Nigel Planer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nigel Planer
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Planer after receiving his Honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Edinburgh Napier University in 2011
|
|
| Born |
Nigel George Planer
22 February 1953 Westminster, London, England
|
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Spouse(s) |
|
Nigel George Planer (born 22 February 1953) is a British actor, writer, and musician. He is well-known for playing Neil, the hippie housemate, in the TV show The Young Ones. He also played Ralph Filthy in Filthy Rich & Catflap.
Nigel Planer narrated the children's animated series Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids. He has performed in many famous West End musicals. 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 awards, like the Olivier and BAFTA.
Contents
Nigel Planer's Early Life
Nigel Planer grew up in Mortlake, London. His father, George, started a company that developed new technology for freezing cells. His mother, Lesley, was a speech therapist.
Nigel went to Westminster School in central London. There, he wrote a funny play about the school with another student, Stephen Poliakoff. He started studying African and Asian Studies at the University of Sussex. However, he left to study acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Nigel Planer's Career Highlights
Nigel Planer was one of the first members of The London Comedy Store and The Comic Strip. These groups helped start the "alternative comedy" movement in the UK. He also wrote several books, plays, and TV scripts. In 2011, he received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Edinburgh Napier University.
Nigel Planer on Television
Nigel Planer is most famous for playing Neil, the hippie character, in the BBC comedy The Young Ones. This show was on TV in 1982 and 1984. He also appeared in The Comic Strip Presents..., a series of short films that started in 1982.
In 2003, Planer played Professor Dumbledore in a funny Harry Potter parody show. He also had leading roles in TV shows like Shine on Harvey Moon, Filthy Rich and Catflap, and The Grimleys. He made guest appearances in many popular shows, including Inside No. 9, The Bill, French and Saunders, and Jonathan Creek. He played Matt LeBlanc's lawyer in the TV series Episodes.
Nigel Planer in Theatre
Nigel Planer's first big chance in theatre was as an understudy for David Essex in the musical Evita. In 1990, he took over a role from Michael Gambon in the play Man of the Moment.
He was part of the first London cast for the musical Chicago in 1997. He also played Pop in the original West End musical We Will Rock You, which features songs by Queen.
In 2006, he played the narrator in The Rocky Horror Show. He then starred as The Wizard in the first West End production of Wicked. In 2009, he took on the role of Wilbur in Hairspray.
Nigel Planer played Grandpa Joe in the original London production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2013. 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. In 2020, he played Grandpa in the arena tour of David Walliams' Grandpa's Great Escape.
Nigel Planer in Films
Nigel Planer has appeared in several films. These include Flood, Bright Young Things, and The Wind in the Willows. He also appeared in Brazil and Carry On Columbus.
Nigel Planer's Music Career
Nigel Planer was a member of the 1980s comedy rock band Bad News. They released two albums that were produced by Brian May from Queen. The band performed at big music festivals like Donington and Reading.
As Neil from The Young Ones, Planer had a number two hit song in 1984 with "Hole in My Shoe". This song won him a Brit Award. He also released an album called Neil's Heavy Concept Album. The Young Ones also appeared on Cliff Richard's charity song "Living Doll" in 1986, which was number one in the UK.
In 2015, he started a new music project called Rainsmoke. He has also released his own songs, including "Five Songs Left" and "Four Songs More", which he wrote when he was eighteen.
Nigel Planer as a Voice Actor
Nigel Planer has lent his voice to many projects. He read the full audiobook versions of many of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. He also voiced characters in the games Discworld 2 and Discworld Noir.
He was the narrator for the children's TV series Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids, and for its audiobook, Fearsome Tales for Fiendish Kids. For this, he was nominated for a BAFTA award. He also voiced Dr. Marmalade in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. Planer has narrated many documentaries for BBC Four, including Prog Rock Britannia and Heavy Metal Britannia.
Nigel Planer's Writing
Nigel Planer has written many different types of works. These include books, plays for the stage, TV shows, radio plays, and newspaper articles. He also wrote 105 episodes of The New Magic Roundabout.
Books by Nigel Planer
- Neil’s Book of the Dead (1984)
- I an actor: Nicholas Craig (1988)
- A Good Enough Dad (1992)
- Let’s Get Divorced (1994)
- Therapy and How to Avoid it (1996)
- Unlike The Buddha (1997)
- The Right Man (2000)
- Faking It (2003)
- Jeremiah Bourne in Time (2023)
- Making Other Plans (2023)
Plays by Nigel Planer
- 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)
- She Devil! (Workshop production) (2019)
- All Above Board (2021)
Images for kids
-
Nigel Planer receiving his Honorary Doctor of Arts degree in 2011.
See also
In Spanish: Nigel Planer para niños
