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British actor (b. 1956) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jim Piddock (born April 8, 1956) is an English actor, producer and writer who began his career on the stage in the United Kingdom before immigrating to the United States in 1981.
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Jim Piddock | |
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Piddock exiting the premiere of the film Mascots at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | April 8, 1956 |
| Alma mater | Drama Studio London King's College, London University |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, producer, writer, and author |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Spouse | Ann Cusack[1] |
| Children | 1 |
Piddock was born on April 8, 1956, in Rochester, Kent, the son of Celia Mary (née O'Callaghan) and Charles Frederick Piddock.[2]
Piddock began his acting career on the stage in the UK before immigrating to the US in his early twenties. He made his US theatrical debut in a one-man show, The Boy's Own Story, in 1982. He also appeared in Lethal Weapon 2, Independence Day, The Prestige, Austin Powers in Goldmember, The Five-Year Engagement, Think Like a Man Too, and several Christopher Guest films, including Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.[3][4]
Piddock made his theatrical debut in the US in The Boy's Own Story, a one-man show about a football goalkeeper, at the Julian Theatre in San Francisco. That same year (1982), he was cast in Noël Coward's Present Laughter, and other Broadway and Off-Broadway shows followed, including the original US production of Noises Off, The Knack at the Roundabout Theatre, Make and Break, and Design For Living.[3][4]
I spent the first few years of my career pretty much doing nothing but stage work. I started in rep companies in England then did a one-man show in the US which led very quickly to doing several Broadway shows. I got very lucky early on. They were fun shows to do. I was in the first ever production of Noises Off in America and my first ever job in New York was being directed by and appearing with George C. Scott.[5]
In November 2007, he appeared at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood, starring on stage in a production of What About Dick? alongside an all British expat cast, including Billy Connolly, Tim Curry, Eric Idle, Eddie Izzard, Jane Leeves, Emily Mortimer and Tracey Ullman.[6] When the play officially premiered in 2012, with the addition of Russell Brand, he was again in the cast.[7] He also appeared in 2009 at the Montalban Theatre and on Broadway in An Evening Without Monty Python.[3][4]
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Of his transition into television, Piddock said:
I'd always wanted to end up working in film and TV. I guess I could have stayed in New York and probably had a long and fruitful career in the theatre but in the mid-1980s I felt like it was time to change gears and I'd certainly not been short-changed in terms of getting to perform live.[8]
He has appeared in close to a hundred TV shows, including The Haunting of Bly Manor, Modern Family, A Confession, Designated Survivor, Get Shorty, Training Day, Mom, Childrens Hospital, The Royals, Touch, Two and a Half Men, Castle, ER, Law & Order: LA, Party Down, Chuck, Dollhouse, Without a Trace, Monk, Lost, Crossing Jordan, Citizen Baines, Friends, Yes, Dear, Angel, The Geena Davis Show, Murder She Wrote, Coach, Tour of Duty, Max Headroom, and The Twilight Zone. He has also appeared in several TV films and mini-series, including From The Earth to the Moon, A Mom for Christmas, She Creature on HBO, and The Women of Windsor.[3][4] He also created, wrote and produced the BBC series Too Much Sun.[3][4]
His film appearances include Get Him to the Greek, Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. Falling Up, The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising, Who's Your Caddy?, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, The Prestige, Love for Rent, A Different Loyalty, See This Movie, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Multiplicity, Independence Day, Traces of Red, and Lethal Weapon 2. He also appeared in the Christopher Guest comedies Best in Show as the Dog Show commentator with Fred Willard, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration, and Mascots, the last of which he co-wrote and produced.[3][4]
As a voice actor, Piddock provided the voice of Major Zero in the English version of the video game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater as well as Agent One in Return to Castle Wolfenstein for Xbox and PlayStation 2. In film he provided the voice of Bolero the Bull in the film Garfield 2 and of Kenneth Loring, the fictional artistic director of Forever Young Films, in the commentary of the directors' cut of the Coen brothers' Blood Simple. He also voiced the part of King Mufasa's hornbill majordomo, Zazu in the Disney games Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games and The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure, Batman's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, in the DC Comics animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood, and voiced Chic for the animated science fiction film Dead Space: Downfall, based on the video game Dead Space.[9]
Piddock appeared in 2012's The Five-Year Engagement, which starred Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, playing Blunt's father, The Cold Light of Day starring Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver, 1915, Kill Your Friends, and The Dictator with Sacha Baron Cohen.[3][4]
In August 2012, it was announced[10] that Piddock would be co-writing, acting, and producing a new TV comedy series with Christopher Guest for HBO and the BBC titled Family Tree.[3][4] The show subsequently aired in 2013.
On 13 October 2016, Mascots, which he also co-wrote with Guest, stars in, and produced, premiered on Netflix. Since then he has appeared in several television shows, including Modern Family, Designated Survivor, Get Shorty, Training Day, Blunt Talk, and The Royals.
In 2021, he played Captain Carradine in the film Haunting of the Queen Mary, which was shot in the UK and the US and is due to be released in 2022.
Piddock wrote the story for and produced Tooth Fairy in 2010, New Line's action-comedy The Man, One Good Turn, Traces of Red, and the Cold War romantic thriller A Different Loyalty starring Rupert Everett and Sharon Stone, and which Piddock played a supporting role in.
In November 2019, it was announced that his screenplay Frankel would begin shooting in 2022 with Jeremy Irons playing the lead role of Sir Henry Cecil.[11]
His light-hearted and irreverent memoir, CAUGHT WITH MY PANTS DOWN and Other Tales from a Life in Hollywood, chronicling his four decades in the entertainment industry, is being released on March 23, 2022, in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats. British comedian, actor, and writer, Russell Brand said of the book: "Jim has done that rare thing that perhaps only Michael Caine and David Niven have done before; conjured a funny, inclusive, whimsical, and magical tale." American actress Jean Smart wrote: "This laugh-out-loud book... entertains endlessly and most wisely". And British actor Hugh Bonneville described it as "hilarious, passionate, beautifully told, and memorably waspish."
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Lethal Weapon 2 | Consulate Envoy | |
| 1992 | Traces of Red | Mr. Martyn | Also writer |
| 1996 | Independence Day | Reginald | |
| Multiplicity | Maitre d' | ||
| 1997 | Burn Hollywood Burn | Attendant #1 | |
| 2000 | Best in Show | Trevor Beckwith | |
| 2002 | Austin Powers in Goldmember | Headmaster | |
| 2003 | A Mighty Wind | Leonard Crabbe | |
| 2004 | See This Movie | Martin Hughes | |
| A Different Loyalty | George Quennell | Also writer and co-producer | |
| 2005 | Love for Rent | Frank Bauman | |
| Death to the Supermodels | Self-help Ryan | Voice, direct-to-video | |
| 2006 | Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties | Bolero | Voice[12] |
| For Your Consideration | Simon Whitset | ||
| The Prestige | Prosecutor | ||
| 2007 | Epic Movie | Magneto | |
| Who's Your Caddy? | Harrington | ||
| The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising | Old George | ||
| 2008 | Meet the Spartans | Loyalist / Simon Cowell Look-Alike | |
| Dead Space: Downfall | Chic | Voice, direct-to-video[12] | |
| 2009 | Falling Up | Phillip Dowling | |
| Endless Bummer | Mr. Newell | ||
| 2010 | You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger | Peter Wicklow | |
| Get Him to the Greek | Limousine Driver in London | ||
| Batman: Under the Red Hood | Alfred Pennyworth | Voice, direct-to-video[12] | |
| 2012 | The Cold Light of Day | Meckler | |
| The Five-Year Engagement | George Barnes | ||
| The Dictator | Unknown | Uncredited | |
| 2014 | Think Like a Man Too | Declan | |
| 2015 | 1915 | Jeffrey | |
| Kill Your Friends | Derek Sommers | ||
| 2016 | Mascots | Owen Golly, Sr. | Also writer and executive producer |
| 2023 | Haunting of the Queen Mary | Captain Caradine |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Wildside | Bank Robber | Episode: "The Crimea of the Century" |
| 1985 | The Twilight Zone | Brian | Episode: "Take My Life... Please!/Devil's Alphabet/The Library" |
| 1986 | Fame | The Record Producer | Episode: "Fame and Fortune" |
| 1987 | The Tracey Ullman Show | Derrick | 2 episodes |
| 1988 | Max Headroom | Mr. Kelly | Episode: "Neurostim" |
| CBS Summer Playhouse | Hank | Episode: "Old Money" | |
| 1989 | Tour of Duty | Maj. Shadlow | Episode: "Lonely at the Top" |
| 1990 | A Mom for Christmas | Wilkins | Television film |
| 1990–1991 | Coach | Alan / Attendant | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | Murder, She Wrote | Malcolm Brooker | Episode: "Murder in White" |
| 1994–1996 | Mad About You | Logic Professor / Hal Conway | 7 episodes |
| 1997–1998 | Team Knight Rider | Max Amendas | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | John Hodge | Episode: "Can We Do This?" |
| The New Batman Adventures | Martin | Voice, episode: "Cult of the Cat"[12] | |
| 1999 | Tracey Takes On... | Vicar | Episode: "Hair" |
| 2000 | The Geena Davis Show | Mr. Levenstein | Episode: "Piece of Cake" |
| Angel | The Valet | Episode: "The Trial" | |
| 2001 | Yes, Dear | Vet | Episode: "Worst in Show" |
| Friends | Dennis Phillips | Episode: "The One After I Do" | |
| She Creature | Captain Dunn | Television film | |
| Citizen Baines | Larry | Episode: "The Appraisal" | |
| 2002 | Maybe It's Me | Judge Parks | Episode: "The Quahog Festival Episode" |
| The Drew Carey Show | Lord Mercer | 4 episodes | |
| ER | Dr. Earl Whitehead | Episode: "Chaos Theory" | |
| 2003 | Crossing Jordan | Norman Gibson | Episode: "Family Ties" |
| 2004 | The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch | Troy Nixon | Television film |
| 2005 | Lost | Francis Heatherton | Episode: "Homecoming" |
| 2006 | That '70s Show | TV Announcer | Voice, episode: "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"; uncredited |
| Monk | Jake Colbert | Episode: "Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing" | |
| 2007 | Without a Trace | Dr. McNeil | Episode: "Claus and Effect" |
| 2008 | The Middleman | Arthur Mendelson | Episode: "The Cursed Tuba Contingency" |
| 2009 | Dollhouse | Biz | Episode: "Stage Fright" |
| 2009–2011 | Batman: The Brave and the Bold | Doctor Sivana, Dr. Watson, Shazam | 4 episodes[12] |
| 2010 | Chuck | Curator of Classical Art | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Mask" |
| Ben 10: Ultimate Alien | King Urien, Color Commentator, Chair Umpire | Voice, episode: "Duped" | |
| Party Down | Leland Corke | Episode: "Not on Your Wife Opening Night" | |
| Law & Order: LA | Jay Bickson | Episode: "Hollywood" | |
| Castle | Lord Henry | Episode: "Punked" | |
| 2011 | Up All Night | Matthew Taylor | Episode: "New Car" |
| Two and a Half Men | Edward | Episode: "One False Move, Zimbabwe!" | |
| 2012 | Touch | Dr. Knox | Episode: "Zone of Exclusion" |
| Childrens Hospital | Cyrus Mittleman | Episode: "British Hospital" | |
| 2013 | Family Tree | Mr. Pfister | 5 episodes; also writer and executive producer |
| NTSF:SD:SUV:: | Hobson Chipps | Episode: "Hawaii Die-0" | |
| Work It | Carl | Episode: "My So-Called Mid-Life Crisis" | |
| 2014 | Turbo Fast | Sir Reginald, Rich Man #2 | Voice, episode: "The Escargot Affair"[12] |
| Franklin & Bash | Dean Casseday | Episode: "Spirits in the Material World" | |
| Mom | Kenneth | Episode: "Forged Resumes and the Recommended Dosage" | |
| 2015 | Man Seeking Woman | Unknown | Episode: "Stain" |
| Marry Me | Chuck | Episode: "Date Me" | |
| Instant Mom | Dr. Ian Houser | Episode: "Ghost Busted" | |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Lord Simultaneous, Sir John, Overmind, Warbot | Voice, 2 episodes[12] | |
| The Grinder | Barrister Cromwell | Episode: "Buckingham Malice" | |
| The Royals | Truman | 2 episodes | |
| 2016 | Blunt Talk | Unknown | Episode: "Your Therapist and His Pussy Are Here" |
| 2017 | Elementary | Tom Saunders | Voice, episode: "Fidelity"; uncredited |
| Training Day | Abel Cribbs | Episode: "Sunset" | |
| Get Shorty | Julian Pynter | Episode: "A Man of Letters" | |
| Designated Survivor | Dr. Rune | Episode: "Line of Fire" | |
| 2017-2021 | The Tom and Jerry Show | Alistair | Voice, 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Modern Family | Malcolm Fennerman | Episode: "The Escape" |
| 2019 | A Confession | Judge Griffith Williams | Episode #1.6 |
| 2020 | The Haunting of Bly Manor | Father Stack | Episode: "The Pupil" |
| Big City Greens | Additional voices | Voice, 2 episodes | |
| 2021 | Star Trek: Lower Decks | Commander Mandel | Voice, episode: "First First Contact" |
| 2022 | The Blacklist | Harris Gramercy | Episode: "Caelum Bank (N°169)" |
| 2023 | Captain Fall | Additional voices | Voice, episode: "An Unconventional Cruise Line" |
| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Shannara | Leah Servant | [12] |
| 2001 | The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure | Zazu | [12] |
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Bilbo Baggins, Elrond | [12] |
| 2004 | The Bard's Tale | Additional voices | [13] |
| 2004 | Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater | Major Zero | English dub[12] |
| 2006 | Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops | ||
| 2010 | The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest | Elrond, Bilbo Baggins | [12] |
| 2011 | The Lord of the Rings: War in the North | [12] | |
| 2012 | Lego The Lord of the Rings | ||
| 2013 | Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure | Alfred Pennyworth | [12] |
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