Steve Coogan

Born: October 14 1965
Where: Manchester, England

The gifted mimic and creator of TV's Alan Partridge has enjoyed mixed fortunes on the big screen.

He attracted plaudits for his portrayal of Tony Wilson in 24 Hour Party People but fared less well as Phileas Fogg in the 2004 adaptation of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days.

While training as an actor at Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre he worked as a stand-up (to gain an Equity card) and was spotted by a TV scout.

First Exposure led to a host of TV appearances including Parmount City, London Underground and he also worked as a regular on Spitting Image providing the voices.

In 1992, he won the Perrier Award for Steve Coogan in Character with John Thompson, where he launched the character Paul Calf, later a fixture on the TV show Saturday Zoo.

Adding Pauline Calf - Paul's sister - to the routine, Coogan won a BAFTA for the spoof video diary Three Fights, Two Weddings and a Funeral and was named Top Comedy Personality at the British Comedy Awards.

While working on radio's On The Hour he created the obnoxious TV presenting legend Alan Partridge, who saw life on the TV spin-off The Day Today and eventually his own spoof chat show Knowing Me, Knowing You.

The character was apparently based on a real-life radio interviewer Coogan began to mimic during the course of the meeting.

The success led to two BAFTA awards for best comedy series and best comedy performance for the TV series I'm Alan Partridge which followed the host on his uppers in a roadside motel.

He had made his feature debut in 1989 in Resurrected as "man at bonfire" but more substantial roles followed in Wind in the Willows and The Revengers Comedies.

Coogan's big screen career proper started with The Parole Officer and a superlative turn in the lead in Michael Winterbottom's story about the Madchester scene 24 Hour Party People.

On the small screen, he starred in Dr Terrible's House of Horrible, Cruise of the Gods and also played the lead in the ribald The Private Life of Samuel Pepys.

In 2003, he won praise for his role opposite Alfred Molina in Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes and landed his first Hollywood role in the generally disappointing Around The World in 80 Days.

Recent work saw him re-teaming with Michael Winterbottom for the "unfilmable" movie of Tristam Shandy - A Cock and Bull Story - opposite Rob Brydon.