Eddie Izzard

Edward John “Eddie” Izzard or popularly known as Eddie Izzard is a British actor, writer, and stand-up-comedian. He was born on February 7, 1962 in the Colony of Aden. Izzard and his family moved to Northern Ireland at Bangor a year after his birth and stayed there for over 5 years.  Soon they moved to Skewen, Wales. Following his mother’s death, Izzard attended several boarding schools to finish his studies.

Izzard studied at the University of Sheffield where he began his career as a comedian with his friend and co-student, Rob Ballard. After he discontinued his degree course in Accountancy, Izzard and Ballard decided to take their acts to Covert Garden. In 1880, he separated from Ballard and started to work as a solo street performer in the United States and Europe.

Izzard never loses hope in becoming a stand-up-comedian and pursues his career, in stand-up-comedy venues, in Great Britain. The Banana Cabaret, located in Balham, London, is where he performed his first gig. In 1987, Izzard had his first major stage appearance in London’s Comedy Store.

In 1994, he debuted, in his lead role, in the world premiere of David Mamet’s “The Cryptogram.” The success of his lead role led to another starring role on the black comedy “900 Oneonta” by David Beaird. In 1998, he appeared briefly on “The American Film Institute’s Tribute to Monty Python.” Eddie Izzard appeared in numerous films, in 1996 and received several awarding body nominations. He received Toby Award nominations like “Best Revival of Play”, “Best Leading Actor”, and “Best Direction.”

Izzard comedy style was highly influenced by Monty Python, especially in his use of conscious deliver y. This is a comedy style that jumps between the topic and stage associates.  Besides from being a stand-up-comedian, Izzard is also engaged in campaigning work. He is a well known as a Pro-European Union campaigner that supports the integration of UK into EU. He also appeared in several political debates as part of his campaigning. On March 18, 2007, he was listed as the number three of the 100 British Nation Comedians. However, he ranked fifth is its updated version in the year 2010. Today, he is one of the 24 members of HBO running show time series.

Izzard had been elected as the honorary president of the University of Sheffield’s Sheffield Students’ Union. He was also presented with the 6th Annual Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism on February 20, 2013. He currently plays the role of Dr. Abel Gideon in the television show “Hannibal.”