Mackenzie Crook
Encyclopedia
Paul Mackenzie Crook is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Gareth Keenan
in The Office
and Ragetti
in the Pirates of the Caribbean
films.
, Kent, England, and grew up in Dartford
. His father, Michael Crook, worked for British Airways
, and his mother, Sheila, was a hospital manager. He has two sisters. As a child he was put on a course of hormone therapy
for three years due to a growth hormone deficiency
.
Educated at the Wilmington Grammar School for Boys
, he joined the Orchard Youth Theatre in Dartford when he was about 15 years old. In the summers he spent time with his uncle at his tobacco farm in Northern Zimbabwe
, where he developed his love for painting.
His favourite musicians are Nick Drake
and Kurt Cobain
.
. He spent a while doing part-time jobs in a publishers, a hospital, Halfords
, and Pizza Hut
.
Persuaded to join a local theatre company by its manager, he was guided to turn to comedic arts, resulting in Crook writing comedy sketches and the theatre manager becoming his agent. He then became a standup comedian alongside Iain Lee
for about eight years, in the guise of Charlie Cheese, "the cheeky chirpy chappy from Chorley". He has also performed, both on stage and in the Channel 4 sketch show Barking (TV series)
, as a grotesque schoolteacher called Mr. Bagshaw who is said to be based on a variety of obnoxious, overbearing Science teachers he was tutored by while in school.
Having been seen by Bob Mortimer
in his one-man show in Edinburgh, alongside others including Sacha Baron Cohen
they were offered their first major television roles was as comedy sketch contributors on Channel 4
's The Eleven O'Clock Show
in 1998, from which Crook was quietly dropped. He was later a member of the main cast of the BBC
sketch show TV to Go in 2001.
In 2001, he auditioned for the role of Gareth Keenan
in Ricky Gervais
/Stephen Merchant
popular mockumentary
The Office
. Written originally for a larger thuggish actor, Crook won the role and by the end of the series in 2003 had earned himself two BAFTA nominations.
Crook was featured in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
(2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
(2006) and in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007); as Ragetti
, a pirate with a comically ill-fitting wooden false eye. He also said in 2010 that he wasn't asked to return as his character Ragetti for the upcoming fourth instalment.
He has appeared in adverts as the character for Visa and M&M's
. He has also featured as himself in adverts for MTV, Film Four, and as a voice over artiste for motor insurance company Green Flag
in 2007. In 2010 he provided a voice over in an advertisement for the electrical retailer Currys
.
Crook also appeared as Launcelot Gobbo in Michael Radford
's 2004 film adaptation
of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
and had a minor role in the 2004 film Finding Neverland
as a theatre usher. Other films he has appeared in include The Gathering (2003) and The Brothers Grimm
(2005).
Crook has starred in three of Tim Plester
and Ben Gregor's short films: as Gary Tibbs in Ant Muzak (2002), as Servalan in Blake's Junction 7 (2004), and as Glorious George in World of Wrestling (2006). All three of these films have been released on DVD. He has also voiced in a television series called Modern Toss
and has featured in I Want Candy as Mr Dulberg, a quirky University Professor and voiced a character called Rolli Bobbler in the English version of an animated film from Finland called Quest For A Heart (original Finnish name Röllin Sydän). He also performed a duet with Ricky Gervais in the Concert for Diana
.
Crook played the leading role of Paul Callow in the British comedy film Three and Out
, released on 25 April 2008. On 10 May 2008 he appeared in an episode of the BBC1 comedy/drama "Love Soup
" playing the character Marty Cady and appeared in an episode of Andrew Davies
' 2008 BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens
' Little Dorrit
. He also provides his voice and movements to a character in Steven Spielberg
's The Adventures of Tintin, which began filming in January 2009 and will be released in 2011.
Crook will star in Wyndham Price's drama Abraham's Point as Comet Snape and appeared in City of Ember
as Looper, and on TV will also be featured in the upcoming documentary Tattoos: A Scarred History (2009). He also did Big Brother Celebrity Hijack and recently appeared in an ITV
drama "Demons" (originally called "The Last Van Helsing") as a vampire named Dr. Gladiolus Hadilus Tradius Thrip. In January 2009, Crook featured in the second and third episodes of the third series of the E4 hit teen cult drama Skins
. In the show Crook played psychotic Bristol gangster Johnny White. He has appeared in Merlin
, for the first episode of the second season, as a man named Cedric, who tries to take Merlin's job as Prince Arthur's manservant.
In November 2010 Mackenzie starred in A Reluctant Tragic Hero, a comic play by Anton Chekhov, on the Sky Arts
channel. It also starred Johnny Vegas
.
Mackenzie played Corporal Buckley, a brutal career soldier, in Jimmy McGovern's Accused
, broadcast on BBC1 in November 2010.
opposite Christian Slater
, and in 2006 he appeared in The Exonerated at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith
.
He starred in director Ian Rickson
's production of The Seagull
opposite Kristin Scott Thomas
, as the troubled writer Konstantin for which he earned a nomination from the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Starting at the Royal Court Theatre
in London in February/March 2007, it transferred to Broadway in September 2008. In December 2008 he finished the Broadway run of The Seagull at the Walter Kerr Theatre
.
From 15 July through to 15 August 2009 Mackenzie appeared at the Royal Court Theatre in Jez Butterworth
's Jerusalem
. He and the play received rave reviews and it was transferred to the West End's Apollo Theatre
in February 2010. In May 2011 he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, for his role in the Broadway transfer of the show.
Mackenzie took part in the fund raising event We Are One, a celebration of tribal peoples, in aid of indigenous rights organization Survival International
, at the Apollo Theatre
, Shaftesbury Avenue
, on 18 April 2010. The evening was a performance of tribal prose and poetry from some of the UK and Hollywood's leading actors and musicians. The event was created and directed by Mark Rylance
.
Mackenzie appeared in the play "Aliens" at the Bush Theatre
in October 2010.
Crook appeared as a postman in the music video for Paul McCartney
's single "Dance Tonight
" alongside Golden Globe award-winning actress Natalie Portman
. The video for the song was directed by Michel Gondry
and was posted exclusively on YouTube on 22 May 2007.
Crook has a deal with publisher Faber
to illustrate and write a children's book. His first one, The Windvale Sprites, is due for release in November 2011.
Crook teamed up with the writers of Modern Toss and footwear giant Kickers in 2009 to provide voiceovers for a new series of comedy cartoons called Random Bandits, which are featured online at the Kickers MySpace.
On 9 April 2010 it was announced that Crook would star in the music video for Slow Club
's new single, "Giving Up on Love", after band member Rebecca Taylor wrote to him.
Crook regularly works in radio, and is scheduled to appear in the BBC Radio Four show North by Northamptonshire, in 2011. Crook stars alongside Geoffrey Palmer
, Sheila Hancock
, Lizzie Roper and Jessica Henwick
.
suburb of Muswell Hill
, in Peter Sellers
' former semi-detoched house.
Crook and his wife were married in April 2001, and have a son, Jude Michael, born 17 January 2003, and a daughter, Scout Elizabeth, born 24 December 2007.
As a teenager, he inherited a rare breeding pair of Mediterranean Spur-thighed Tortoises, leading to his hobby of breeding chelonians
. In January 2010 on the Andrew Marr show, Crook revealed that he himself provides the tortoises used in his new play 'Jerusalem', taking them from his own herd.
A committed environmentalist, Crook purchased eight acres of Essex woodland in 2008, to create his own private nature reserve. But in an interview with the BBC
he denied claims made by Wikipedia that he was a Green Party activist.
Gareth Keenan
Gareth Keenan is a fictional paper salesman on BBC's comedy The Office. He is portrayed in the series by Mackenzie Crook as a gaunt, self-important team leader proud of his alleged lieutenant status in the Territorial Army...
in The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
and Ragetti
Pintel and Ragetti
Pintel and Ragetti are recurring pirate characters in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean series of films, primarily providing comic relief throughout each film...
in the Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)
Pirates of the Caribbean is a series of fantasy-adventure films directed by Gore Verbinski and Rob Marshall , written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
films.
Life and career
Paul Mackenzie Crook was born in MaidstoneMaidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
, Kent, England, and grew up in Dartford
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, east south-east of central London....
. His father, Michael Crook, worked for British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
, and his mother, Sheila, was a hospital manager. He has two sisters. As a child he was put on a course of hormone therapy
Hormone therapy
Hormone therapy, or hormonal therapy is the use of hormones in medical treatment. Treatment with hormone antagonists may also referred to as hormonal therapy...
for three years due to a growth hormone deficiency
Growth hormone deficiency
Growth hormone deficiency is a medical condition in which the body does not produce enough growth hormone . Growth hormone, also called somatotropin, is a polypeptide hormone which stimulates growth and cell reproduction...
.
Educated at the Wilmington Grammar School for Boys
Wilmington Grammar School for Boys
Wilmington Grammar School for Boys is a secondary grammar school in Wilmington, Kent. The school, which from 1954 to 1982 was called Dartford Technical High School, is a specialist Engineering school with a strong emphasis on Design Technology, Mathematics and Physics...
, he joined the Orchard Youth Theatre in Dartford when he was about 15 years old. In the summers he spent time with his uncle at his tobacco farm in Northern Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, where he developed his love for painting.
His favourite musicians are Nick Drake
Nick Drake
Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake was an English singer-songwriter and musician. Though he is best known for his sombre guitar based songs, Drake was also proficient at piano, clarinet and saxophone...
and Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
.
Early career
Wanting to be a graphic artist, aged 18 he applied and was turned down three times for courses at the Kent Institute of Art & DesignKent Institute of Art & Design
The Kent Institute of Art & Design was an art school based across three campuses in the county of Kent, in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the amalgamation of three independent colleges: Canterbury College of Art, Maidstone College of Art and Rochester College of Art...
. He spent a while doing part-time jobs in a publishers, a hospital, Halfords
Halfords
Halfords Group plc is a leading retailer of car parts, car enhancements and bicycles operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Czech Republic and more recently in Poland, although it is currently pulling out of the latter two countries...
, and Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
.
Persuaded to join a local theatre company by its manager, he was guided to turn to comedic arts, resulting in Crook writing comedy sketches and the theatre manager becoming his agent. He then became a standup comedian alongside Iain Lee
Iain Lee
Iain Lee is a British comedian, and a television and radio presenter. His career began when he performed stand-up comedy gigs across venues in London. He subsequently became co-presenter of the comedy current affairs show The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4 and RI:SE...
for about eight years, in the guise of Charlie Cheese, "the cheeky chirpy chappy from Chorley". He has also performed, both on stage and in the Channel 4 sketch show Barking (TV series)
Barking (TV series)
Barking is a late night sketch comedy show broadcast on Channel 4 in 1998, starring Mackenzie Crook, David Walliams, Omid Djalili, Peter Kay, Dave Lamb, Rhys Thomas, Catherine Tate and Marcus Brigstocke...
, as a grotesque schoolteacher called Mr. Bagshaw who is said to be based on a variety of obnoxious, overbearing Science teachers he was tutored by while in school.
Film and television career
In 1996 Crook appeared in his first short film: The Man who Fell in Love with a Traffic Cone.Having been seen by Bob Mortimer
Bob Mortimer
Robert "Bob" Renwick Mortimer is an English comedian and actor, who is best known for his double act with Vic Reeves...
in his one-man show in Edinburgh, alongside others including Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
they were offered their first major television roles was as comedy sketch contributors on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's The Eleven O'Clock Show
The Eleven O'Clock Show
The 11 O'Clock Show was a satirical late-night British television comedy series on Channel 4, which featured topical sketches and commentary on news items.The series ran from 1998 to 2000, most notably while hosted by Iain Lee and Daisy Donovan...
in 1998, from which Crook was quietly dropped. He was later a member of the main cast of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sketch show TV to Go in 2001.
In 2001, he auditioned for the role of Gareth Keenan
Gareth Keenan
Gareth Keenan is a fictional paper salesman on BBC's comedy The Office. He is portrayed in the series by Mackenzie Crook as a gaunt, self-important team leader proud of his alleged lieutenant status in the Territorial Army...
in Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
/Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
popular mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
. Written originally for a larger thuggish actor, Crook won the role and by the end of the series in 2003 had earned himself two BAFTA nominations.
Crook was featured in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 adventure fantasy film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney theme parks. It was directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
(2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by...
(2006) and in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007); as Ragetti
Pintel and Ragetti
Pintel and Ragetti are recurring pirate characters in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean series of films, primarily providing comic relief throughout each film...
, a pirate with a comically ill-fitting wooden false eye. He also said in 2010 that he wasn't asked to return as his character Ragetti for the upcoming fourth instalment.
He has appeared in adverts as the character for Visa and M&M's
M&M's
M&M's are dragée-like "colorful button-shaped candies" produced by Mars, Incorporated...
. He has also featured as himself in adverts for MTV, Film Four, and as a voice over artiste for motor insurance company Green Flag
Green Flag
Green Flag is a roadside rescue company based in the UK. It was formed in 1971 as the National Breakdown Recovery Club and operated under this name under the ownership of National Car Parks until 1994, when it was renamed Green Flag as a symbolic brand name...
in 2007. In 2010 he provided a voice over in an advertisement for the electrical retailer Currys
Currys
Currys is an electrical retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland and is owned by Dixons Retail plc. It specialises in selling home electronics and household appliances, with 295 superstores and 73 high street stores...
.
Crook also appeared as Launcelot Gobbo in Michael Radford
Michael Radford
Michael Radford is an English film director and screenwriter.-Early life and career:Radford was born on 24 February 1946, in New Delhi, India, to a British father and an Austrian Jewish mother. He was educated at Bedford School before attending Worcester College, Oxford...
's 2004 film adaptation
The Merchant of Venice (2004 film)
The Merchant of Venice is a 2004 romantic drama film based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. It is the first full-length sound film version in English of Shakespeare's play; most other versions are videotaped productions made for television...
of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
and had a minor role in the 2004 film Finding Neverland
Finding Neverland
Finding Neverland is a 2004 semi-biographical film about playwright J. M. Barrie and his relationship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan, directed by Marc Forster. The screenplay by David Magee is based on the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan by Allan Knee...
as a theatre usher. Other films he has appeared in include The Gathering (2003) and The Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm (film)
The Brothers Grimm is a 2005 fantasy Adventure film directed by Terry Gilliam. The film stars Matt Damon and Heath Ledger in an exaggerated and fictitious portrait of the Brothers Grimm as traveling con-artists in French-occupied Germany during the late 18th century...
(2005).
Crook has starred in three of Tim Plester
Tim Plester
Tim Plester is a British playwright and actor who lives and works in London.Plester graduated in 1994 with a BA in theatre at Dartington College of Arts in Devon, and went on to obtain an MA in playwriting studies from Birmingham University in 1997...
and Ben Gregor's short films: as Gary Tibbs in Ant Muzak (2002), as Servalan in Blake's Junction 7 (2004), and as Glorious George in World of Wrestling (2006). All three of these films have been released on DVD. He has also voiced in a television series called Modern Toss
Modern Toss
Modern Toss is a British series of cartoon booklets and books aimed at adults, and a television series based on them. It is the creation of Mick Bunnage and Jon Link; their company is called Modern Toss Ltd, also going under the name '*hitflap' .The cartoons feature low-quality drawing, offensive...
and has featured in I Want Candy as Mr Dulberg, a quirky University Professor and voiced a character called Rolli Bobbler in the English version of an animated film from Finland called Quest For A Heart (original Finnish name Röllin Sydän). He also performed a duet with Ricky Gervais in the Concert for Diana
Concert for Diana
Concert for Diana was a concert held at the then new Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 1 July 2007, which would have been her 46th birthday; 31 August that year brought the 10th anniversary of her death...
.
Crook played the leading role of Paul Callow in the British comedy film Three and Out
Three and Out
Three And Out is a 2008 British comedy film directed by Jonathan Gershfield. It premiered in London on the 21 April 2008 and was released in the UK and Ireland on 25 April 2008.-Plot:...
, released on 25 April 2008. On 10 May 2008 he appeared in an episode of the BBC1 comedy/drama "Love Soup
Love Soup
Love Soup is a British television comedy-drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond . The series is written by David Renwick of One Foot in the Grave fame, and was produced by Verity Lambert...
" playing the character Marty Cady and appeared in an episode of Andrew Davies
Andrew Davies (writer)
Andrew Wynford Davies is a British author and screenwriter. He was made a Fellow of BAFTA in 2002.-Education and early career:...
' 2008 BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit (TV serial)
Little Dorrit is a 2008 British television serial directed by Adam Smith, Dearbhla Walsh, and Diarmuid Lawrence. The teleplay by Andrew Davies is based on the serial novel of the same title by Charles Dickens, originally published between 1855 and 1857....
. He also provides his voice and movements to a character in Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's The Adventures of Tintin, which began filming in January 2009 and will be released in 2011.
Crook will star in Wyndham Price's drama Abraham's Point as Comet Snape and appeared in City of Ember
City of Ember
City of Ember is a 2008 science fiction-fantasy film based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Jeanne DuPrau. It was directed by Gil Kenan from a screenplay by Caroline Thompson, and stars Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Bill Murray, Mackenzie Crook, Martin Landau and Tim Robbins.-Plot:In the...
as Looper, and on TV will also be featured in the upcoming documentary Tattoos: A Scarred History (2009). He also did Big Brother Celebrity Hijack and recently appeared in an ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
drama "Demons" (originally called "The Last Van Helsing") as a vampire named Dr. Gladiolus Hadilus Tradius Thrip. In January 2009, Crook featured in the second and third episodes of the third series of the E4 hit teen cult drama Skins
Skins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
. In the show Crook played psychotic Bristol gangster Johnny White. He has appeared in Merlin
Merlin (TV series)
Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 September 2008. The show is based on the Arthurian legends of the wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur but differs from...
, for the first episode of the second season, as a man named Cedric, who tries to take Merlin's job as Prince Arthur's manservant.
In November 2010 Mackenzie starred in A Reluctant Tragic Hero, a comic play by Anton Chekhov, on the Sky Arts
Sky Arts
Sky Arts and Sky Arts HD is the brand name for a group of art-oriented television channels offering 18 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music...
channel. It also starred Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his angry rants, portly figure, high husky voice and support of St Helens rugby league club. More recently he has moved into dramatic acting.-Early life:He was born in St Helens, Lancashire, the youngest of four children of Laurence...
.
Mackenzie played Corporal Buckley, a brutal career soldier, in Jimmy McGovern's Accused
Accused (TV series)
Accused is a British television anthology series. Written and created by Jimmy McGovern, it stars Christopher Eccleston, Benjamin Smith, Juliet Stevenson, Andy Serkis, Marc Warren and Naomie Harris as the accused in each episode. Filming for the series took place around Manchester between May and...
, broadcast on BBC1 in November 2010.
Theatre
Crook played Billy Bibbit in the 2004 London West End production of the stage play of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's NestOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (play)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a play based on Ken Kesey's 1962 novel of the same name. Dale Wasserman's stage adaptation, with music by Teiji Ito, made its Broadway preview on November 12, 1963, its premiere on November 13, and ran until January 25, 1964 for a total of one preview and 82...
opposite Christian Slater
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
, and in 2006 he appeared in The Exonerated at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
.
He starred in director Ian Rickson
Ian Rickson
Ian Rickson is a British theatre and film director. He was the Artistic Director at the Royal Court Theatre in London from 1998 to 2006, and currently works freelance....
's production of The Seagull
The Seagull
The Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
opposite Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin A. Scott Thomas, OBE is an English actress who has also acquired French nationality. She gained international recognition in the 1990s for her roles in Bitter Moon, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The English Patient....
, as the troubled writer Konstantin for which he earned a nomination from the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Starting at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
in London in February/March 2007, it transferred to Broadway in September 2008. In December 2008 he finished the Broadway run of The Seagull at the Walter Kerr Theatre
Walter Kerr Theatre
The Walter Kerr Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre. Located at 219 West 48th Street, it is owned and operated by Jujamcyn Theaters. One of the smaller auditoriums in the theatre district, it seats 975....
.
From 15 July through to 15 August 2009 Mackenzie appeared at the Royal Court Theatre in Jez Butterworth
Jez Butterworth
Jeremy “Jez” Butterworth is an English dramatist and film director.-Life and career:Butterworth was born in London, England, and attended Verulam Comprehensive School, St Albans and St John's College, Cambridge...
's Jerusalem
Jerusalem (play)
Jerusalem is a play by Jez Butterworth that opened at the downstairs theatre of the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2009. The production starred Mark Rylance as Johnny 'Rooster' Byron and Mackenzie Crook as Ginger. After receiving rave reviews its run was extended. In January 2010 it transferred...
. He and the play received rave reviews and it was transferred to the West End's Apollo Theatre
Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American...
in February 2010. In May 2011 he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, for his role in the Broadway transfer of the show.
Mackenzie took part in the fund raising event We Are One, a celebration of tribal peoples, in aid of indigenous rights organization Survival International
Survival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969 that campaigns for the rights of indigenous tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples, seeking to help them to determine their own future. Their campaigns generally focus on tribal peoples' fight to keep their ancestral lands,...
, at the Apollo Theatre
Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American...
, Shaftesbury Avenue
Shaftesbury Avenue
Shaftesbury Avenue is a major street in central London, England, named after Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, that runs in a north-easterly direction from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus....
, on 18 April 2010. The evening was a performance of tribal prose and poetry from some of the UK and Hollywood's leading actors and musicians. The event was created and directed by Mark Rylance
Mark Rylance
Mark Rylance is an English actor, theatre director and playwright.As an actor, Rylance found success on stage and screen. For his work in theatre he has won Olivier and Tony Awards among others, and a BAFTA TV Award...
.
Mackenzie appeared in the play "Aliens" at the Bush Theatre
Bush Theatre
The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...
in October 2010.
Other work
Crook has directed a music video for the London electro band Paw Paw. (His sister Zoe is one of the band members) The stop motion animation video accompanies the band's debut single 'Wired OK', released on 16 July 2007 on Albino Recordings.Crook appeared as a postman in the music video for Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
's single "Dance Tonight
Dance Tonight
"Dance Tonight" is a song by Paul McCartney and the opening track to his 2007 album Memory Almost Full. The song was released as a download single in the United Kingdom on 18 June 2007: McCartney's 65th birthday. A week later, the song debuted at number 34 in the UK Singles Chart. The UK single was...
" alongside Golden Globe award-winning actress Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...
. The video for the song was directed by Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director, and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. - Life and career :...
and was posted exclusively on YouTube on 22 May 2007.
Crook has a deal with publisher Faber
Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
to illustrate and write a children's book. His first one, The Windvale Sprites, is due for release in November 2011.
Crook teamed up with the writers of Modern Toss and footwear giant Kickers in 2009 to provide voiceovers for a new series of comedy cartoons called Random Bandits, which are featured online at the Kickers MySpace.
On 9 April 2010 it was announced that Crook would star in the music video for Slow Club
Slow Club
Slow Club is a folk-rock duo from Sheffield, England. The band formed in 2006, after the break-up of Sheffield band The Lonely Hearts.-History:The band is made up of Charles Watson and Rebecca Taylor...
's new single, "Giving Up on Love", after band member Rebecca Taylor wrote to him.
Crook regularly works in radio, and is scheduled to appear in the BBC Radio Four show North by Northamptonshire, in 2011. Crook stars alongside Geoffrey Palmer
Geoffrey Palmer (actor)
Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE is an English actor, best known for his roles in sitcoms such as Butterflies and As Time Goes By.-Career:...
, Sheila Hancock
Sheila Hancock
Sheila Cameron Hancock, CBE is an English actress and author.-Early life:Sheila Hancock was born in Blackgang on the Isle of Wight, the daughter of Ivy Louise and Enrico Cameron Hancock, who was a publican. Her sister Billie is seven years older...
, Lizzie Roper and Jessica Henwick
Jessica Henwick
Jessica Yu Li Henwick is a British-born Eurasian actress. Her debut role was in the 2010 CBBC television programme Spirit Warriors, as the lead character Bo.She is the first East Asian actress to play the lead role in a BBC series....
.
Personal life
Crook and his wife Lindsay, a former advertising executive, reside in the North LondonNorth London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
suburb of Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburb of north London, mostly in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated about north of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. Muswell Hill is in the N10 postal district and mostly in the Hornsey and Wood Green parliamentary constituency.- History :The...
, in Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
' former semi-detoched house.
Crook and his wife were married in April 2001, and have a son, Jude Michael, born 17 January 2003, and a daughter, Scout Elizabeth, born 24 December 2007.
As a teenager, he inherited a rare breeding pair of Mediterranean Spur-thighed Tortoises, leading to his hobby of breeding chelonians
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
. In January 2010 on the Andrew Marr show, Crook revealed that he himself provides the tortoises used in his new play 'Jerusalem', taking them from his own herd.
A committed environmentalist, Crook purchased eight acres of Essex woodland in 2008, to create his own private nature reserve. But in an interview with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
he denied claims made by Wikipedia that he was a Green Party activist.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | The Man who Fell in Love with a Traffic Cone | The Man | short film |
| 1998 | Still Crazy | Dutch Kid | |
| The Eleven O'Clock Show The Eleven O'Clock Show The 11 O'Clock Show was a satirical late-night British television comedy series on Channel 4, which featured topical sketches and commentary on news items.The series ran from 1998 to 2000, most notably while hosted by Iain Lee and Daisy Donovan... |
himself | TV series | |
| 2001–2003 | The Office The Office (UK TV series) The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious... |
Gareth Keenan Gareth Keenan Gareth Keenan is a fictional paper salesman on BBC's comedy The Office. He is portrayed in the series by Mackenzie Crook as a gaunt, self-important team leader proud of his alleged lieutenant status in the Territorial Army... |
TV series: 14 episodes |
| 2002 | Ant Muzak | Gary Tibbs | short film |
| 2003 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 adventure fantasy film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney theme parks. It was directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer... |
Ragetti Pintel and Ragetti Pintel and Ragetti are recurring pirate characters in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean series of films, primarily providing comic relief throughout each film... |
|
| The Gathering | The Gathering | ||
| 2004 | The Merchant of Venice The Merchant of Venice (2004 film) The Merchant of Venice is a 2004 romantic drama film based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. It is the first full-length sound film version in English of Shakespeare's play; most other versions are videotaped productions made for television... |
Launcelot Gobbo | |
| Sex Lives of the Potato Men Sex Lives of the Potato Men Sex Lives of the Potato Men is a British comedy film released in 2004.The film is about the sexual antics of a group of potato delivery men in Birmingham and stars Johnny Vegas and Mackenzie Crook.... |
Ferris | ||
| The Life and Death of Peter Sellers The Life and Death of Peter Sellers The Life and Death of Peter Sellers is a 2004 film about the life of English comic actor Peter Sellers, based on Roger Lewis' book of the same name... |
Car Salesman | ||
| Churchill: The Hollywood Years Churchill: The Hollywood Years Churchill: The Hollywood Years is a 2004 film, directed by Peter Richardson. It stars Christian Slater as Winston Churchill, and Neve Campbell as Elizabeth II... |
Jimmy Charoo | ||
| Finding Neverland Finding Neverland Finding Neverland is a 2004 semi-biographical film about playwright J. M. Barrie and his relationship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan, directed by Marc Forster. The screenplay by David Magee is based on the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan by Allan Knee... |
Mr. Jaspers | ||
| Blake’s Junction 7 | Servalan | short film | |
| 2005 | Spider-Plant Man Spider-Plant Man Spider-Plant Man is a parody of Spider-Man, made for the Comic Relief 2005 appeal and aired on BBC One on March 11, 2005. It featured Rowan Atkinson as Peter Piper/Spider-Plant Man and Rachel Stevens as his love-interest Jane-Mary... |
Scientist | short film |
| Monkey Trousers Monkey Trousers Monkey Trousers was a short-lived comedy series on ITV in 2005, featuring Alistair McGowan, John Thomson, Ronni Ancona, Mackenzie Crook, Griff Rhys Jones, Neil Morrissey, Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Marc Wootton and Steve Coogan... |
various characters | TV series | |
| The Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm (film) The Brothers Grimm is a 2005 fantasy Adventure film directed by Terry Gilliam. The film stars Matt Damon and Heath Ledger in an exaggerated and fictitious portrait of the Brothers Grimm as traveling con-artists in French-occupied Germany during the late 18th century... |
Hidlick | ||
| 2006 | Land of the Blind Land of the Blind (film) Land of the Blind is a 2006 drama film starring Donald Sutherland, Ralph Fiennes, Tom Hollander and Lara Flynn Boyle.Land of the Blind is a dark political satire, based on several incidents throughout history in which tyrannical rulers were overthrown by new leaders who proved to be just as bad, if... |
Editor | |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by... |
Ragetti Pintel and Ragetti Pintel and Ragetti are recurring pirate characters in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean series of films, primarily providing comic relief throughout each film... |
||
| Popetown Popetown Popetown is a controversial animated sitcom, billed by its producers as "Father Ted meets South Park", following the doodles and scribblings of a student at school during a lesson. His drawings depict the life of Father Nicholas, who lives in a Vatican City parody referred to as "Popetown"... |
various roles | voice only TV series also writer |
|
| Modern Toss Modern Toss (TV series) Modern Toss is a partly animated British comedy programme based on characters from Modern Toss, a profanity-ridden series of cartoon booklets... |
various roles | voice only TV series |
|
| World of Wrestling | Glorious George | short film | |
| 2007 | Röllin sydän | Rolli | voice only: English language version of Finnish original |
| I Could Never Be Your Woman I Could Never Be Your Woman I Could Never Be Your Woman is a 2007 American romantic comedy film directed and written by Amy Heckerling and starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd. The film was released on May 11 in Spain, July 18 in Belgium, September 14 in Brazil, September 20 in Greece and October 19 in Taiwan... |
Producer | ||
| Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | Ragetti Pintel and Ragetti Pintel and Ragetti are recurring pirate characters in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean series of films, primarily providing comic relief throughout each film... |
||
| I Want Candy | Dulberg | ||
| 2008 | Three and Out Three and Out Three And Out is a 2008 British comedy film directed by Jonathan Gershfield. It premiered in London on the 21 April 2008 and was released in the UK and Ireland on 25 April 2008.-Plot:... |
Paul Callow | |
| City of Ember City of Ember City of Ember is a 2008 science fiction-fantasy film based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Jeanne DuPrau. It was directed by Gil Kenan from a screenplay by Caroline Thompson, and stars Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Bill Murray, Mackenzie Crook, Martin Landau and Tim Robbins.-Plot:In the... |
Looper | ||
| Little Dorrit Little Dorrit (TV serial) Little Dorrit is a 2008 British television serial directed by Adam Smith, Dearbhla Walsh, and Diarmuid Lawrence. The teleplay by Andrew Davies is based on the serial novel of the same title by Charles Dickens, originally published between 1855 and 1857.... |
Harris | TV series: 1 episode | |
| Love Soup Love Soup Love Soup is a British television comedy-drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond . The series is written by David Renwick of One Foot in the Grave fame, and was produced by Verity Lambert... |
Marty Cady | TV series: 1 episode | |
| 2009 | Merlin Merlin (TV series) Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 September 2008. The show is based on the Arthurian legends of the wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur but differs from... |
Cedric | TV series: 1 episode |
| Demons Demons (TV series) Demons is a pilot episode of a proposed drama series, initially competing to run as part of the CBS primetime schedule during Fall 2007. Demons was created by Barbara Hall, who also created Joan of Arcadia. The pilot starred Ron Eldard and Harold Perrineau. The pilot was not picked up by the network.... |
Gladiolus Thrip | TV series: 2 episodes | |
| Skins Skins (TV series) Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death... |
John White | TV series: 2 episodes | |
| Solomon Kane Solomon Kane (film) Solomon Kane is a 2009 epic action film directed by Michael J. Bassett based on the pulp magazine character Solomon Kane created in 1928 by Robert E. Howard. James Purefoy stars in the title role. Despite optioning the rights in 1997, filming did not begin until January 2008. The film is an origin... |
Father Michael | ||
| 2010 | Chekhov Comedy Shorts | TV series: 1 episode | |
| Accused Accused (TV series) Accused is a British television anthology series. Written and created by Jimmy McGovern, it stars Christopher Eccleston, Benjamin Smith, Juliet Stevenson, Andy Serkis, Marc Warren and Naomie Harris as the accused in each episode. Filming for the series took place around Manchester between May and... |
Lance Corporal Alan Buckley | TV series: 1 episode | |
| Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (film) Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll is a 2010 biopic of Ian Dury, starring Andy Serkis as Dury. The film follows Dury's rise to fame and documents his personal battle with the disability caused by having contracted polio during childhood. The effect that his disability and his lifestyle have upon his... |
Russell Hardy | ||
| 2011 | Ironclad Ironclad (film) Ironclad is a 2011 action film directed by Jonathan English. Written by English and Erick Kastel, based on a screenplay by Stephen McDool, the cast includes Paul Giamatti, James Purefoy, Brian Cox, Mackenzie Crook, Jason Flemying, Derek Jacobi and Kate Mara. The film chronicles the siege of... |
Marks | |
| The Adventures of Tintin | Ernie |