Steve Coogan features

[Miguel Wilkins]

Empire Mag - 1993

[couchtripper]

Here's the Coogan topic from my old forum. It has loads of content from around 2008-2014. I've just spent some hours tidying it up after years of neglect. There are still some rough edges, but BIGGEST FANS will be ok with that I'm sure.

https://forum.couchtripper.com/viewtopic.php?t=5174

[Miguel Wilkins]

Steve Coogan and the phantom of Sellers
Denied the chance to play his comedy idol in a biopic, the Alan Partridge star has found another way
Robert Meakin
1 February, 2025
The Critic

Though Ricky Gervais and Sacha Baron Cohen were hot on Steve Coogan's heels during those early years of the new century, top dog status amongst his peers and critics remained largely assured. With three triumphant television series featuring Middle England alter ego Alan Partridge in the bag, this dedicated student of comedy history was hankering for the next game-changing move.

The 1970s northern lad who had religiously recorded Monty Python television repeats knew all too well his heroes never stood still. And to further raise the stakes, the biggest hero of all was suddenly looming large.

"Who better than Coogan?" was a familiar refrain amongst London comedy cliques when it emerged in 2003 that a screen adaptation of Roger Lewis's still definitive biography, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, was in the works.

Rarely cursed by self-doubt, Coogan certainly concurred, whilst the film's executives came close — only blinking at the eleventh hour and playing it safe with the more internationally known Australian, Geoffrey Rush. "I really wanted that part badly," Coogan flatly announced shortly afterwards. "Then Geoffrey Rush came along and said, 'I want to do it,' and he's got an Academy Award and I haven't, and I was out of the picture. I don't mind admitting I was pissed off about that."

The film that followed offered some consolation; a pedestrian story on screen never coming close to the ghoul of Sellers so compellingly drawn out on Lewis's pages. Whilst chameleon Sellers' oft-repeated assertion that he possessed "no interesting personality" of his own sounded increasingly affected as years passed, Rush was given little chance to dispel the notion. Flimsy awards ceremony success at the time (Golden Globe for best TV film actor, no less) should not persuade us otherwise.

In taking on a West End production of Dr. Strangelove, Coogan set a high bar for himself

Yet Coogan could not let it rest: during his other television masterpiece, The Trip, he was still banging on about being "down to the last two" for Sellers seven years on. Co-star and professional sparring partner Rob Brydon reassured him: "As I've told you many times before, you'd have been better than Geoffrey Rush." Though fashionably playing an "exaggerated" version of himself in the series, the difference between the two Coogans at that moment was paper-thin.

Two decades on from being denied the chance to inhabit the bones of his idol, Coogan's status as the nation's comedy colossus seemed assured. Approaching 60, he had lived four years longer than Sellers (who died after a heart attack in 1980). Rather than portray the man, why not reinterpret some of his best characters?

In taking on the starring roles in a West End production of Stanley Kubrick's 1964 satirical magnum opus Dr. Strangelove, Coogan set a high bar for himself, not least logistically since it required him in four separate parts on stage (even Sellers only played three). But such audacity has not quite paid off. Sellers is having the last laugh.

Whilst critical reaction has been broadly supportive of Coogan's portrayals, the production as a whole, directed and co-written by Sean Foley along with Coogan's old collaborator Armando Iannucci, is rightly deemed a misfire — occupying an unwanted no man's land of so-so imitation of the original to hackneyed nods to the present.

As for Coogan himself? The man's long been incapable of delivering anything approaching below par, but the nagging question remains: why? It could be argued he's hindered by a play that never really hits the mark, but Coogan's performance can only be regarded as serviceable by his own impeccable standards.

Whilst portrayals of Group Captain Mandrake and President Muffley (Sellers' best roles in the film) tick along perfectly pleasingly, it's testament to Coogan's stagecraft that his Dr Strangelove counts as the standout achievement. Funny-voiced German Nazis aren't all the rage they once were, but he somehow succeeds in giving his camp psychopath a fresh new lease of life.

But again, why? Why, at the height of powers, would Coogan wish to give such blood, sweat and tears to this essentially derivative venture — one in which he was always likely to come off second best? In what also happens to be the centenary year of the late Goon's birth, modern-day Coogan, for all the plaudits enjoyed in the present, unwisely insists on an attempted land grab from Sellers' past.

Reflecting on his star's improvised/masterfully edited performance as Strangelove during the film's final moments — the previously wheelchair-bound scientist screeching, "Mein Führer! I can walk!" — Kubrick, amongst that small club of directors capable of controlling the Sellers wildfire, romantically maintained his actor had touched a "state of comic ecstasy".

Little chance of that 60 years on. Coogan's performance proves more controlled, more knowing throughout, as suits the age. Audiences are rarely left in doubt that, as with Alan Partridge, he and the writers are two steps ahead. In this respect he and Sellers have always been very different beasts; it's amongst the reasons why the play is such an awkward fit.

Such generational comparisons are also inevitably problematic. Much of Sellers' résumé struggles in the current age: whether it be Clouseau's endless pratfalls and English-speaking "French", or those impenetrable Goons and Indian/Chinaman accents, Father Time isn't merciful. Though some of the landmark performances (Fred Kite, Strangelove, some Clouseau, Chauncey Gardiner) continue to cock a snook at the unforgiving present, credible judgement of long-dead Sellers should not be overly hindered by 2025's passing tastes. Partridge will hardly be packing the same punch 60 years from now. Yet when it comes to Coogan versus Sellers, it's Coogan picking the fight.

There are personal and professional parallels impossible to ignore. After carving out early careers as light entertainment impressionists, both soon enough fixed upon bigger prizes. Young Sellers may have courteously talked of Alec Guinness as an "idol", but never without considering himself the latter's rightful comic successor. Coogan's conviction regarding his own seat at the top table was similarly unwavering from the beginning.

The significance of national minority origins cannot be downplayed, however unalike. The third child of six in a bustling Irish Catholic family in Middleton, Greater Manchester, the boy Stephen learnt to navigate the pecking order early on; proud Irish/Mancunian roots providing ample emotional rocket fuel for the journey ahead. Only child Sellers was, by contrast, monstrously spoilt by Jewish mother Peg. Whilst Coogan is armed with the certainty of regional identity, the much-travelled Sellers, often on the road with theatrical parents, couldn't even make up his mind where he was born. Having officially arrived in the Hampshire seaside resort Southsea, he could alternatively be heard insisting his birthplace was father Bill's Yorkshire. Never shy to make it up as he went along, this Portuguese Jewish/Yorkshireman/Londoner could be forgiven for the identity crisis. His rootlessness also proved the godsend for those many masks that followed.

For most, Sellers will always primarily be Clouseau as much as Coogan is always primarily Partridge. Both naturally deemed their most commercially successful creations albatrosses at various stages: Coogan only more comfortable returning to Alan once assured a degree of critical success was accomplished elsewhere on film, not least 2013's Philomena alongside Judi Dench.

Having rejected offers to reprise Clouseau for a third time in 1968, later career doldrums suffered by Sellers and Pink Panther director Blake Edwards eventually led to the Inspector's return seven years later, swiftly followed by two further sequels.

More importantly for Sellers, commercial clout courtesy of Clouseau ensured fulfilment of a near decade-long obsession with bringing Jerzy Kosiński's 1971 novel Being There to the screen. His portrayal of man-child gardener Chance, who improbably finds himself propelled to accidental status of political sage in Washington DC, remains moving and prescient — only more so when knowing Sellers is himself on borrowed time. Should we sensibly ignore the relentlessly crap The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu that followed just before his demise, Being There proves the fitting swan song.

And this is the issue when attempting to critically assess these two comic geniuses from a basis of artistic parity: bluntly speaking, Sellers made it in Hollywood — Coogan, well, just hasn't. The transition proved more straightforward for Sellers from the start: the first great cinematic role as union man Fred Kite in I'm All Right Jack overlapping with his final days as a radio Goon.

Hollywood worship soon enough ensued: his reign across the pond only kiboshed in 1964 by a series of near-fatal heart attacks brought about by constant pill-popping and bonking Britt Ekland. After all those incoherent rants about American "berks" thwarting his talent in the chaotic years that followed, a once again bankable Sellers was welcomed back to the fold a decade on.

Coogan's Tinseltown forays have been solid without ever threatening the defining career upgrade many presumed inevitable

Having struck at the nerve endings of baby boomer/middle-class English life with unrivalled brilliance for over 30 years, Coogan's Partridge occupies territory in the national psyche perhaps not seen since Tony Hancock's frayed post-war delusions earned similar reverence and affection all those decades before. Yet, apart from when enjoying the appreciative company of east-coast, west-coast comedy in-crowds, Alan's American vacation would prove mainly dispiriting. Away from Partridge, Coogan's Tinseltown forays have down the years been solid enough without ever producing the defining career upgrade many presumed would come his way.

Wrong place, wrong time? Whilst Sellers thrived in an era when leading British comic actors could look forward to clinking glasses in producers' offices in Beverly Hills, the Golden State these days offers slimmer pickings. Though Hugh Grant cashed in on being pretty before later cannily opting to be typecast as middle-aged villains, Hollywood doesn't do funny Englishmen like it used to. Dudley Moore would have little chance in 2025.

When attempting to judge a performer of his long-standing calibre, it would be folly to dismiss the possibility of Coogan still eventually earning that desired place in the Hollywood sun. The form book however indicates this to be one part of the remarkable story where he's likely to fall short.

As recent events prove, Hollywood Sellers remains the cause of a rare chink in the Coogan armour. For Coogan, the phantom of Sellers forever lingers; the one who, for a time, had it all. The one that got away.

[Miguel Wilkins]

Steve Coogan - 2025-02-05 - Dish Podcast

[Miguel Wilkins]

Steve Coogan spared driving ban after plea to save new series of The Trip with Rob Brydon
Tristan Kirk
standard.co.uk

Actor Steve Coogan has narrowly avoided a driving ban for speeding at almost 100mph after he told a court it could impact on the new series of hit TV show The Trip. The 59-year-old star of Alan Partridge was behind the wheel of a Range Rover which was caught at 97mph on the M6 on July 29 last year. Coogan already had six penalty points on his licence and wrote to a court to plead for a punishment which did not end in a ban, highlighting that he is expected to drive on the upcoming TV show.

"I have a series of important film commitments scheduled for 2025, many of which involve driving as a central component of the work", he set out, in a letter to Birmingham magistrates court. "I am due to appear in a well-established TV series called The Trip (with Rob Brydon) which as the title suggests requires me to drive. "This starts filming towards the end of June 2025 and if I were unable to drive, the production would likely be unable to proceed."

Coogan argued for the magistrate to impose five penalty points instead of six, leaving him just below the level where an automatic six-month disqualification is considered. "These projects would be severely impacted, not only affecting my own livelihood but also the many individuals dependent on these productions for work", he continued. "These include camera, sound, and lighting technicians, riggers, and others on modest wages who would face cancellations and financial hardship, as rescheduling such projects is often highly complicated."

Coogan said the past penalty points on his licence are due to expire in August 2025, he said he has stuck to the speed limits since the incident, and he expressed frustration that it has taken almost six months for the prosecution to be brought. "The delay...has significantly affected not only my ability to plan for the coming year but also discussions with colleagues and collaborators regarding potential upcoming projects." The offence happened just before midnight on the northbound side of the M6 just before Junction 12 for Telford. Coogan entered a guilty plea and was handed five penalty points, leaving him one point short of facing a ban. He was ordered to pay a £2,500 fine, plus £90 costs and a £1,000 victim surcharge.

It is not the first time Coogan has deployed his TV career in court when facing a driving ban. In 2019, the actor told magistrates in Crawley that a lengthy disqualification would force the cancellation of a new Alan Partridge series he was created for the BBC. "I'm producing a travelogue follow-on TV series where I'm basically driving around Britain," he told the court. "The whole nature of the series is that it is a travelogue and it's an artistic thing that he drives and that defines his character. You couldn't put him on a train because that not who he is – it's part of his character that he drives."

The comedian said camera shots of him driving could not be faked, and pleaded that up to 20 members of the production crew were relying financial on the show being made. The court ultimately decided to ban Coogan from driving for two months, instead of the usual six, which meant the TV show could be made as planned.

He and Rob Brydon have already made four series of The Trip, playing exaggerated versions of themselves as they travel by car together to review restaurants. The show's series, directed by Michael Winterbottom, have been set in the UK, Italy, Spain, and Greece. Coogan and Brydon have both previously expressed a desire to film a fifth series, with Ireland, Wales, and the US suggested as locations. But in February last year Winterbottom publicly ruled out a possibility of another series. However, Coogan's court case reveals a change of heart, with plans already well underway.

Coogan was banned from driving for 28 days and fined £670 in 2016 after he was caught driving at almost twice the speed limit on a 30mph road in Brighton. Coogan has previously expressed his fondness for driving, and in his letter to the court for his latest offence he says he drives around 14,000 miles a year for his work on TV shows, films, and podcasts.

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What could possibly go wrong while speeding in a large lump of expensive metal?

[SteveCooganFan]

Bad. And wrong.

Very disappointing from Our Steve.

[SteveCooganFan]

Link to Steve Coogan on BBC Radio's Desert Island Discs (2009)

Track list:
1 Siouxsie and the Banshees – Hong Kong Garden

2 Louis Armstrong – We Have All the Time in the World

3 The Mock Turtles – Wickerman

4 Talking Heads – (Nothing But) Flowers

5 Happy Mondays – Hallelujah

6 Edward Elgar – Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36: Variation IX "Nimrod"

7 Joni Mitchell – California

8 The Smiths – Panic

[SteveCooganFan]

Dr Strangelove starring Steve Coogan official cinema trailer (2025)

[Miguel Wilkins]

Steve Coogan pulls out of performance of Dr Strangelove in Dublin
Feb 14 2025
irishtimes.com

Steve Coogan had to pull out of Dr Strangelove at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre last night with laryngitis. It is not known yet if he will be back for Friday night's performance. Coogan plays four parts in the production which is based on the original 1964 Stanley Kubrick classic film of the same name. Ticket holders received a text message on Thursday evening to inform them that the actor "is recovering from laryngitis and will not perform 13 Feb 2025 19.30 @BGET".

The show runs until February 22nd. Actor Ben Deery, who is known for And Then There Were None, A Street Cat Named Bob and Baldur's Gate III, replaced Coogan on stage for last night's show.

[SteveCooganFan]

UPDATE: To spare Steve's voice and (half) continue the performance, he shared his four roles with understudy Ben Deery. Great idea.

[SteveCooganFan]

Steve Coogan on The Late Late Show (15 Feb 2025)

[SteveCooganFan]

Steve Coogan on the Off Menu podcast (2023)

[SteveCooganFan]

The Guardian picture essay
Behind the curtain: what really goes on in theatre dressing rooms?
Ahead of next month's Olivier awards, photographer David Levene reveals the secrets of life backstage in London's West End, capturing the likes of Steve Coogan, Vanessa Williams, Paapa Essiedu and John Lithgow as they prepare for performance
By David Levene

Dr Strangelove – Noël Coward theatre
"At the half, I start doing my routine – shave, hair, brush teeth, moisturise, get all these clothes off, put my undergarments on: shirt, sound straps and all that. They asked me to do three roles – Kong, Strangelove and Mandrake the officer – and I asked if it was possible to do the President as well. I think that's what's made the play. The changes backstage are very frenetic. They're ordered, but they're fast. Like a Formula One pit stop.

At the beginning of last year, I had long hair and a beard. When this is over I'll probably let it grow back. It's a kind of barometer for how long its been since I've had a job. I just show my agent and if my beard and my hair is long then I'm like: 'you've gotta get me a job!'

When I'm the president I'm basically doing my Jack Lemon impersonation. And then when I do Kong, I'm sort of channeling Bill Clinton, that Arkansas accent. Mandrake is sort of my stock Hooray Henry, with some nuance, and Strangelove is just a camp Nazi, which I thought would be quite good to take the edge off it somehow, and I don't know, makes it less distasteful? I try to do it a little Andy Warhol-ish, sort of like Studio 54 ...

Normally, I start with this... ah, ba, ba ba ba bum. Normally I sing, I siiiiii-ng to warm up the voice. I siiiiing! Wherherherherhere is love?'



I always stretch. At my age – 59 – you've got to otherwise you seize up. I like this drink here – it's saved my bacon, frankly. It's raw ginger, lemon, chilli and honey. You know that feeling when you're like: 'Christ, I'm about to come down with something.' I've had that loads of times on this. I get that pre-flu feeling, and feel my body pushing it away, saying: 'No, come back another time.'



This is hardest thing I've ever done. I mean, I say hardest, the most demanding. All the other stuff I do is more controlled and you have time to improve. It's just demanding being here every day to do it. I can't believe I've done a hundred-and-whatever shows!"
Steve Coogan

[Miguel Wilkins]

Steve Coogan - Easily Distracted

[SteveCooganFan]

Big Coogan interview on The Daily Show (2025)