Steve Coogan Totally Explained

Everything about Steve Coogan totally explained

Stephen John "Steve" Coogan (born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, impressionist, and comedian. His best known character in the United Kingdom is Alan Partridge, the grotesque sports reporter-turned-television chat show host-turned-regional radio presenter who featured in several television series, such as The Day Today, Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge and I'm Alan Partridge. Outside of the UK, Coogan is better known for his film roles. He also works in stand-up comedy, having recently announced his latest tour, "Steve Coogan Is Alan Partridge and Other Less Successful Characters", to be performed in 2008, the first time he's performed stand-up in a decade. On April 2006 it was revealed that Steve Coogan had intentions of reviving Alan Partridge onto the big screen.

Career

Early life

Born into a large Irish Catholic family, Coogan started out as a stand-up comic and mimic, whilst working in Ipswich, 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 Radio 1 FM Friday night dance music show Jeff Young's Big Beat. He also acted on the observation round on The Krypton Factor in 1989.

Alan Partridge

He teamed up with Chris Morris 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 and also appeared on TV in The Day Today and his own chat show, Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge. In 1997 he bounced back with the sitcom I'm Alan Partridge, which was followed by a second series in 2002. Partridge will now return once again as part of Coogan's 2008 stand-up tour, whilst rumours of a film or television special continue to circulate. (External Link

) On April 2005, it was revealed that a big screen outing was planned for Alan Partridge. It was later revealed the film would involve an al-Qaeda siege. Due to the sensitivities of such a storyline after the 7 July 2005 London bombings, the project was put on hold, but in November 2007, further details of the film were released.
The plot of the film has Alan Partridge, attempting another comeback from local radio, only to have his ambitions thwarted when Middle Eastern terrorists hijack the BBC offices. Coogan has written some dialogue, but has said he isn't sure whether he wants to revisit his most famous creation. ‘Part of me wants to do it, part of me wants to do other things,’ he said in a recent interview.Playwright Patrick Marber, whose early collaborations with Coogan included The Day Today, has also been working on the script, but the pair put their plans on hold following the London bombings, for fear the screenplay would appear in bad taste. Actress Felicity Montagu, who plays Partridge's PA Lynne, said last year: ‘There was a lot of talk about it, but then the London bombings happened and it got put to one side. I'm sure Steve will write an Alan Partridge film eventually. But for the moment I don't think it's happening.’ And back in 2005, Armando Iannucci, who helped Coogan create Partridge, said he didn't want to be involved in any movie spin-off, saying: ‘Steve wants to do an Alan Partridge film, but I couldn't bear to go through that again. For me, the idea of spending two more years in a room with that voice is more than I can take.’

Other TV roles

Paul Calf has appeared in two video diaries, an episode of Coogan's Run, and in various stand-up performances. He is an unemployed Mancunian wastrel with a particular hatred of students. His catchphrase is "Bag of shite".
   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 having 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 Paul's sister. 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 Tony Ferrino. Duncan Thicket has appeared on a tour of live shows. Other TV shows he's 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, 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.
   He starred in BBC2's The Private Life of Samuel Pepys in 2003, and Cruise of the Gods in 2002. In 2006, he'd 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.

Film roles

Notable film roles include Tony Wilson, Factory Records boss 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 The Revengers' Comedies, and Octavius, the first Roman emperor and nephew to Julius Caesar, in Night at the Museum. He has also played himself twice 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.
   The first film 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 has a role in the upcoming Tropic Thunder. It was announced on August 8, 2007, that he's also to star in a film adaptation of the life of Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards .
   He will also return as Octavius in, out on May 22, 2009 - memorial day.

Personal life

Coogan is one of eight children. He was born and raised in Middleton, Greater Manchester. One of his brothers, Brendan, 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.
A favourite of the British tabloids, Coogan's personal life has made headlines since the early 1990s. In August 2005, the News of the World stated that rock star Courtney Love had claimed to be pregnant with Coogan's child, following a two-week long fling the pair allegedly had while staying at the same hotel, although this claim has been dismissed by both parties. The news came a month after Coogan had divorced his wife, Caroline Hickman, (whom he married in 2002) on the grounds that the marriage had irretrievably broken down. He has a daughter Clare from a previous relationship with Anna Cole.
On the commentary for Season 2 of "I'm Alan Partridge", Coogan states that he's a socialist who enjoys paying taxes, whilst discussing the eponymous character's investigation by the Inland Revenue. This information is contrasted by another person who believes this is the characters opinion and not that of Steve Coogan.

Owen Wilson controversy

In August 2007, the New York Post wrote that Coogan was being "blamed" in a story following Owen Wilson's suicide attempts for allegedly supplying the actor with hard drugs. Courtney Love said after Wilson's failed attempts, "I was just out of rehab, and he was right there with the drugs. I tried to warn Owen. I tried to warn his friends. I hope from the bottom of my heart that Owen stays the hell away from that guy." Steve Coogan responded through Access Hollywood, denying Love's accusations and offering support to Wilson. "My thoughts are with my friend Owen at this difficult time, but I do want to set the record straight and say that the allegations...are completely and utterly false," he said.

Achievements

He has won numerous awards for his work in TV including British Comedy Awards, 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.

Return to stand-up

In March 2008, it was confirmed that Coogan will return to doing stand-up comedy as part of his first stand-up tour in ten years. The tour is named "Steve Coogan is Alan Partridge and other less successful characters" and should see the return of some of his old characters including Paul Calf and Alan Partridge. (External Link

)

Production company

Coogan, along with writing partner Henry Normal, founded Baby Cow Productions in 1999. Together they're 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

, the world's first daily online sitcom which uses Wiki technology to allow the audience to upload scripts, storyline ideas, etc.

References and footnotes

Further Information

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