Marcus Brigstocke

Birthday: 8 May 1973, Guildford, Surrey, England, UK

Height: 188 cm

Marcus began his comedy career at Bristol University where he performed stand up and character shows and soon won the BBC New Comedian of 1996. He has since emerged as a major comedy, writing and acting talent, performing in the UK and beyond and has become a regular voice on BBC Radio with an impressive list of TV and film credits.The Edinburgh festival has been a regular haunt for Marcus, and has seen him receive a great deal of critical acclaim.Radio 4 has become a second home for Marcus as he is rarely off the 18.30 slot in one form or another. He is the regular angry young man on The Now Show with Punt and Dennis. He has written and recorded three series of Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off (Series one - now available on BBC CD) and The Museum Of Everything with Danny Robins and Dan Tetsell. He plays the head of Unthinkable Solutions in Think The Unthinkable. Other recordings include Just a Minute, Newsquiz, The Today Program, and the wonderfully silly 99p Challenge. He played a starring role in the first series of 2000 Years Of Radio and also made Risking Everything, a serious investigation in to the world of insurance.On the big screen he has appeared in Richard Curtis' movie Love Actually as a Radio DJ interviewing the wonderfully jaded Billy Mack (Bill Nighy). He went to Berlin with Kevin Spacey to film Beyond The Sea - the life story of Bobby Darin. In the forthcoming Piccadilly Jim Marcus appears with Sam Rockwell and Tom Wilkinson as 'man having sex under stairs', a small but vital role. He also played a desperately ambitious and tragically unable arts presenter in A Short Film About John Bolton, directed by Neil Gaiman - available now on DVD - for Ska Films.Marcus now lives in South London, happily married to his university sweetheart, and may well be the proudest dad in the world. He is committed to non-violence and is an active campaigner for CND and 'Campaign Against Arms Trade'. He once had a #11 chart smash with DJ Dee-Kline's, Don't Smoke Da Reefa. Without wishing to scrape the barrel further it is worth saying that Marcus very briefly worked as a podium dancer, and also on an oil-rig in the North Sea (although not as a dancer). He is fanatical about snowboarding - so much so he has set up a stand up tour in the Alps - and adores music and movies. Marcus can be seen and heard in venues across the country delivering his award-winning stand up, on screens large and small and on Radio 4 more frequently than the shipping forecast. Hide

If you look at the number of comics who get television work - the level of exposure is very high. Th Show more If you look at the number of comics who get television work - the level of exposure is very high. The panel show has exploded over the 15 years I've done comedy. People see comics sitting behind a desk and say: "I think I could do that. I think I could insult Rebecca Adlington'" - and they're right. Panel shows are funny but they're not up the tricky end of what we do. I'm still deeply honored every time I get asked to do Have I Got News For You because it's remained good for 20 years and there are other shows I won't do because they're ugly and crass. Hide

[on his comedy show "God Collar"] I hope that everybody who comes ... atheist, religious, agnostic, Show more [on his comedy show "God Collar"] I hope that everybody who comes ... atheist, religious, agnostic, whatever ... is offended by it. Offence is important, that's how you know you care about things. Imagine a life where you're not offended. So dull. You know you care if you're offended. It's a question of what you do then with your offence. Do you write to a TV station and say, "Everything has to stop. The whole thing has to be shut down. Sell the BBC. Shut down Channel Five. Because someone said something I didn't like." Or do you actually then talk about it, make it part of your discussion and use it as an opportunity to learn perhaps? Hide

There's so much comedy available now people view it as a career option but I've heard it's hard for Show more There's so much comedy available now people view it as a career option but I've heard it's hard for new acts to even get free gigs. Hide

[on Chris De Burgh's healing hands] If Chris De Burgh laid his hands on me I'd move too. [on Chris De Burgh's healing hands] If Chris De Burgh laid his hands on me I'd move too.

I've got a GoPro camera that I fully intended to use last year but I broke my knee doing The Jump on Show more I've got a GoPro camera that I fully intended to use last year but I broke my knee doing The Jump on Channel 4 and that was the end of my ski season. Anyone can strap a GoPro to their head and snowboard but can they edit? Most people probably have 2,000 hours of footage and one really badly edited sequence over a Coldplay track. So I'm going to learn how to use it properly. Hide

I did a voiceover for PC World. I thought: 'I've been in PC World and it seems all right.' I wouldn' Show more I did a voiceover for PC World. I thought: 'I've been in PC World and it seems all right.' I wouldn't do anything for the financial services industry or anything connected to the arms industry, tobacco or oil. You'd be amazed how many things that rules out. I'm not high-principled - these are just my preferences. I did an advert for Crunchie before I had any political convictions and I don't have any regrets. Hide

If Pacman had affected us as kids we'd be running around in dark rooms, munching pills and listening Show more If Pacman had affected us as kids we'd be running around in dark rooms, munching pills and listening to repetitive music. Hide

Frankly, I think there should be an entry exam when you take out your licence fee. If you're not gro Show more Frankly, I think there should be an entry exam when you take out your licence fee. If you're not grown up enough to get it and to understand that different people like different things, don't have a telly, don't have a radio. You're not qualified. Hide

There are a lot of comics at the top end making staggering amounts of money and selling out stadiums Show more There are a lot of comics at the top end making staggering amounts of money and selling out stadiums. I think stand-up is a more intimate thing than that. Maybe because of the kind of comedy I do. It's like a discussion but I'm the one with the microphone. The Hammersmith Apollo - which is 3,500 capacity - is perfect. That's as big as I'd like to go. Hide

[on gadgets he couldn't be without] My iPod and Ipad because they are so easy to listen to music on Show more [on gadgets he couldn't be without] My iPod and Ipad because they are so easy to listen to music on when I'm touring. Hide

It amuses me no end that people pay for very expensive headphones, then listen to very compressed MP Show more It amuses me no end that people pay for very expensive headphones, then listen to very compressed MP3s. I use Marley headphones because I just assumed they were better for listening to reggae, ska and dub. I have a Bose sound dock for that and X-mini capsule speakers for when I'm on tour, which have clear sound and great bass. Hide

Marcus Brigstocke's FILMOGRAPHY

All as Actor (139)

The Good Girl