Marc James Wootton (born 8 February 1975) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his role as Mr Poppy in the '' Nativity!'' film series. He also starred in the television series '' High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman'', ''

La La Land ''La La Land'' is a 2016 American musical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love while pursuing ...

'', '' Nighty Night'' and voiced Max in '' Counterfeit Cat''. He Voiced 2015 In Wuassywat The Clusmy Cat & Hippopotamus Voiced United Animals

Career

Wootton made early television appearances on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

comedy show '' The Eleven O'Clock Show'' and

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

's '' Cyderdelic'', E4 comedy '' The Pilot Show'' and the BBC Two sitcom '' Thin Ice''. His breakthrough role came with the Channel 4 comedy gameshow '' My New Best Friend'', in which contestants had to convince their closest friends and relatives that a series of awful characters (played by Wootton) were their new best friend, for a prize of £10,000. He then wrote and starred in the

sketch show '' Marc Wootton Exposed'', the first series of which started on 13 January and finished on 25 February 2008. His regular character Shirley Ghostman, a parody of television psychics such as Derek Acorah and

Colin Fry Colin Fry (19 May 1962 – 25 August 2015) was an English television personality, entertainer and self-proclaimed Mediumship, medium. He consistently professed his beliefs as a psychic and garnered a following across his career, whilst critics s ...

, was spun off into his own series, ''High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman'', for BBC Three. The series was shelved after an in-character appearance by Wootton on ''

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme featured Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show ...

'', during which he made a number of jokes referencing "

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, cancer patients and

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

". The BBC apologised after receiving over 350 complaints. Ghostman returned, along with other characters, in Wootton's six-part show ''

''. The series premiered on the Showtime USA network on 25 January 2010 and premiered on

on 27 April 2010. In 2018, Wootton wrote and starred in the six part comedy series '' High & Dry'' for

in the UK, which debuted on the station on 4 May 2018.

Collaborations

Wotton played the role of softly spoken dating agent Gary Furze (Lasso The Moon agency) in the first series of

Julia Davis Julia Davis (born August 1966) is an English actress, comedian, director and writer. She is known for writing and starring in the comedies Human Remains (TV series), ''Human Remains'' (2000) and ''Nighty Night'' (2004–2005). She later worke ...

' '' Nighty Night''. In the second series he played Dennis, Linda's aggressive husband. Wootton collaborated with Julia Davis again in the semi-improvised character comedy ''Couples'', for BBC Radio 4. In 2014, he starred in the first episode of the comedy anthology series '' Inside No 9'', "Sardines". In 2006, Wootton appeared in the film '' Confetti'' as a best man, Snoopy. In 2009 he starred in Debbie Isitt's Christmas comedy film '' Nativity'', a role he reprised in the sequel, '' Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger'', released in November 2012.

Filmography

Theatre

*''

Season's Greetings The Christmas season or the festive season, also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the various celebrat ...

'' as Eddie – National Theatre (2010–2011) *''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' as Nick Bottom –

Royal Shakespeare Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a Grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespea ...

–

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

(2011) *''The Same Deep Water As Me'' as Kevin Needleman –

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

(1 August – 28 September 2013) *''Bull'' – The Young Vic (2015–2016) *''Till the Stars Come Down'' as Marek - National Theatre (2024)

Radio

* ''And The Winner Is'' hosted by

Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain (TV series), Little Britain'' (2003–2006) ...

, Panellist

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

(2011) * ''Date Night'',

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

(2019)

Awards

*Rose D'or Golden Rose Award Best Gameshow, 2004 '' My New Best Friend'' (2004) *

British Comedy Award The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. The British Comedy Awards (1 ...

Best New TV Comedy '' My New Best Friend'' (2003) *BBC Two Greenlight Award '' Cyderdelic'' (2003)

References

External links

Marc Wootton
official site titled "Fooling Nobody" * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wootton, Marc 1975 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors English male comedians English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male voice actors Comedians from Hampshire Male actors from Portsmouth Writers from Hampshire