Favorite British Comedian
by BonaFideBOSS | created - 20 Jan 2022 | updated - 19 Apr 2022 | PublicWho is your favorite British comic actor?
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1. Charles Chaplin
Writer | The Great Dictator
Considered to be one of the most pivotal stars of the early days of Hollywood, Charlie Chaplin lived an interesting life both in his films and behind the camera. He is most recognized as an icon of the silent film era, often associated with his popular character, the Little Tramp; the man with the ...
2. Rowan Atkinson
Actor | Johnny English
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson was born on 6 January, 1955, in Consett, Co. Durham, UK, to Ella May (Bainbridge) and Eric Atkinson. His father owned a farm, where Rowan grew up with his two older brothers, Rupert and Rodney. He attended Newcastle University and Oxford University where he earned degrees ...
3. Ricky Gervais
Writer | The Office
Ricky Dene Gervais was born in a suburb of Reading, Berkshire, to Eva Sophia (House) and Lawrence Raymond Gervais, who was a hod carrier and labourer. His father was born in Ontario, Canada, of French-Canadian descent, and his mother was English. He was educated at Ashmead Comprehensive School and ...
4. Peter Sellers
Actor | Being There
Often credited as the greatest comedian of all time, Peter Sellers was born Richard Henry Sellers to a well-off acting family in 1925 in Southsea, a suburb of Portsmouth. He was the son of Agnes Doreen "Peg" (Marks) and William "Bill" Sellers. His parents worked in an acting company run by his ...
5. Sacha Baron Cohen
Actor | Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
British actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen was born in Hammersmith, London. He is the son of Daniella (Weiser), a movement instructor, and Gerald Baron Cohen, a clothing store owner. His father, born in England and raised in Wales, was of Eastern European Jewish descent, while his mother was born...
6. Simon Pegg
Actor | The World's End
English actor, writer, and comedian Simon Pegg was born Simon John Beckingham in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, to Gillian Rosemary (Smith), a civil servant, and John Henry Beckingham, a jazz musician. His parents divorced when he was seven. He later took his stepfather's surname "Pegg." He was ...
7. John Cleese
Actor | A Fish Called Wanda
John Cleese was born on October 27, 1939, in Weston-Super-Mare, England, to Muriel Evelyn (Cross) and Reginald Francis Cleese. He was born into a family of modest means, his father being an insurance salesman; but he was nonetheless sent off to private schools to obtain a good education. Here he ...
8. Graham Chapman
Writer | Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Graham Chapman was born on January 8, 1941 in Leicester, England while a German air raid was in progress. Graham's father was a chief police inspector and probably inspired the constables Graham often portrayed later in comedy sketches. Graham studied medicine in college and earned an M.D., but he ...
9. Ronnie Barker
Actor | The Two Ronnies
Ronnie Barker's remarkable versatility as a performer can be traced back to his time in repertory theatre, where he was able to play a wide range of roles and develop his talent for accents, voices and verbal dexterity. It was during this time that he met Glenn Melvyn, who taught him how to stammer ...
10. Stephen Merchant
Producer | Extras
Stephen James Merchant is an English actor, comedian, director, presenter and writer.
Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series The Office (2001-2003), and co-writer, co-director, and co-star of both Extras (2005-2007) and Life's Too Short (...
11. Steve Coogan
Actor | Philomena
Steve Coogan was born on October 14, 1965 in Middleton, Manchester, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Philomena (2013), Alan Partridge (2013) and 24 Hour Party People (2002). He was previously married to Caroline Hickman.
12. Rik Mayall
Actor | The Young Ones
Rik Mayall, one of the first and foremost alternative comedians in the UK, was born in Matching Tye, a village just outside Harlow in Essex. His parents, John and Gillian, were both drama teachers. His acting debut was at the age of seven when he appeared in one of his father's stage plays. He met ...
13. David Jason
Actor | Only Fools and Horses
David Jason was born in Edmonton, London, in 1940. He has become one of Britain's most famous, versatile and respected actors, who is most famous for his role in Only Fools and Horses (1981) as Del Boy. He made his debut in the series in 1981 and was still playing the same role up to the Christmas ...
14. Jennifer Saunders
Actress | Absolutely Fabulous
Jennifer Saunders was born July 6, 1958 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, to Jane, a biology teacher, and Robert Thomas Saunders, an RAF pilot. She attended Central School of Speech and Drama where she met her comedy partner Dawn French. Like many of the early 80s groundbreaking "alternative" comedians ...
15. Rob Brydon
Actor | The Huntsman: Winter's War
Rob Brydon was born on May 3, 1965 in Swansea, Wales, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016), Marion & Geoff (2000) and Barbie (2023). He has been married to Claire Holland since October 6, 2006. They have two children. He was previously married to Martina ?.
16. Caroline Aherne
Actress | The Royle Family
Caroline Aherne was born on December 24, 1963 in Ealing, London, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for The Royle Family (1998), The Mrs. Merton Show (1995) and Mrs Merton & Malcolm (1999). She was married to Peter Hook. She died on July 2, 2016 in Timperley, Altrincham, Greater ...
17. Ashley Jensen
Actress | Arthur Christmas
Ashley Jensen (born on 11 August 1969) is a Scottish actress and narrator. She was nominated for an Emmy for her role on the television series Extras (2005), on which she appeared from 2005-2007. She was also a cast member on the ABC show Ugly Betty (2006) and the brief-lived CBS sitcom ...
18. Stephen Fry
Actor | Gosford Park
Writer, actor, comedian, doer of good works, excellent good friend to the famous and not, Fry lives in his London SW1 flat and his Norfolk house when not traveling. Famous for his public declaration of celibacy in the "Tatler" back in the 1980s, Emma Thompson has characterised her friend as "90 ...
19. Billy Connolly
Actor | Brave
Billy Connolly was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. He left school to work in the shipyards, becoming a welder, and joined the Territorial Army (in the parachute regiment) at around the same time. He developed an interest in folk music, eventually being an accomplished banjo player and a ...
20. Nick Frost
Actor | The World's End
Nick Frost is an English actor, screenwriter and comedian. He is known for his work in the series of British comedic genre films The Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy: Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World's End (2013). He also co-starred in Paul (2011), with frequent collaborator ...
21. Victoria Wood
Actress | Housewife, 49
From the mid-1980s right up until her premature death in April 2016, Victoria Wood's appearances on stage and television were always eagerly anticipated, whether it was laugh-a-minute stand-up, a beautifully judged dramatic performance in the TV film Housewife, 49 (2005) or the canteen sitcom ...
22. Richard Ayoade
Writer | Submarine
Richard Ellef Ayoade was born in Hammersmith, and grew up in Suffolk, in England, the son of a Norwegian mother, Dagny Amalie (Baassuik), and a Nigerian father, Layide Ade Laditi Ayoade. He studied Law at Cambridge university, and followed in the footsteps of British Comedy legends like Monty ...
23. Marty Feldman
Actor | Young Frankenstein
"I am too old to die young, and too young to grow up," Marty Feldman told a reporter -- a week before he died.
This beloved comedian, who poked fun at himself, as well as others, was born Martin Alan Feldman on July 8, 1934, in London, England. His parents were of Ukrainian Jewish heritage (from ...
24. Eric Idle
Actor | Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, playwright, director, and songwriter. co-creator of Monty Python on TV, stage, and five films, including The Life of Brian and The Holy Grail, which he later adapted for the stage with John Du Prez as Monty Python's Spamalot, winning the Tony...
25. Russell Brand
Producer | Arthur
Russell Brand was born on June 4, 1975, in Grays, Essex, England, the son of Barbara Elizabeth (Nichols) and Ronald Henry Brand, a photographer. An only child, his parents divorced when he was only six months old, and he was subsequently raised by his mother. Enduring a difficult childhood that saw...
26. Catherine Tate
Actress | The Catherine Tate Show
Catherine Tate is an English actress and comedian, primarily known for the role of Donna Noble in the "Doctor Who" franchise.
Tate was born as "Catherine Ford" during 1969, in Bloomsbury. Bloomsbury is a district of the London Borough of Camden, known as the home of several of London's museums, ...
27. Benny Hill
Soundtrack | The Benny Hill Show
He was born Alfred Hawthorn Hill. It was his grandfather who introduced him to Burlesque Shows and the theatre from where the young Benny Hill was to draw much of his comic inspiration. After his national service with the army during WW2, Benny came to London, adopted the stage name Benny Hill (in ...
28. Terry-Thomas
Actor | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
One of Britain's most beloved eccentric comedians, the irrepressible, gap-toothed Terry-Thomas was born Thomas Terry Hoar-Stevens in Lichfield Grove, Finchley. He was the son of Ellen Elizabeth (Hoar) and Ernest Frederick Stevens, a fairly well-to-do London businessman. He was afforded a private ...
29. Stan Laurel
Actor | Saps at Sea
Stan Laurel came from a theatrical family, his father was an actor and theatre manager, and he made his stage debut at the age of 16 at Pickard's Museum, Glasgow. He traveled with Fred Karno's vaudeville company to the United States in 1910 and again in 1913. While with that company he was Charles ...
30. Jack Whitehall
Actor | Jungle Cruise
Jack Whitehall was a child actor in various television dramas, but decided to pursue stand-up comedy after leaving school. He was a finalist in the So You Think You're Funny talent hunt at last year's Edinburgh Fringe, and was nominated for best newcomer at this year's Chortle Awards. In December ...
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