Matt King (born 31 January 1968) is an English actor, DJ and comedian currently residing in Brighton. He is best known for his role as
Super Hans in the British sitcom ''
Peep Show
A peep show or peepshow is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot.
Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the development of the ci ...
''.
Early life
King was born in
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
, Hertfordshire, England on 31 January 1968. He moved to Australia where he worked as a chef before meeting
Jimeoin McKeown
James Eoin Stephen Paul McKeown (born 24 January 1966), better known as Jimeoin (pronounced "Jim Owen"), is an English-born Irish comedian and actor.
Jimeoin rose to prominence in the early 1990s in Australia, where he had his own TV show and ...
. McKeown suggested that King become a stand-up comedian. King worked in the Australian comedy circuit for 15 years before returning to the UK.
Career
As an actor he has played many characters, including
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
and
Terry Venables
Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queen ...
in the
BAFTA-nominated comedy series ''
Star Stories
''Star Stories'' is a British television comedy programme that took a satirical look at celebrities and their lives. It was first shown on Channel 4 on 15 September 2006.
''Star Stories'' is made by Objective Productions commissioned for Channe ...
'', and also starring in his own self-penned sketch show
''Dogface'', both available on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
.
His role as Super Hans in ''
Peep Show
A peep show or peepshow is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot.
Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the development of the ci ...
'' spanned more than a decade. He has performed DJ sets in-character as Super Hans.
He has appeared in cult comedy series ''
Look Around You
''Look Around You'' is a comedic parody of British science television shows, devised and written by Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz, and narrated in the first series by Nigel Lambert. The first series of eight 10-minute shorts was shown in ...
'' and in the third series of ''
Skins'', playing Cook's father, a character very similar to Super Hans. He co-starred in the film ''
Inkheart
''Inkheart'' (german: Tintenherz) is a 2003 young adult fantasy novel by Cornelia Funke, and the first book of the ''Inkheart'' series, which was continued with ''Inkspell'' (2005) and ''Inkdeath'' (2007). The novel won the 2004 BookSense Book ...
'', appeared in the
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr.
Ritchie left school at age 15 and wor ...
film ''
Rocknrolla
''RocknRolla'' is a 2008 action crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast that includes Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandiwe Newton, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Toby Kebbell, Jeremy Piven, and Chris ...
'' and the British film ''
Bronson'', and had a lead role in the fantasy thriller ''
Malice in Wonderland''. He also appeared in the third series of ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' as Peter Streete in "
The Shakespeare Code
"The Shakespeare Code" is the second episode of the third series of the revived British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was broadcast on BBC One on 7 April 2007. According to the BARB figures this episode was seen by 7.23 mi ...
", and was a regular character in the BBC production ''
Jekyll'' playing computer expert Freeman. He played a
ticket tout in the acclaimed independent short film "
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
" by
Misha Manson-Smith.
As a stand-up comedian he has appeared at the
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
and at the
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typicall ...
.
King played a mad scientist in a 2007 commercial promoting a newly customizable credit card by Capital One.
In 2010 he played driver and bodyguard to
Ray Winstone
Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...
's character Rob Gant in ''
London Boulevard
''London Boulevard'' is a 2010 British independent film, independent crime film released in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2010. It is based on Ken Bruen's novel of 2001 of the same name, with screenplay and direction by William Monahan, mar ...
'' alongside
Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A leading man in projects across various genres in both blockbuster and independent films since the 2000s, he has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award. ''The I ...
and
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Righton (; née Knightley, born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in both independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received several accolades, including nominations for ...
. In the same year he co-wrote the
BBC2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
series ''
Whites
White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.
Description of populations as " ...
'' starring
Alan Davies
Alan Roger Davies (; born 6 March 1966) is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor and TV presenter. He is best known for his portrayal of the title role in the BBC mystery drama series ''Jonathan Creek'' (1997–2016) and as the only perm ...
.
In 2011, King starred in the Australian drama series ''
Spirited
''Spirited'' is an Australian television Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy-drama series made for subscription television channel W that aired for two seasons, 2010 and 2011.
The series stars Claudia Karvan as dentist Suzy Darling, wh ...
'', in which he plays the ghost of 1980s rock star Henry Mallet. He also stars in the
Sky One
Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
generational family comedy drama, ''
Starlings
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus ''Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...
'', co-written with
Steve Edge
Steve Edge (born 2 November 1972) is an English actor, writer and former stand-up comedian. He is most famous for his work on ''Starlings'', ''Phoenix Nights'', '' The Cup'', '' The Visit'', ''Peep Show'', '' Benidorm'' and the satirical maga ...
and produced by
Steve Coogan
Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...
.
In 2013 King appeared in the final episode of ''
The IT Crowd
''The IT Crowd'' is a British sitcom originally broadcast by Channel 4, written and directed by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, and Matt Berry. Set in the offices of the fict ...
'' as Raymond Peterfellow.
In 2015 he narrated the audiobook ''The Hunt for the Mayor of Smoochyville'', written by writer and musician
Chris Wade.
In 2017 he appeared as Phil Hendricks in the BBC drama ''
In the Dark''.
In 2018 he appeared as a policeman in the Netflix series ''
The End of the F***ing World
''The End of the F***ing World'' is a British black comedy-drama television programme. The eight-part first series premiered its first episode on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on 24 October 2017, after which the following episodes were release ...
''.
In 2019 he appeared in the music video of the
Sam Fender
Samuel Thomas Fender (born 25 April 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is known for his high tenor voice and thick Geordie accent, layered over music characterised by a roots-orientated rock approach. Fender's sound relies ...
single "
Saturday
Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The day's na ...
".
In 2021 he appeared as the father who comically abandons his family in a Zen auto commercial.
Personal life
He is a fan of
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
as is his character on ''Peep Show''.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Matt
1968 births
English male comedians
English male film actors
English male television actors
English male video game actors
English male voice actors
English television writers
Living people
Male actors from Hertfordshire
People educated at Cheshunt School
People from Watford
20th-century English comedians
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English comedians
21st-century English male actors
British male television writers