Michael James Wozniak (born 8 November 1979) is a British comedian, writer, actor and former medical doctor. He portrays Brian in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Man Down'' and is a member of the team that makes ''Small Scenes'' for

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 ...

Early life

Wozniak was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, was raised in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, and has a twin sister. He has Polish and Welsh ancestry.

Education

Wozniak was educated at

Portsmouth Grammar School The Portsmouth Grammar School (PGS) is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Portsmouth, England, located in the historic part of Portsmouth. It was founded in 1732 as a Single-sex education, boys' school ...

. He studied Medicine at

St George's, University of London St George's, University of London (SGUL), legally the St George's Hospital Medical School, was a public medical school from 1733 to 2024 in South London, England. It merged with City, University of London to form City St George's, University of ...

and worked as a doctor for several years before pursuing comedy.

Career

Wozniak worked doing live

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

starting in the late 1990s, and began

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

in 2007. He won the Amused Moose Laugh-Off contest at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

in 2008. He was nominated for the comedy newcomer award the same year. Wozniak performed at the

Adelaide Fringe Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between ...

in 2009. Wozniak was nominated for the Edinburgh Best Comedy Show in 2013.

Television

Wozniak's first major role in television came when he was cast in the series '' Man Down'' in 2013, alongside

Greg Davies Gregory Daniel Davies ( ; born 14 May 1968) is a Welsh comedian, actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known for his roles as Mr Gilbert in ''The Inbetweeners'' (2008–2010), Ken Thompson in ''Cuckoo'' (2012–2019), Dan Davies in '' Man ...

, who created and starred in the show. He played strait-laced financial adviser Brian, a friend of Davies' character. In 2015, he wrote

physical comedy Physical comedy is a form of comedy focused on manipulation of the body for a humorous effect. It can include slapstick, clowning, mime, physical stunts, or making funny faces. Physical comedy originated as part of the Commedia dell'arte. It is ...

''Ruby Robinson'' for Sky Arts. It starred

Kim Cattrall Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British, Canadian, and American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominati ...

and a troupe of acrobats. Wozniak appeared and came second in series 11 of '' Taskmaster'', which started broadcast in March 2021. He has a long history with ''Taskmaster'', having won the original Edinburgh Fringe version of the show in 2010. In 2024, he was the assistant to Taskmaster Rose Matafeo in '' Junior Taskmaster''. In April 2023, he appeared on '' The Great Celebrity Bake Off'' as part of Channel 4's

Stand Up to Cancer Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a charitable organization that was established as a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). In 2022, SU2C was separately incorporated and was recognized by the IRS as a Section 501(c)(3) public charit ...

fundraiser.

Film

In 2016, Wozniak played the role of Josh in

Alice Lowe Alice Eva Lowe (born 3 April 1977)England & Wales births 1837 – 2006 is an English actress, writer, director, and comedian. She has appeared as Dr. Haynes in '' Black Mirror: Bandersnatch'' and Madeleine Wool/Liz Asher in ''Garth Marenghi's ...

's '' Prevenge''. Wozniak made his directorial debut with a

dramedy Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

entitled ''Sump'', released in 2017 and screened at various film festivals. The film has a 14 minute run time and features a character named Sally, played by Jeany Spark, whose husband is trapped in a cave with others. In 2022, Wozniak played the alien Gordan in the science fiction comedy film '' We Are Not Alone''.

Podcasts

On his ''St. Elwick's Neighbourhood Association Newsletter Podcast'', Wozniak plays the role of host Malcolm Durridge. The show focuses on the neighbourhood association newsletter of St Elwick's, a fictional ward of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

, forced through budgetary cuts to change from a printed edition to the "cheapest alternative": a podcast. Wozniak also appears frequently in different roles on the '' Beef and Dairy Network Podcast,'' ten episodes of which were broadcast on

in 2017-2018. In 2021, he started '' Three Bean Salad'' with Henry Paker and Benjamin Partridge. In March 2024, it won the Best Comedy Podcast at the

Chortle Awards The Chortle Awards were set up in 2002 by the comedy website Chortle to honour the best of established stand-up comics currently working in the UK. A panel of reviewers draw up a shortlist, which is presented for public vote at the Chortle webs ...

Radio

Wozniak has appeared frequently in ''

Tim Key Timothy Key (born 2 September 1976) is an English poet, comedian, actor and screenwriter. He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, both as a solo act and as part of the comedy group Cowards (comedy troupe), Cowards, and plays Alan Pa ...

's Poetry Programme'' as a character called Jiffy, notably in the episodes "Accountancy" and "Cuisine". In 2024, he presented the pilot of the

improv comedy ''Wing It!'' The series was commissioned but with Alasdair Beckett-King hosting.

Filmography

References

External links

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Acting and writing filmographySt. Elwick's Neighbourhood Association Newsletter Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wozniak, Mike 1979 births Living people Comedians from Hampshire Comedians from Oxford Male actors from Oxford Male actors from Portsmouth Writers from Oxford Writers from Portsmouth English male comedians English people of Polish descent English stand-up comedians