Nigel Planer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nigel Planer
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Planer after receiving his Honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Edinburgh Napier University in 2011
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Nigel George Planer
22 February 1953 Westminster, London, England
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| Years active | 1977–present |
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Nigel George Planer (born 22 February 1953) is a British actor, writer, and musician. He is famous for playing Neil, the hippie housemate, in the funny BBC TV show The Young Ones. He also played Ralph Filthy in Filthy Rich & Catflap.
Nigel Planer has performed in many popular musicals in London's West End. These include Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He also appeared in Hairspray. He won a BRIT award in 1984 and has been nominated for several other big awards, like the Olivier and BAFTA.
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Nigel Planer was born in Westminster, London, England. He went to the University of Sussex but left early to start his acting career.
He was one of the first members of the London Comedy Store and The Comic Strip. These groups helped start a new kind of comedy in the UK called "alternative comedy." He also performed in a comedy duo called "The Outer Limits" with Peter Richardson. Together, they wrote funny sketches for TV shows like Not the Nine O'Clock News.
Nigel Planer also created a funny fake actor character named "Nicholas Craig" with Christopher Douglas. This character appeared in books, on radio, TV, and in live shows. In 2011, Nigel Planer received an honorary degree from Edinburgh Napier University for his work in the arts.
Acting Roles
Nigel Planer has had many different acting roles in TV, theatre, and films.
Television Appearances
Nigel Planer is most famous for playing Neil, the quiet, gloomy hippie in the BBC comedy The Young Ones. This show was very popular and ran in 1982 and 1984. He also starred in The Comic Strip Presents..., a series of short comedy films.
He played Professor Dumbledore in a funny Harry Potter parody called Harry Potter and the Secret Chamber Pot of Azerbaijan in 2003. He has also had main roles in TV shows like Shine on Harvey Moon, Filthy Rich and Catflap, The Grimleys, and King and Castle.
Nigel Planer has made guest appearances in many other TV shows. These include Inside No. 9, The Bill, Jonathan Creek, Blackadder III, and Death in Paradise. He even played Matt LeBlanc's lawyer in the TV series Episodes.
Theatre Performances
Nigel Planer's first big chance in theatre was as an understudy for the role of Che Guevara in the musical Evita in London's West End.
He has played many leading roles in plays and musicals. In 1997, he was part of the first London cast for the musical Chicago, playing Amos Hart. He was also in the first West End cast of the Queen musical, We Will Rock You, where he played Pop.
In 2006, he was the narrator in The Rocky Horror Show. He then starred as The Wizard in the first West End production of Wicked. This show opened in London on 27 September 2006.
In 2009, he took over the role of Wilbur in the West End musical Hairspray. He also toured the UK in Doctor Who: Live and played Captain Hook in a pantomime in Sheffield.
From 2013, Nigel Planer starred as Grandpa Joe in the first London production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. For this role, he was nominated for an Olivier Award. In 2018, he toured with Ade Edmondson in a play they wrote together called Vulcan 7.
Film Roles
Nigel Planer has appeared in several films. Some of these include Flood, Bright Young Things, Hogfather, and The Colour of Magic. He also appeared in classic films like Brazil and Carry On Columbus.
Music Career
Nigel Planer was part of a funny 1980s rock band called Bad News. They released two albums that were produced by Brian May from the band Queen. Bad News even performed at big music festivals like Donington and Reading.
As his character Neil from The Young Ones, Nigel Planer had a number two hit song in 1984 called "Hole in My Shoe". This song won him a Brit Award. He then released an album called Neil's Heavy Concept Album. The Young Ones also sang on Cliff Richard's charity song "Living Doll" in 1986, which was number one for three weeks.
In 2015, he started a new music project called Rainsmoke. More recently, in 2021, he released his own songs, including "Five Songs Left" and "Four Songs More," which were inspired by folk music. He also released jazz and pop songs like "City in the Summer" and "Love Strikes."
Voice Acting Work
Nigel Planer is well-known for his voice acting. He was the narrator for many of Terry Pratchett's Discworld audiobooks, reading the full stories. He also voiced characters in the TV adaptations of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather and The Colour of Magic. He lent his voice to video games like Discworld 2 and Discworld Noir.
Some of the Discworld audiobooks he narrated include:
- The Colour of Magic
- The Light Fantastic
- Mort
- Guards! Guards!
- Hogfather
He was also the narrator for the TV series Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids, which earned him a BAFTA nomination. He voiced the main character in Romuald the Reindeer and Dr. Marmalade in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. He has narrated many documentaries for BBC Four, including Prog Rock Britannia and Heavy Metal Britannia.
Writing Projects
Besides acting and music, Nigel Planer is also a writer. He has written several books, plays for the stage, TV shows, radio plays, and newspaper articles. He even wrote 105 episodes of The New Magic Roundabout.
Books Written
- Neil’s Book of the Dead (1984)
- I an actor: Nicholas Craig (1988)
- A Good Enough Dad (1992)
- The Right Man (2000)
- Faking It (2003)
- Jeremiah Bourne in Time (2023)
- Making Other Plans (2023)
Plays Written
- On the Ceiling (2008)
- Death of Long Pig (2009)
- The Magnificent Andrea (2011)
- Game of Love and Chai (2018)
- Vulcan 7 (2018) (with Adrian Edmondson)
- All Above Board (2021)
Images for kids
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Nigel Planer receiving his Honorary Doctor of Arts degree.
See also
In Spanish: Nigel Planer para niños
