Date of Birth
7 February 1962, Aden, Yemen
Birth Name
Edward John Izzard
Height
5' 7" (1.70 m)
Mini Biography
Eddie Izzard made his first stage appearance in London's West End in 1993 with his one-man comedy show Eddie Izzard: Live at the Ambassadors (1993) (V) . The show earned Izzard an Olivier Award nomination for outstanding achievement and garnered Izzard his first British Comedy Award for top stand-up comedian. He returned to the West End the next year with his second one-man show, Eddie Izzard: Unrepeatable (1994) (V) , followed by his dramatic West End debut as the lead in the world premiere of David Mamet's The Cryptogram with Lindsay Duncan, which landed Izzard his second starring role in 900 Oneonta. Izzard appeared in 1995 portraying the title character in Christopher Marlowe's groundbreaking Edward II. In '96 Izzard made his big screen debut alongside Bob Hoskins and Robin Williams in The Secret Agent (1996) and staged another one-man show, Eddie Izzard: Definite Article (1996) (V) , for which he received his second British Comedy Award. He then took Definite Article to major cities outside the UK including New York City and returned to the West End with a new show,Eddie Izzard: Glorious (1997) (V) , which included a month in New York City at PS122. By '98 Izzard appeared in another film, Velvet Goldmine (1998), with Ewan McGregor, as well as staging his breakthrough one-man US show, Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill (1999) (V) which aired on HBO and went on to earn Izzard two Emmy Awards in 2000. At the end of the decade Izzard took on Lenny Bruce by securing the lead in Peter Hall's West End production of Lenny. Izzard started 2000 touring the world with Eddie Izzard: Circle (2002) (V) and continued to develop his acting resume with roles in _Criminal, The (2000)_, Shadow of the Vampire (2000) with John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe, co-starred opposite Kirsten Dunst in the Peter Bogdanovich-directed The Cat's Meow (2001) as Charles Chaplin and taking the male lead in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (2002) (TV) on the London stage. In 2003 Izzard was seen on the big screen in the French production Muraya- Expanded Reality and Alex Cox's Revengers Tragedy (2002) and on the small screen in a BBC mini-series _40 (2002)(TV)_. Izzard made his Broadway debut in the spring of 2003, reprising his West End role in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg.
Trade Mark
Frequently imitates James Mason and Sean Connery during his stand-up comedy routine.
Often wears his choice of "male" and "female" clothing during his stand-up acts.
Trivia
Won two Emmy Awards in 2000 for best acting by a single performer in a comedy, musical, or variety special, and best writing in a comedy, musical, or variety special for Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill (1999) (V), which aired on HBO in 1999. He won over such competition as Chris Rock and the writing team from "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993).
Born in Yemen while his parents were there on business. He has a brother named Mark. His mother died when Eddie was six years old.
Was nominated for Broadway's 2003 Tony Award as best actor (play) for a revival of A Day in the Death of Joe Egg.
Is dyslexic.
Auditioned for the role of Rodney Skinner (The Invisible Man) in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), but lost out to Tony Curran.
His comedy routines frequently contain the following elements: references to jam, banjos, bananas, monkeys, and the names Jeff, Kev, and Steve; world history; the Bible, using an impression of James Mason to portray God; pantomime; mumbling; and foreign languages, sometimes actually performing in French or German for English-speaking audiences.
Speaks French fluently.
Was touring in New Zealand during the filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He heard about the filming and, being such a big fan of the books, asked if he could make an appearance in the films. He was declined.
Uses 3 distinct voices in most of his one-man shows - God (James Mason), Sean Connery (several, including Noah) and Mrs. Badcrumble (Scottish clarinet teacher). In real life, Mrs. Badcrumble was his piano teacher as a young boy.
Sarah Townsend composes the music for all of his shows.
In 1991 he was nominated for the Perrier Award.
During the 1999 television special Python Night: 30 Years of Monty Python (1999) (TV), which Izzard hosted, John Cleese said Izzard was the lost Python.
In a 2005 poll to find the Comedian's Comedian, Izzard was voted as number 19 out of the top 50 greatest comedy acts in history by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.
Originally played Darren McCarthy in Day 6 of "24" (2001). He dropped out due to scheduling conflicts after only a day of filming. He was replaced by David Hunt.
Personal Quotes
"I'd be happy to be taken as a woman -- and that's what I was initially trying to do when I started throwing on dresses and stuff. But that wasn't going to happen because everyone kept calling me sir. So I thought I'd change the method and just start wearing what I wanted to wear."
"I can go from blokey to girlie in 15 minutes and then I'm out the door. But that's the fastest I can do it. Becoming a woman takes work."
"I definitely have breast envy. When teenage girls were saying 'I wish I had breasts', I was thinking the same thing."
"My sexuality is straight transvestite or male lesbian. It seems we are beyond the idea that I am gay and hiding it. If I had to describe how I feel in my head, I'd say I'm a complete boy plus half a girl. I don't seem to have the sixth sense that women have or their stronger senses of taste and smell. Gay men can also have it but straight men don't."
"When I first came out, I thought, I want to walk like a real woman, I don't want to do mincing steps. And there was some girl I saw walking up Holloway Road in Islington who had this long languid walk and I thought, that's what I like, so I incorporated her walk into mine."
Where Are They Now
(August 2003) Touring the United States, Australia, and New Zealand with his new show, "Sexie", throughout the last half of the year.
(April 2007) Currently starring in the F/X series, The Riches, airing on Tuesday nights and repeats on Sunday and Monday nights.
(2008) Currently touring the U.S. with his one-man show, "Stripped."
if (typeof afc_data == "undefined") {
afc_data = new Object();
}
afc_data["MIDDLE_CENTER"] = { channel: "test05-channel",
client: "ca-amazon-imdb_js",
title: "People Viewing This Page May Also Be Interested In These Sponsored Links",
help: "What's This?"
};
