[12] playing a pregnant man.

Mangan starred as Bertie Wooster in Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense at the Duke of York's Theatre[13] alongside Matthew Macfadyen as Jeeves from October 2013 until they were replaced by Mark Heap and Robert Webb in April 2014.[14] The production won the 2014 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.[2]

Television

Mangan's breakthrough television performance was as Adrian Mole in the six-part BBC TV show series Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years in 2001.[15] That same year he appeared in Sword of Honour on Channel 4, alongside Daniel Craig.

In 2002, he appeared as Dan Moody in the I'm Alan Partridge episode "Bravealan". A scene where Alan repeatedly shouts "Dan!" at Dan from a distance in a car park, while Dan seems not to notice him, was named the second best moment from the series by Metro,[16] and in 2014 Mangan said that he has "Dan!" shouted at him by passers-by almost every day.[17]

Mangan played Guy Secretan in the BAFTA-winning British sitcom Green Wing. In Channel 4's The World's Greatest Comedy Characters, Guy was voted 34th. He starred as Keith in Never Better, a British television sitcom on BBC Two. He plays a recovering alcoholic Keith Merchant and Kate Ashfield is his long-suffering wife Anita. The series was written by Fintan Ryan for World Productions.[18]

In 2009, Free Agents, a romantic black comedy starred Mangan, Sharon Horgan and Anthony Head. Originally a pilot for Channel 4 in November 2007, the series began on 13 February 2009.[19] It spawned a short lived US remake, which was cancelled after just four episodes aired, although four more were later released on Hulu.

He played the title role in Dirk Gently, a British comedy detective drama TV series based on characters from the Dirk Gently novels by Douglas Adams. The series was created by Howard Overman and co-starred Darren Boyd as his sidekick Richard MacDuff. Recurring actors included Helen Baxendale as MacDuff's girlfriend Susan Harmison, Jason Watkins as Dirk's nemesis DI Gilks and Lisa Jackson as Dirk's receptionist Janice Pearce. Unlike most detective series Dirk Gently featured broadly comic touches and even some science fiction themes such as time travel and artificial intelligence. He has said that he was "bitterly upset" at the BBC's axing of the series after four episodes due to a freeze on the licence fee.[20] The four episodes of Dirk Gently were later released on the BritBox streaming service.

He played the title role in "The Hunt for Tony Blair", a one-off episode of The Comic Strip Presents..., a British television comedy, which was first shown on Channel 4 on 14 October 2011. The 60-minute film was written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens and presented in the style of a 1950s film noir. It stars Mangan as the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is wanted for murder and on the run as a fugitive. The film received its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in August 2011. It first aired on Channel 4 on 14 October 2011; it received a mostly positive reaction from reviewers, and was nominated for a BAFTA award (Best Comedy Programme 2012) and the British Comedy Awards (Best Comedy Drama 2011).[21][22]

He appeared in Episodes, a British/American television comedy series created by David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik and produced by Hat Trick Productions.[23] It premiered on Showtime in the United States on 9 January 2011 at 9:30 pm[24] and on BBC Two in the UK on 10 January 2011.[23]

The show is about a British husband-and-wife comedy writing team who travel to Hollywood to remake their successful British TV series, with disastrous results. On 11 December 2013, it was announced that Showtime had renewed Episodes for a fourth season.[25] Episodes has received positive reviews by critics,[26] with many singling out Mangan, Tamsin Greig, and Matt LeBlanc's performances.[27]

In 2018, Mangan played the lead role in a black comedy TV series Bliss, created by American comedian David Cross, which was aired on Sky One[28] and released by the BritBox streaming service. Bliss stars Mangan as Andrew, a fraudulent travel writer, who is struggling to maintain long-term relationships with two partners, Kim (Heather Graham) and Denise (Jo Hartley), who are not aware of one another.[29][30]

He co-wrote and starred in Hang Ups for Channel 4. The show had an all-star cast, including David Tennant, Catherine Parkinson, Charles Dance and Richard E. Grant. It received rave reviews and was nominated for two major awards.

Also in 2018, Mangan starred in the legal drama The Split opposite Nicola Walker. He reprised this role in the second series in 2020.

It was announced that Mangan will be hosting alongside Mel Giedroyc, Alex Scott and Chris Ramsey for the 2020 Children in Need appeal.

Film

Mangan's first film part was as Doctor Crane in Billy Elliot. He played French cabaret singer Pierre Dupont in the cult film Chunky Monkey alongside David Threlfall and Alison Steadman. He appeared in the Miramax film Birthday Girl, starring Nicole Kidman and Vincent Cassel.

He appeared opposite Keira Knightley in the 2002 short New Year's Eve, and played the leading role in SuperTex (2003), a Dutch film, filmed in English and directed by Jan Schütte. He played a comedian in Festival is a 2005 British black comedy about a number of people at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe directed by Annie Griffin. The general shots of the festival were filmed during the 2004 event. Mangan was nominated for a Scottish BAFTA for his performance.

Confetti, a 2006 British mockumentary romantic comedy film, was released on 5 May 2006. It was conceived and directed by Debbie Isitt and stars many British comedians, including Jessica Stevenson, Jimmy Carr, Martin Freeman, Mark Heap, Julia Davis, Robert Webb, and Olivia Colman. It follows a bridal magazine competition for the most original wedding, the ultimate prize being a house, and the three couples who are chosen to compete. Mangan plays one of the grooms, a professional tennis player.

He starred in Beyond the Pole, a 2010 British mockumentary adapted from the cult BBC radio series of the same name. It received its UK cinema release in 2010.[31] It was directed and produced by David L. Williams.[32] The film was shot on floating sea ice off the coast of Greenland, and stars an acclaimed cast of actors and comedians including Mangan, Rhys Thomas, Mark Benton, Alexander Skarsgard and Helen Baxendale. Variety magazine described the film as a cross between The Office and Touching the Void.[33]

In 2013 Mangan played Alastair Caldwell in Rush, a British-German biographical sports drama film centered on the rivalry between race car drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula One motor-racing season. It was written by Peter Morgan, directed by Ron Howard and stars Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and Daniel Brühl as Lauda. The film premiered in London on 2 September 2013 and was shown at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival[34][35] before its UK and US theatrical releases on, respectively, 13 and 20 September 2013.[36]

In 2014, Mangan voiced the title role in Postman Pat: The Movie, a British 3D computer-animated comedy film featuring Postman Pat, star of a long-running BBC children's series. It was originally due to be released on 24 May 2013,[37] but was pushed back to a year later.[38] Pat's singing voice was performed by Ronan Keating. Other voice actors in the film included Jim Broadbent, Rupert Grint, and David Tennant.[39]

In 2020, it was announced Mangan is to write his first film, an adaptation of the children’s novel Harry And The Wrinklies.

Other

Mangan was host of the Evening Standard British Film Awards for four years (2009–2013). On 27 April 2014, he returned to host the British Academy Television Craft Awards in London for a third time.[40] Mangan recorded the role of Cloten in Shakespeare's Cymbeline for the Arkangel Shakespeare audiobook series, directed by Clive Brill.

Personal life

Mangan is married to actress Louise Delamere. They have three sons.

He is an atheist: when asked the question whether football is bigger than God, he answered: "The passion displayed on the football terraces is something of which the church must be envious".[41] He is a fan of Tottenham Hotspur and goes to games with Tamsin Greig's husband Richard Leaf.[42]

In August 2014, Mangan was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.[43]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
2000 Billy Elliot Dr Crane
2001 Offending Angels Fergus
Birthday Girl Bank manager
Chunky Monkey Pierre DuPont
2002 New Year's Eve David
2003 SuperTex Max Breslauer
2005 Festival Shaun Sullivan
2006 Confetti Josef
Someone Else David
2009 Beyond The Pole Mark
2013Rush Alastair Caldwell
2014Postman Pat: The MoviePostman Pat/PatBot 3000 (voice)
2017 Breathe Dr. Clement Aitken

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1999 Watership Down Bigwig (series 1-3), Silverweed, Shale (series 3 only) Voices only
Big Bad World Justin
2000 In Defence John Henderson
Human Remains Clown
2001 Sword of Honour Frank De Souza
The Armando Ianucci Shows Television Executive
Thunder Pig! Leon Voice only; pilot
Horizon Narrator
Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years Adrian Mole
2002 I'm Alan Partridge Dan Moody Season 2, Episode 3
2003 Seven Wonders of the Industrial World Jules Isidore Dingler
Ready When You Are, Mr McGill Roland
Lucky Jim Bertrand
2004 End of Story
Wren: The Man Who Built Britain Robert Hooke
Green Wing Guy Secretan Two seasons (2004-2007)
2005 Sunday Pants The Imp Voice only
Nathan Barley Rod Senseless
Bromwell High Gavin Voice only
20052006 Jane Hall Robert
2006 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Studio
Britain's Biggest Spenders Narrator
MTV ScreenPlay Presenter
Is It Just Me or Is Everything Shit? Pilot episode
2007 Marple Inspector Larry Bird Agatha Christie's Marple
Hyperdrive Green Javelins
Who Gets the Dog? Steve Hollister TV film
2008 Never better Keith
2009 Never Mind The Buzzcocks Himself, Guest
Free Agents Alex
20092010 Would I Lie To You? Himself, Guest
2010 Three in a Bed Narrator
Richard Bacon's Beer & Pizza Club Himself, Guest
2011 Rome Wasn't Built in a Day Narrator
Celebrity Mastermind Himself, contestant
Have I Got News for You Himself, host Season 41-02, Season 42-04
Meet the Middletons Narrator
The Hunt for Tony Blair Tony Blair
All Roads Lead Home Himself, Co-Presenter
2011–2017 Episodes Sean Lincoln Main Role
2012 Just a Minute Himself, contestant
Dirk Gently Dirk Gently Following pilot episode
Have I Got News for You Himself, host Season 43-01
2013–2014 Barely Legal Drivers Narrator Season 1
2013 Have I Got News for You Himself, host Season 45-01
Fifteen to One Himself, contestant Celebrity special
2013–Present Artist of the Year Presenter Series 1-5
2014 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Himself, contestant
A Very British Airline Narrator Season 1
Wild Brazil Narrator Series in the BBC Natural History Unit's Continents strand
The IT Crowd Manual Narrator
2015 Birthday Ed
2016 Houdini and Doyle Arthur Conan Doyle ITV Encore series
Have I Got News for You Himself, host Season 51-01, Season 52-02
2017 The Fake News Show Himself, host
Olobob Top[46] Narrator Animated series
Have I Got News for You Himself, host Season 54-07
2018 Bliss Andrew Marsden Main role
Hang Ups[47] Dr. Richard Pitt Also co-writer
2018-Present The Split Nathan Stern TV Mini-Series

Theatre

Year Title Role Venue
199495 Georges Dandin Clitandre Redgrave Theatre
1995 The Tempest Ferdinand International Tour
Twelfth Night Sebastian Nottingham Playhouse
Mrs Warrens Profession Frank Redgrave Theatre
1996 "The Rover" Belville Salisbury Playhouse
"Couch Grass and Ribbon" Jack Watermill Theatre
Hamlet Laertes Norwich Theatre Royal
1997 The Shoe Shop of Desire Bobby UK Tour
As You Like It Orlando Nottingham Playhouse
She Stoops to Conquer Marlow Birmingham Stage Company
1998 The School for Scandal Sir Benjamin Backbite Royal Shakespeare Company
19981999 Much Ado About Nothing Don Pedro International Tour
1999 Hay Fever Simon Bliss Savoy Theatre
2001 Noises Off Gary Lejeune Piccadilly Theatre
2002 The People Are Friendly Robert Royal Court Theatre
20052006 The Magic Carpet Miloshin Hammersmith Theatre
2008 The Norman Conquests Norman The Old Vic Theatre
2009 The Norman Conquests Norman Circle in the Square Theatre
2012 Birthday Eddie Royal Court Theatre
20132014 Perfect Nonsense Bertie Wooster Duke of York's Theatre
2015 Rules for Living Adam National Theatre Dorfman
2018 The Birthday Party Goldberg Harold Pinter Theatre
2019 The Man in the White Suit Sidney Stratton Theatre Royal, Bath and Wyndham's Theatre

Radio

Title
The Winter's Tale
Cymbeline
Wild Things
Othello
The Man Who Knew Everything
Into Exile
Jack the Giant killer
Gordon Springer
As You Like It
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Last Act (2006 radio series)
Number 10 (2007, radio series)
ElvenQuest (2009, radio series)
ElvenQuest (2010, radio series)
ElvenQuest (2011, radio series)
Lunch (2013-2014, radio series)

References

  1. "Stephen Mangan interview: From posh buffoon to pregnant dad, the actor". 27 May 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  2. Furness, Hannah (13 April 2014). "Olivier Awards: how a tiny theatre in north London trounced the West End". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK.
  3. "My looks: the unlikely sex symbols". The Guardian. London, UK. 27 July 2012.
  4. "My family values: Stephen Mangan, actor". The Guardian. London, UK. 25 April 2009.
  5. "Q&A Stephen Mangan". Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  6. Sophie Donnelly (26 June 2012). "Stephen Mangan: I'm determined to protect myself from bowel cancer". Daily Express. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  7. "Sixty Seconds: Stephen Mangan on raising money for the National Brain Appeal". Metro. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  8. "A Letter in Mind". National Brain Appeal. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  9. Archived 4 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Michael Billington (6 October 2008). "Theatre review: The Norman Conquests". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  11. "Nominations for 2009 Tony Awards Announced-Billy-Elliot-Earns-15-Nominations". Playbill.com. 2009. Archived from the original on 23 May 2009.
  12. Cavendish, Dominic (29 June 2012). "Birthday, Royal Court, review". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK.
  13. "Jeeves and Wooster | A new London Play". Jeevesandwoosterplay.com. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  14. Trueman, Matt (3 February 2014). "Mark Heap and Robert Webb to take over as West End's Jeeves and Wooster". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media.
  15. "Stephen Mangan". The Guardian. London, UK. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  16. Caroline Westbrook (15 March 2013). "Alan Partridge's Alpha Papa trailer: Top 10 classic Alan Partridge moments". Metro.
  17. Simon Reynolds (20 May 2014). "Stephen Mangan: "I get 'DAN!' shouted at me almost every day"". Digital Spy.
  18. "Never Better". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 18 July 2008.
  19. Hemley, Matthew (4 January 2008). "Mangan to star in theatre agent comedy for C4". The Stage. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  20. Masters, Tim (1 July 2012). "Stephen Mangan 'bitterly upset' over axed Dirk Gently". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  21. "Television Awards Winners in 2012". 23 April 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  22. "The British Comedy Awards - Winners 2011". Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  23. "Press Packs: Episodes". BBC. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  24. "Breaking News - Biggest Sunday Ever on Showtime!". TheFutonCritic.com. 22 September 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  25. "'Episodes' Renewed For Fourth Season by Showtime". Deadline. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  26. "Episodes Season 1 Metacritic Reviews". CBS. Interactive Inc. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  27. Gay, Verne. "'Episodes' review: Matt LeBlanc's a star". Newsday. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  28. Hawksley, Rupert (14 February 2018). "It's already time to file for divorce from new Sky One comedy Bliss – review". The Telegraph.
  29. https://deadline.com/2018/07/david-cross-heather-graham-bliss-series-britbox-1202434511/
  30. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-bliss-review-britbox-david-cross-20180815-htmlstory.html
  31. "Beyond the Pole(2010)". Yahoo movies. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  32. "Beyond the Pole (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  33. Elley, Derek (10 January 2010). "VARIETY". Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  34. "Toronto film festival 2013: the full line-up". The Guardian. London, UK. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  35. Evans, Ian (2013), "Rush TIFF premiere photos", DigitalHit.com
  36. "Rush Movie Official UK Site for the Rush Film In Cinemas 13th September". Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  37. Roberts, Katie (16 April 2012). "Postman Pat The Movie to hit screens in 2013". Toynews-online.biz. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  38. "Postman Pat". filmdates.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  39. "Postman Pat to make movie debut". BBC News. BBC. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  40. "Television Craft Awards Host: Stephen Mangan". BAFTA. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  41. "Channel 4". 4thought.tv. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  42. Tom Lamont (8 February 2008). "Stephen Mangan's sporting life". The Guardian. London, UK. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  43. "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories". The Guardian. London. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  44. "Postman Pat to make movie debut". BBC. UK. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  45. "Postman Pat to Hit the Big Screen in 3D". ComingSoon. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  46. "Stephen Mangan - Olobobtop". 2 November 2017.
  47. Guide, British Comedy (29 August 2017). "Channel 4 orders therapist comedy Hang Ups with Stephen Mangan".

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