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Rob Delaney (born January 19, 1977) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and activist. He is best known for co-creating and starring as Rob Norris in the sitcom Catastrophe (2015–2019), and Peter Wisdom in the superhero films Deadpool 2 (2018) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
Rob Delaney | |
|---|---|
 Delaney in 2012 | |
| Born | January 19, 1977 Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| Citizenship |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2003–present |
| Spouse | Leah Delaney |
| Children | 4[note 1] |
| Website | robdelaney |
Delaney has also appeared in the films Hobbs & Shaw (2019), Bombshell (2019), Tom & Jerry (2021), Home Sweet Home Alone (2021), The School for Good and Evil (2022), Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), and Love at First Sight (2023).
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Delaney was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1977, the son of Nancy and Robert Delaney. He grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts.[3] He is of Irish descent.[4] He attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and graduated with a degree in musical theater in 1999.[5]
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Delaney came to the attention of the public via Twitter, where he began posting in 2009.[6] By 2016, he had over 1.2 million followers. While other comics were hesitant to share their material on social media, he is considered one of the first comedians to use social media to publish jokes.[7] He credited Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan with his rise in popularity after Linehan began responding to his tweets.[8] In 2010, Paste magazine named Delaney one of the 10 funniest people on Twitter.[9] In May 2012, he became the first comedian to win the award for "Funniest Person on Twitter" at The Comedy Awards.[10]
Writing
Delaney has written articles for Vice[11] and The Guardian.[12] His book Rob Delaney: Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage. was published by Spiegel & Grau in November 2013.[13][14] His memoir A Heart That Works, about the loss of his two-and-a-half-year-old son Henry to brain cancer, was published by Spiegel & Grau in 2022.[15]
Acting
Television
In December 2011, Comedy Central announced that Delaney would shoot a pilot for a variety show, called @RobDelaney.[16] However, the series was not picked up. Instead, Delaney moved on to co-write and co-star with Sharon Horgan in Catastrophe,[17] that began airing in the UK on January 19, 2015, on Channel 4. The show follows their characters after they get together following a brief affair while he is in the UK on business, and then moves there permanently after he learns that she has become pregnant.[18] It debuted in the United States on Amazon in June 2015.[19] The program ended after four seasons.[20] Channel 4 aired the concluding episode on February 12, 2019, while Amazon announced the US release date to be March 15 of the same year.[21] The series earned him his sole Emmy nomination, for "Outstanding Comedy Writing".[22]
Since moving to the UK in 2014,[23] Delaney has appeared on several British panel shows, including Have I Got News for You,[24] Would I Lie to You?,[25] 8 Out of 10 Cats,[26] The Big Fat Quiz of the Year[27] and Room 101.[28] In 2016, he appeared on Travel Man as a guest host for the Spanish city of Seville,[29] and in March 2021, he was the guest announcer on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.[30]
Film
In the film Deadpool 2 (2018), Delaney played Peter Wisdom, an average middle-aged man who has no superpowers and joins Deadpool's X-Force.[31] As part of the film's promotion, a Twitter account was launched in Peter's name.[32][33]
Throughout 2019, Delaney had a series of cameos in Hollywood blockbuster films. He reteamed with director David Leitch and actor Dwayne Johnson for Hobbs & Shaw, in which he appeared as Agent Loeb.[34] He appeared as a theater director in Paul Feig's comedy-drama Last Christmas.[35] Both movies went to No. 1 at the UK box office.[36][37] He also appeared opposite Anne Hathaway in The Hustle as Todd and the Fox News drama Bombshell co-starring Charlize Theron.[38] He filmed a cameo as Elvis Presley in Dexter Fletcher's Elton John musical biopic Rocketman, which was omitted from the theatrical cut.[39] It was also reported that he would appear opposite Reynolds another time, in Pokémon: Detective Pikachu.[40] However, he did not appear in the final film. In September 2019 he was cast in The Good House opposite Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline.[41]
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Delaney resides in London with his wife Leah;[42] they have had four sons together.[43][44] In February 2018, Delaney revealed that their two-and-a-half-year-old son Henry had died the previous month, having received extensive treatment for a brain tumor since 2016.[45][46] The film Deadpool & Wolverine, in which Delaney stars in as Peter, is dedicated to Henry's memory.[47] The couple's fourth son was born in August 2018.[48][49] In 2020, Delaney wrote about getting a vasectomy.[50] Since 2024, he has been a UK citizen.[51]
Delaney has publicly shared his experience with multiple health concerns, including depression and alcoholism.[52][53] In 2002, he blacked out while driving and drove into a building owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He broke his left wrist and right arm, and had both of his knees gashed to the bone. This prompted him to stop drinking.[54][55]
In 2018, Delaney became the first presenter on the CBeebies Bedtime Stories programme to tell a story in Makaton, which he used to communicate with his late son Henry.[56]
On Sara Cox's show Between the Covers, Delaney chose the short story collection A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin as one of his favorite books.[57]
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In June 2017 he endorsed the Labour Party in the 2017 general election, despite being unable to vote as a non-UK citizen (but longtime resident).[59] In November 2018, he supported a petition organized by Labour campaign group Momentum calling on Labour MPs to vote against the EU withdrawal agreement which had been negotiated by Theresa May's government.[60]
In November 2019, Delaney joined other public figures in signing a letter supporting Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, describing him as "a beacon of hope in the struggle against emergent far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism in much of the democratic world" and endorsed him in the 2019 UK general election.[61] In December 2019, along with 42 other public figures, he signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few".[62][63]
In June 2024 in the run-up to the 2024 United Kingdom general election, Delaney again expressed his support for Jeremy Corbyn, this time backing his campaign to be re-elected as the MP for Islington North, as an independent candidate following his departure from the Labour Party.[64]
In 2016, Delaney became a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.[65][66][67]
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| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Film
| Year | Work | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Wild Girls Gone | Whipped Cream Ass Man | |
| 2014 | Life After Beth | News Anchor | |
| 2018 | Deadpool 2 | Peter Wisdom | |
| 2019 | The Hustle | Todd | |
| Rocketman | Elvis Presley | Deleted scene[68][69] | |
| Hobbs & Shaw | Agent Loeb | ||
| Last Christmas | Theatre Director | ||
| Bombshell | Gil Norman | ||
| 2021 | Tom & Jerry | Henry Dubros | |
| Wrath of Man | Boss Blake Halls | ||
| The Good House | Peter Newbold | ||
| Ron's Gone Wrong | Andrew Morris | Voice | |
| Home Sweet Home Alone | Jeff McKenzie | ||
| 2022 | The Bubble | Marti | |
| The School for Good and Evil | Stefan | ||
| 2023 | Northern Comfort | Ralph | |
| Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One | JSOC | ||
| Love at First Sight | Andrew Sullivan | ||
| 2024 | Argylle | Deputy Director Powell | |
| Deadpool & Wolverine | Peter Wisdom |
Television
| Year | Work | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Coma, Period. | Dan Humford | 10 episodes |
| Outer Space Astronauts | Commander Cake | Episode: "One Year Ago" | |
| 2010 | This Week in Comedy | Himself | Episode: "Karen Kilgariff/Rob Delaney" |
| 2011 | The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest | Himself | 6 episodes |
| 2012 | Key & Peele | Various | 3 episodes |
| First Dates with Toby Harris | Brad | Episode: "Ex-Girlfriends" | |
| 2013 | Rob Delaney Live at the Bowery Ballroom | Himself | Television special; also executive producer |
| Cougar Town | Guide | Episode: "Have Love Will Travel" | |
| Burning Love | Kirk | 3 episodes | |
| 2014 | The Michael J. Fox Show | Clete Matthews | Episode: "Biking" |
| 2015–2019 | Catastrophe | Rob Norris | 24 episodes; also co-creator, co-writer, and executive producer |
| 2016 | Travel Man: 48 Hours In | Himself | Episode: "Seville" |
| 2018 | Action Team | Victor | Episode: "Super Mega Robot" |
| Trust | Lansing | Episode: "Kodachrome" | |
| Danger Mouse | Night Knight (voice) | Episode: "Daylight Savings Crime" | |
| Bitz & Bob | Bevel (voice) | 41 episodes | |
| 2021 | Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway | Guest Announcer | 2 episodes |
| The Great North | Brian Tobin (voice) | 2 episodes | |
| No Activity | Magnolia (voice) | 2 episodes | |
| Birdgirl | Brian O'Brien (voice) | 6 episodes | |
| Between the Covers | Himself | Episode #2.2 | |
| Fairfax | Grant (voice) | 4 episodes | |
| 2022 | Big Nate | Various voices | 23 episodes |
| Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway | The Devil | 3 episodes | |
| The Man Who Fell to Earth | Hatch Flood | 8 episodes | |
| 2023 | The Power | Tom | 2 episodes |
| Black Mirror | Mac | Episode: "Joan Is Awful" | |
| 2023–2024 | Invincible | Nuolzot / Séance Dog (voice) | 3 episodes [70] |
| 2024 | Bad Monkey | Nick/Christopher | Main Cast |
| TBA | Dying for Sex † | Neighbour Guy | Upcoming miniseries |
Audio
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | The Mysterious Affair at Styles | Alfred Inglethorp | Audible original[71] |
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