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Character comedy is a genre in which a comedian performs as a character they have created.


List of character comedians

Notable character comedians include: *
Tim Allen Timothy Alan Dick (born June 13, 1953), known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement'' (1991–1999) and Mike Baxter on the ABC/ ...
– Plays a handyman in ''
Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...
'' and his stand-up routines * Rowan Atkinson – Plays
Mr. Bean ''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside Curtis and R ...
*
Colleen Ballinger Colleen Mae Ballinger (born November 21, 1986) is an American comedian, YouTuber, actress, singer and writer. She is best known for her Internet character Miranda Sings, posting videos of the character on YouTube, performing her one-woman come ...
– Plays the talentless and cocky
Miranda Sings Miranda may refer to: Law * ''Miranda v. Arizona'', an American legal case * ''Miranda'' warning, an American police warning given to suspects about their rights, before they are interrogated Places Australia * Miranda, New South Wales * Mirand ...
*
Maria Bamford Maria Bamford (born September 3, 1970) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Her work has drawn critical acclaim and controversy because her humor often uses self-deprecating and dark topics, including her dysfunctional family, depressio ...
– Plays a neurotic version of herself in her stand-up shows *
George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercu ...
– Played Al Sleet the "hippy-dippy weatherman" in his stand-up routine * Jim Carrey – Often portrays a hyperactive maniac * Charlie Chaplin – Played
The Tramp The Tramp (''Charlot'' in several languages), also known as the Little Tramp, was English actor Charlie Chaplin's most memorable on-screen character and an icon in world cinema during the era of silent film. '' The Tramp'' is also the title ...
*
Andrew Dice Clay Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s with a brash, deliberately offensive persona known as "The Diceman". In 1990, he became the fi ...
– Has played the "Diceman" character for most of his stand-up career *
Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...
– Plays Ali G,
Borat ''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' ( Kazakh / Russian: ''Борат'') (also stylized as ''BORДT'', or simply ''Borat'') is a 2006 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Larry Charle ...
, and
Brüno ''Brüno'' is a 2009 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and played the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno. It is the third film based on one of Cohen's characters from ...
, among others; mostly avoided public appearances and out-of-character interviews until the mid-2010s *
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...
– Performed a fictional version of himself on ''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...
'' and ''
The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...
'' * Steve Coogan – Plays various characters, most notably
Alan Partridge Alan Gordon Partridge is a comedy character portrayed by the English actor Steve Coogan. A parody of British television personalities, Partridge is a tactless and inept broadcaster with an inflated sense of celebrity. Since his debut in 1991, h ...
*
Leigh Francis Leigh Izaak Francis (born 30 April 1973), known professionally as Keith Lemon, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television presenter. He is best known for creating and starring in Channel 4's sketch comedy show '' Bo' Selecta!'' (20 ...
– Plays original characters such as
Keith Lemon Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...
and various parodies of celebrities * Ricky Gervais – Plays various characters *
Ilana Glazer Ilana Glazer (born April 12, 1987) is an American comedian, director, producer, writer, and actress. She co-created and co-starred, with Abbi Jacobson, in the Comedy Central series ''Broad City'', which is based on the web series of the same nam ...
and Abbi Jacobson – Perform live stand-up as the characters from their comedy series ''
Broad City ''Broad City'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. It was developed from their independent web series of the same name, which was produced between 2009 and 2011. The sitcom, like the web series ...
'' *
Andy Kaufman Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman ( ; January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer and performance artist. While often called a "comedian", Kaufman preferred to describe himself instead as a "song and dance man". He has sometimes b ...
– Played various characters * Chris Lilley – Played
Ja'mie King Jamie Louise "Ja'mie" King ( ) is a fictional character portrayed by actor Chris Lilley in the Australian comedy series '' We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year'' (2005), ''Summer Heights High'' (2007)'','' '' Ja'mie: Private Sc ...
,
Mr G Hellen "Greg" Gregson, best known as Mr G, is a fictional character portrayed by Chris Lilley in the Australian mockumentary series '' Summer Heights High''. The character also appeared in the sketch comedy series ''Big Bite''. Storylines So ...
, and Jonah Takalua on the miniseries '' Summer Heights High'' *
Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary '' Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influential film c ...
- Played Lonesome Luke and Glasses Character *
Sam Lloyd Sam Lloyd (November 12, 1963 – April 30, 2020) was an American actor and singer, best known for his portrayal of lawyer Ted Buckland on the comedy-drama series '' Scrubs'' and the sitcom ''Cougar Town''. Early life Lloyd was born in Sp ...
– Plays various characters *
Anders Matthesen Anders "Anden" (''"The Duck"'') Matthesen (born 6 July 1975) is a Danish stand-up comedian, actor, and rapper. He is known for creating a wide array of memorable characters and stereotypes, which he uses as alter egos in performances. After f ...
– Plays various characters, some of which starred in the 2004 film ''
Terkel in Trouble ''Terkel in Trouble'' ( da, Terkel i knibe) is a 2004 Danish adult computer-animated musical comedy film starring Anders Matthesen. It is the first Danish computer animated feature film. The film is an adaptation of Matthesen's 2001 comedy albu ...
'' * George Miller – Played and created various characters, most famously Filthy Frank and Pink Guy * Joe Pera – Plays a version of himself in '' Joe Pera Talks With You (TV series)'' and his stand-up routines *
Paul Reubens Paul Reubens (; born Rubenfeld; August 27, 1952) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and children's entertainer. He is known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s, an ...
– Plays
Pee-wee Herman Pee-wee Herman is a comic fictional character created and portrayed by American comedian Paul Reubens. He is best known for his films and television series during the 1980s. The childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act that q ...
* Martin Short – Played
Jiminy Glick Jiminy Glick is a fictional character portrayed by Martin Short in the TV series ''Primetime Glick'' (2001–2003), the subsequent 2004 film ''Jiminy Glick in Lalawood,'' and Short's Broadway show '' Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me''. He began as a ...
, Irving Cohen,
Ed Grimley Edward Mayhoff 'Ed' Grimley is a fictional character created and portrayed by Martin Short. Developed amongst The Second City improv comedy troupe, Grimley made his television debut on the sketch comedy show '' SCTV'' in 1982, leading to popular ...
, Nathan Thurm, and various others *
Sarah Silverman Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. Silverman was a writer and performer on ''Saturday Night Live'', and she starred in and produced '' The Sarah Silverman Program'', which ran from 2007 to ...
– Played a dim-witted and naïve character who treads insensitively through controversial topics in her early stand-up shows *
Catherine Tate Catherine Jane Ford (born 5 December 1969), known professionally as Catherine Tate, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series '' The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007) ...
– Plays various characters, mostly in ''
The Catherine Tate Show ''The Catherine Tate Show'' is a British television sketch comedy written by Catherine Tate and Derren Litten. Tate also stars in all but one of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of characters. ''The Catherine Tate Show'' airs on ...
'' *
Jane Turner Jane Turner (born 1 December 1960) is an Australian actress, comedian and Logie Award-winning comedy series creator and screnwriter. Career Turner, although best known as a comedy performer, made her acting debut in the internationally ren ...
and
Gina Riley Gina Riley (born 6 May 1961) is an Australian actress, writer, singer and comedian, known for portraying Kim Craig in the television series ''Kath & Kim'', and for her work in musical theatre. Television and film Riley became a popular televis ...
– Play various characters such as Kath Day-Knight and
Kim Craig Kimberly Diane "Kim" Craig (née Day) is the moody, immature and accident-prone daughter in the Australian sitcom ''Kath & Kim'', portrayed by Gina Riley. Along with co-star Jane Turner who plays Kim's onscreen mother Kath Day-Knight, Riley is th ...
from ''
Kath & Kim ''Kath & Kim,'' (also written as ''Kath and Kim'') is an Australian sitcom created by Jane Turner and Gina Riley, who portray the title characters of Kath Day-Knight, a cheery, middle-aged suburban mother, and Kim, her self-indulgent daughter ...
'', and rarely make out-of-character public appearances *
Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman, 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director. Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows '' A Kick Up the Eighties'' ( ...
– Plays various characters *
Jim Varney James Albert Varney Jr. (June 15, 1949 – February 10, 2000) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his broadly comedic role as Ernest P. Worrell, for which he won a Daytime Emmy Award, as well as appearing in films and n ...
– Plays Ernest P. Worrell and Aunty Nelda in various productions *
Sam Hyde Samuel Whitcomb Hyde (born April 16, 1985) is an American comedian. He co-created the sketch comedy group Million Dollar Extreme (MDE) with Charls Carroll and Nick Rochefort. Hyde is known for his involvement in several public pranks and int ...
– Plays various characters *
María Elena Velasco María Elena Velasco Fragoso (17 December 1940 – 1 May 2015) was a Mexican actress, comedian, singer-songwriter and dancer. She is best known for creating and portraying La India María, a comical character based on indigenous Mexican women. E ...
– Played
La India María "La India María" (born María Nicolasa Cruz) is a fictional character portrayed and created by actress María Elena Velasco.Jonathan Pie Jonathan Pie is a fictional comedic character portrayed by British comedian Tom Walker. Written by Walker and Irish comedian Andrew Doyle, Pie is a political correspondent who rants angrily about British, American, and Australian politics, gi ...
*
Bobcat Goldthwait Robert Francis "Bobcat" Goldthwait (born May 26, 1962) is an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, known for his black comedy stand-up act, delivered through an energetic stage persona with an unusual raspy and high-pitched voice. ...
–Played a crazed comic with a loud and wild bobcat-like voice. He played up that character as Officer Zed in Police Academy.


References

{{Comedy footer Comedy genres Acting techniques Stand-up comedy