Mackenzie Crook
Mackenzie Crook in 2009
Born	Paul Mackenzie Crook (1971-09-29) 29 September 1971 (age 40) Maidstone, Kent, England, UK
Years active	1996 – present
Spouse	Lindsay Crook

Paul Mackenzie Crook (born 29 September 1971) is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Gareth Keenan in The Office and Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

Early life[link]

Paul Mackenzie Crook was born in Maidstone, Kent, and grew up in Dartford. His father, Michael Crook, worked for British Airways, and his mother, Sheila, was a hospital manager.^[1][2] He has two sisters. As a child he was put on a course of hormone therapy for three years due to a growth hormone deficiency.^[1] In the summers he spent time with his uncle at his tobacco farm in northern Zimbabwe,^[2] where he developed his love for painting.^[1] He was educated at the Wilmington Grammar School for Boys,^[3], where he was the illustrator and cartoonist for the school magazine, Orion. He joined the Orchard Youth Theatre in Dartford when he was about 15 years old.

His favourite musicians are Nick Drake and Kurt Cobain.^[4]

Career[link]

Early work[link]

Wanting to be a graphic artist,^[5] aged 18 he applied and was turned down three times for courses at the Kent Institute of Art & Design. He spent a while doing part-time jobs in a publisher's, a hospital, Halford's and Pizza Hut.^[5]

Persuaded to join a local theatre company by its manager, he was guided to turn to comedic arts, resulting in Crook writing comedy sketches and the theatre manager becoming his agent.^[5] He then became a standup comedian alongside Iain Lee for about eight years, in the guise of Charlie Cheese, "the cheeky chirpy chappy from Chorley".^[1] He has also performed, both on stage and in the Channel 4 sketch show Barking (TV series), as a grotesque schoolteacher called Mr. Bagshaw who is said to be based on a variety of obnoxious, overbearing science teachers he was taught by while in school.^[6]

Film and television career[link]

In 1996 Crook appeared in his first short film: The Man who Fell in Love with a Traffic Cone.

Having been seen by Bob Mortimer in his one-man show in Edinburgh,^[3] alongside others including Sacha Baron Cohen they were offered their first major television roles as comedy sketch contributors on Channel 4's The Eleven O'Clock Show in 1998, from which Crook was quietly dropped.^[6] He was later a member of the main cast of the BBC sketch show TV to Go in 2001.^[6]

In late 1999 he hosted the short-lived ITV1 show Comedy Café in the guise of his Charlie Cheese character. The show made by Channel X for ITV1 had Charlie Cheese interviewing various celebrities about their latest live tour, book, album or film release.

In 2001, he auditioned for the role of Gareth Keenan in Ricky Gervais/Stephen Merchant popular mockumentary The Office. Written originally for a larger thuggish actor,^[6] Crook won the role and by the end of the series in 2003 had earned himself two BAFTA nominations.^[7]

Crook was featured in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007);^[4] as Ragetti, a pirate with a comically ill-fitting wooden false eye. Neither Crook nor Lee Arenberg (Pintel) were featured in the 2011 movie Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

He has appeared in adverts as the character for Visa and M&M's. He has also featured as himself in adverts for MTV, Film Four and as a voice over artiste for motor insurance company Green Flag in 2007. In 2010 he provided a voice over in an advertisement for the electrical retailer Currys.

Crook also appeared as Launcelot Gobbo in Michael Radford's 2004 film adaptation of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and had a minor role in the 2004 film Finding Neverland as a theatre usher. Other films he has appeared in include The Gathering (2003) and The Brothers Grimm (2005).

Crook has starred in three of Tim Plester and Ben Gregor's short films: as Gary Tibbs in Ant Muzak (2002), as Servalan in Blake's Junction 7 (2004), and as Glorious George in World of Wrestling (2006). All three of these films have been released on DVD. He has also voiced in a television series called Modern Toss and has featured in I Want Candy as Mr Dulberg, a quirky university professor and voiced a character called Rolli Bobbler in the English version of an animated film from Finland called Quest For A Heart (original Finnish name Röllin Sydän). He also performed a duet with Ricky Gervais in the Concert for Diana.

Crook played the leading role of Paul Callow in the British comedy film Three and Out,^[3] released on 25 April 2008.^[1][5] On 10 May 2008 he appeared in an episode of the BBC1 comedy/drama "Love Soup" playing the character Marty Cady and appeared in an episode of Andrew Davies' 2008 BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit. He also provided his voice and movements to a character in Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin, which began filming in January 2009 and was released in 2011.^[8]

Crook will star in Wyndham Price's drama Abraham's Point as Comet Snape and appeared in City of Ember as Looper, and on TV will also be featured in the upcoming documentary Tattoos: A Scarred History (2009). He also did Big Brother Celebrity Hijack and recently appeared in an ITV drama "Demons" (originally called "The Last Van Helsing") as a vampire named Dr. Gladiolus Hadilus Tradius Thrip. In January 2009, Crook featured in the second and third episodes of the third series of the E4 hit teen cult drama Skins. In the show Crook played psychotic Bristol gangster Johnny White. He has appeared in Merlin, for the first episode of the second season, as a man named Cedric, who tries to take Merlin's job as Prince Arthur's manservant.

In November 2010 Mackenzie starred in A Reluctant Tragic Hero, a comic play by Anton Chekhov, on the Sky Arts channel. It also starred Johnny Vegas.

Mackenzie played Corporal Buckley, a brutal career soldier, in Jimmy McGovern's Accused, broadcast on BBC1 in November 2010.^[9]

Theatre[link]

Crook played Billy Bibbit in the 2004 London West End production of the stage play of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest opposite Christian Slater,^[4] and in 2006 he appeared in The Exonerated at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith.

He starred in director Ian Rickson's production of The Seagull opposite Kristin Scott Thomas, as the troubled writer Konstantin for which he earned a nomination from the Evening Standard Theatre Awards.^[1][10] Starting at the Royal Court Theatre in London in February/March 2007, it transferred to Broadway in September 2008. In December 2008 he finished the Broadway run of The Seagull at the Walter Kerr Theatre.^[1]

From 15 July through to 15 August 2009 Mackenzie appeared at the Royal Court Theatre in Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem.^[11] He and the play received rave reviews and it was transferred to the West End's Apollo Theatre in February 2010. In May 2011 he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, for his role in the Broadway transfer of the show ^[12] and also appeared in the 2011 London revival.

Also during 2010, on 18 April, Mackenzie took part in the fund raising event We Are One, a celebration of tribal peoples, in aid of indigenous rights organisation Survival International, at the Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue. The evening was a performance of tribal prose and poetry from some of the UK and Hollywood's leading actors and musicians. The event was created and directed by Mark Rylance.^[13] Mackenzie appeared in the play "Aliens" at the Bush Theatre in October 2010 and recently finished The Recruiting Officer at the Donmar Warehouse.

Other work[link]

Crook has directed a music video for the London electro band Paw Paw (His sister Zoe is one of the band members). The stop motion animation video accompanies the band's debut single 'Wired OK', released on 16 July 2007 on Albino Recordings.^[14]

Crook appeared as a postman in the music video for Paul McCartney's single "Dance Tonight" alongside Golden Globe award-winning actress Natalie Portman. The video for the song was directed by Michel Gondry and was posted exclusively on YouTube on 22 May 2007.

Crook has a deal with publisher Faber to illustrate and write a children's book.^[4] His first one, The Windvale Sprites, was released in November 2011. It was announced on 8 February 2012, that Crook's book was nominated for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, in the 5-12 year old category.^[15]

Crook teamed up with the writers of Modern Toss and footwear giant Kickers in 2009 to provide voiceovers for a new series of comedy cartoons called Random Bandits, which are featured online at the Kickers MySpace.^{[citation needed]}

On 9 April 2010 it was announced that Crook would star in the music video for Slow Club's new single, "Giving Up on Love", after band member Rebecca Taylor wrote to him.^{[citation needed]}

Crook regularly works in radio, and is scheduled to appear in the BBC Radio Four show North by Northamptonshire, in 2011. Crook stars alongside Geoffrey Palmer, Sheila Hancock, Lizzie Roper and Jessica Henwick.

Personal life[link]

Crook and his wife Lindsay, a former advertising executive, reside in the North London suburb of Muswell Hill, in a semi-detached house formerly belonging to Peter Sellers.^[16]

Crook and his wife were married in April 2001, and have a son, Jude Michael, born 17 January 2003, and a daughter, Scout Elizabeth, born 24 December 2007.

As a teenager, he inherited a rare breeding pair of Mediterranean Spur-thighed Tortoises, leading to his hobby of breeding chelonians.^[5] In January 2010 on the Andrew Marr Show, Crook revealed that he himself provides the tortoises used in his new play 'Jerusalem', taking them from his own herd.

A committed environmentalist, Crook purchased eight acres of Essex woodland in 2008, to create his own private nature reserve.^[17] In an interview with the BBC he denied claims made on Wikipedia that he was a Green Party activist.^[18]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mackenzie's official website
• Mackenzie Crook's Autobiography
• Mackenzie Crook at the Internet Movie Database

Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross at Live 8 on 2 July 2005
Born	Jonathan Stephen Ross (1960-11-17) 17 November 1960 (age 51) Camden, London, England[1]
Nationality	British
Occupation	Broadcaster, film critic, Talk show host, Comedian
Years active	1987–present
Spouse	Jane Goldman (m. 1988) «start: (1988)»"Marriage: Jane Goldman to Jonathan Ross" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Jonathan_Ross)
Children	2 daughters, 1 son
Parents	Martha Ross

Jonathan Stephen Ross, OBE (born 17 November 1960) is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting the BBC One chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross from 2001 until he left the BBC in 2010. Ross began hosting a new chat show on ITV1 starting 3 September 2011. Ross also hosted his own radio show on BBC Radio 2, and acted as a film critic and presenter of the Film programme. Other regular roles have included being a regular panellist on the comedy sports quiz They Think It's All Over from 1999 to 2006, and presenting the annual British Comedy Awards from 1991 to 2007, and 2009 onwards.

Ross began his television career as a programme researcher, before débuting as a television presenter for The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross on Channel 4 in 1987. Over the next decade he had several radio and television roles, many through his own production company, Channel X. In 1995 he sold his stake in Channel X, and embarked on a career with the BBC. In 1999, Ross took over presenting the Film programme from Barry Norman, and also began presenting his own radio show, while two years later he began hosting Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. For the chat show, Ross won three British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards for Best Entertainment Performance, in 2004, 2006 and 2007. By 2006 Ross was believed to be the BBC's highest paid star. In 2005, Ross was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to broadcasting.^[2] Ross has been involved in controversies throughout his broadcasting career.^[3][4] As a result, in 2008 he wrote a semi-autobiographical work titled Why Do I Say These Things?, detailing some of his life experiences.

Ross has been married to the author, journalist and broadcaster Jane Goldman since 1988; they have three children. Ross and Goldman have together established the television production company Hotsauce TV. Ross is known as an avid fan and collector of comic books and memorabilia, and has written his own comic book, Turf. Ross is known for his distinctive voice, flamboyant style of dress,^[2] and his light-hearted banter. He is also known for his characteristic difficulty in pronouncing the sound 'r'.

Personal[link]

Ross was born in Camden, London, England on 17 November 1960, a son of British actress and radio presenter Martha Ross.^[5] He grew up in Leytonstone^[1] and is the brother of journalist, television editor, and media personality Paul Ross; TV producer/actor Miles Ross; TV producer Simon Ross, and music industry professional Adam Ross. He was educated at Norlington School for Boys, a comprehensive school at the same time as his elder brother Paul, and at Leyton County High School for Boys, a comprehensive school. He also attended Southampton College of Art, now known as Southampton Solent University. ^[6] He then studied Modern European History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University of London.^[7]

Ross with his wife Jane Goldman at the British Academy Television Awards 2009

Ross married author/journalist/broadcaster Jane Goldman, ten years his junior, in 1988, when Goldman was 18. They have since had three children: Betty Kitten (named after Bettie Page), Harvey Kirby (named after Jack Kirby, a comic book creator whom Ross especially admires), and Honey Kinney. The family lives in Hampstead Garden Suburb.^{[citation needed]}

Ross and others have used his rhotacism for comic effect and he is sometimes known as "Wossy,"^[8] including on his Twitter feed (@wossy).

Ross is known for owning exotic pets. He is a big music fan and the first band he saw live was punk rockers X-Ray Spex at Islington's Hope and Anchor pub in North London.^[9] He is a big fan of David Bowie, Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry, Queen (he was in the audience for Queen at Wembley), British punk rock, Spandau Ballet, Sparks, Star Trek, Doctor Who (his favourite Doctor was Jon Pertwee), and comic books. Ross has even co-owned a comic shop in London with Paul Gambaccini and released Turf, his first comic book, in 2010, with American artist Tommy Lee Edwards.^[10] He was also the visual inspiration for the main character in the comic book Saviour. Ross is also greatly interested in Japan, presenting a BBC-TV series on many different aspects of Japanese culture, Japanorama, for three series between 2002–07. He was a regular at London's Blitz club during the early 1980s (famous for the Blitz Kids). He is a fan of the singers Morrissey and George Michael.^{[citation needed]}

He is a friend of comedian Ricky Gervais and bought him a kitten after Gervais' previous cat, Colin, had died. The cat's name is Ollie and was presented to him on an episode of Ross' talk show Friday Night With Jonathan Ross.^[11] He was one of the special celebrity guests in the final episode of Gervais's second season of Extras, in which Gervais's character, Andy Millman, and Ross were shown to be the best of friends after a fictional appearance on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross.^[12]

He is also a close friend of author Neil Gaiman, and he and his wife appear in Gaiman's short story "The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch", collected in Fragile Things.

In 2005, Ross was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.^[13] He celebrated the news by playing "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols on his Radio 2 show.^[14]

When interviewing Colin Farrell on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 19 February 2010, Ross claimed not to have consumed alcohol for ten years.

Ross has attended a fund raiser for the James Randi Educational Foundation called The Amazing Meeting in London in 2009 and 2010. Interviewed by Rebecca Watson, Ross described himself as a big fan of James Randi and the other speakers – who were mainly prominent sceptics – and said that he and his wife had come to have a sceptical view of the world.^[15] Ross has been supportive of Simon Singh's efforts to defend an accusation of libel by the British Chiropractic Association and Ross has posed for the Geek Calendar 2011, a fund raiser for the libel reform in the UK.^[16]

At a book signing event in Central London in September 2010, Ross stated that as a youngster he went to school in Leyton (Leyton Senior High School) and supports Leyton Orient F.C.^{[citation needed]}

On 6 June 2011, it was announced that Ross' beloved pug Mr Pickle had been killed in an accident on board a train while Ross was filming a new travelogue show for ITV.^[17] Mr Pickle was well known to both viewers and listeners of Ross' TV and radio shows.

Career[link]

Child actor[link]

Following the acting lead of his mother, who appeared as an extra on television shows such as East Enders, Ross appeared in television ads as a child actor. His first, for the breakfast cereal Kellogg's Rice Krispies, gave him his television debut in 1970, when he was 10 years old.^[18][19] He also appeared in an ad for the laundry detergent Persil.^[20]