Mackenzie Crook facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mackenzie Crook
Crook in 2009
Born	Paul James Crook (1971-09-29) 29 September 1971 (age 53) Maidstone, Kent, England
Occupation	Actor, director, writer
Years active	1996–present
Spouse(s)	Lindsay Crook ​ (m. 2001)​
Children	2

Mackenzie Crook (born Paul James Crook, 29 September 1971) is a well-known English actor, director, and writer. He became famous for playing Gareth Keenan in the British TV show The Office. He also played Ragetti in the popular Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

You might also know him as Orell in the HBO series Game of Thrones, or as the main character in Worzel Gummidge. Mackenzie Crook also created and starred in the BBC Four show Detectorists (2014–2022), which won him two BAFTA awards. He has also played important roles in the TV series Britannia.

Early life and interests

Mackenzie Crook was born on September 29, 1971, in Maidstone, Kent, England. He grew up in Dartford, also in Kent. His father, Michael Crook, worked for British Airways, and his mother, Sheila Crook, was a hospital manager. When he was a child, he received special treatment for a health condition.

During his summer holidays, he often visited his uncle's tobacco farm in northern Zimbabwe. It was there that he discovered his love for painting. He went to Wilmington Grammar School for Boys.

Career highlights

Film and television

One of Mackenzie Crook's first TV appearances was in a sketch show called Barking on Channel 4 in 1998. He played a funny, over-the-top schoolteacher. Later that year, he joined The Eleven O'Clock Show as a comedy writer and performer.

In 2001, Crook tried out for the role of Gareth Keenan in The Office. This show, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, was a very popular comedy. Even though the part was first written for a bigger, tougher actor, Crook got the role. In 2001, he was nominated for a British Comedy Award for being a great new comedy star.

He became known to a global audience as Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Ragetti was a pirate with a funny wooden false eye. He appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007).

Crook also appeared in other films, like The Merchant of Venice (2004) and Finding Neverland (2004). He lent his voice and movements to a character in Steven Spielberg's animated film The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011).

In 2013, he played the character of Orell in the third season of the hit series Game of Thrones.

One of his most successful projects is the comedy series Detectorists. He wrote, directed, and starred in this show, which first aired on BBC Four in 2014. The show is about two friends, Andy (played by Crook) and Lance (Toby Jones), who love searching for metal objects with their detectors. It's a gentle and funny look at their lives and their metal-detecting club. For Detectorists, Crook won a British Academy Television Craft Award for Best Writing in a Comedy Series. The show itself won the British Academy Television Award for Best Situation Comedy. The series ran for three seasons, with a final special episode in 2022.

Crook also played Nestor of Maddox in the fantasy-comedy series Yonderland and the dual roles of Veran and Harka in Britannia. From 2019 to 2021, he starred as the main character in the TV series Worzel Gummidge, which he also wrote and directed.

Theatre performances

Mackenzie Crook has also had a successful career in theatre. In 2004, he played Billy Bibbit in the London stage production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

He starred as Konstantin in The Seagull, a play that started in London in 2007 and then moved to Broadway in 2008. For this role, he was nominated for an Evening Standard Theatre Award.

From 2009, Crook appeared in Jez Butterworth's play Jerusalem at the Royal Court Theatre. The play and his performance received excellent reviews. It later moved to the West End and then to Broadway, where he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 2011. He returned to the play for revivals in London in 2011 and 2022.

Other creative work

Beyond acting, Mackenzie Crook has explored other creative paths. He directed a music video for the London band Paw Paw. He also appeared as a postman in the music video for Paul McCartney's song "Dance Tonight" alongside actress Natalie Portman.

Crook has written and illustrated children's books. His first book, The Windvale Sprites, was released in 2011. It was nominated for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. He also wrote The Lost Journals of Benjamin Tooth. In 2024, it was announced he would direct the second season of the Channel 4 comedy-drama The Change. He also has a book for adults, If Nick Drake Came To My House, set for release in November 2024.

He has also worked in radio, appearing in the BBC Radio Four show North by Northamptonshire.

Personal life

Mackenzie Crook is an atheist. He is married to Lindsay Crook, a former advertising executive. They got married in April 2001 and have two children, a son and a daughter. The family lives in Muswell Hill, London.

Filmography (selected)

Film

Television

See also

In Spanish: Mackenzie Crook para niños