Matt Lucas

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Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas as fictional character, Vicky Pollard in Little Britain
Birth name	Matthew Richard Lucas
Born	March 5, 1974 (age 33) Stanmore, Middlesex, England
Notable roles	Various Characters in Little Britain, George Dawes in the Reeves and Mortimer comedy panel game Shooting Stars

Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is a British comedy actor. He is perhaps best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television sketch show Little Britain, and spoof interview series Rock Profile, as well as for his portrayal of the surreal scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the Reeves and Mortimer comedy panel game Shooting Stars.

In July of 2006, he placed 9th in the list of the UK's 100 most influential gays and lesbians, in fields as diverse as entertainment, business, politics, and science, by the British newspaper The Independent.

1 Biography
- 1.1 Career
- 1.2 Little Britain
2 Personal life
3 Biography
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Biography

Lucas was born in London and raised in a Jewish background in Stanmore, Middlesex. He has had alopecia since his childhood, which in interviews he has inconsistently attributed to various events, including a delayed reaction to a road accident when he was four. ^[1] He lost all of his hair in 1980, at the age of six.

He was educated at the prestigious Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, alongside other well known personalities, including Sacha Baron Cohen and David Baddiel. He studied drama at the University of Bristol and is a former member of both the National Youth Music Theatre and the National Youth Theatre.

[edit] Career

He began his career in comedy on the London stand-up comedy circuit at the age of eighteen as Sir Bernard Chumley, legendary actor and raconteur — a character who was to appear later in Little Britain.

Lucas' association with Reeves and Mortimer began in 1992, when he was spotted by Bob Mortimer on stage. In 1994, Lucas appeared in The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer. The second series of the show featured Lucas in several sketches. He went on to star with them in Shooting Stars. He quickly rose to fame as George Dawes, the giant baby, who would deliver a string of meaningless gags (often in character) and insults before delivering the score, while sitting at and playing a drum kit. Many of these parts were introduced not in the style of a baby, but of a grown man — indeed, often, he would come on dressed as a specific adult such as Elton John. He also appeared as Marjorie Dawes, George's mother, who also appears in Little Britain. He also appeared in the Reeves & Mortimer BBC series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), and Catterick in a variety of roles.

Lucas has also written for Ali G and Borat actor Sacha Baron Cohen.

His music video appearances include; the Damien Hirst-directed video for Blur's "Country House" (as a psychoanalyst), "Jesusland" by Ben Folds in 2005, "I'm with Stupid" by the Pet Shop Boys and "Vindaloo" by Fat Les.

Lucas ventured into the world of stage musicals in 2002, when he took one of the main roles in Boy George's musical Taboo, at the The Venue, London. He played the part of infamous performance artist Leigh Bowery, which required him to wear some outrageous and spectacular outfits and make-up.

In 2005, he took his first role in a television drama, a supporting part as a Venetian Duke in the BBC historical serial Casanova, written by Russell T. Davies.

Since 2006, Lucas has been the voice of the radio and television character Digit Al, devised as part of a public information campaign on digital switchover. On 26 November 2006 he appeared on the BBC Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs.

He also made a cameo appearance in Shaun of the Dead as Shaun's friend, Yvonne's cousin.

In 2007 he released "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", originally by The Proclaimers, with Peter Kay as a charity single for Comic Relief.^[2] He performed the single as Little Britain character Andy Pipkin, along with Kay playing as Brian Potter. After being available for less than 48 hours on iTunes alone, the track entered the UK Top 40 at number 3. On March 25th It went to number one.

He will make upcoming appearances in Kath and Kim and Neighbours (the latter alongside David Walliams as Little Britain stalwarts Lou and Andy, as well as a cameo role in the forthcoming BBC sitcom Gavin and Stacey.

Lucas is currently co-writing (with David Walliams) a series for HBO. The pair are also writing a movie for Dreamworks.

[edit] Little Britain

Little Britain is considered to be Lucas' most successful work. Originally a radio show on BBC Radio 4, it later became a TV series. Little Britain has won numerous TV awards, spawning large DVD sales and merchandising. It plays heavily on memorable catchphrases which have become ingrained in playgrounds and offices around the UK. Lucas plays four of the most popular characters in the series, which he writes and acts in along with David Walliams; apparently disabled Andy Pipkin, teenage chav Vicky Pollard, 'bottom enthusiast' Daffyd Thomas and fat fighter Marjorie Dawes.