Rob Brydon

An amicable sort with a talent for impersonations, Rob Brydon was a prominent actor, comedian, and radio and television personality best known for playing Uncle Bryn in "Gavin and Stacey" (BBC Three, 2007-2010), the host of "Would I Lie to You?" (BBC One, 2007-), and co-starring alongside Steve Coogan in "The Trip" (BBC Two, 2010-). Brydon was born in the village of Baglan, Wales. As a teenager, he attended Porthcawl Comprehensive School, where he showed an interest in acting by becoming a member of the school's youth theater group. He enrolled at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, but the restless young Brydon felt it did not suit him and left after a year. He immediately started his career in entertainment by joining Radio Wales at the age of 20. While working as a disc jockey, he honed and expanded his repertoire of impersonations, which included legendary actors Sean Connery and Michael Caine. Brydon even worked on his impersonation of British broadcaster Ken Bruce when he occasionally filled in as a stand-in presenter on BBC Radio 2. His vocal talents led to his working on doing voice-over work in television advertising for commercials for McDonald's, Domino's Pizza, and Renault. Brydon even worked alongside Monty Python member Eric Idle the the point-and-click adventure video game "Discworld" (1995) and its sequels "Discworld II: Missing Presumed ! ?" (1996) and "Discworld Noir" (1999). Despite his comedic and impressionist talent, Brydon's career soared when he teamed up with Julia Davis to co-write the black comedy television series, "Human Remains" (BBC, 2000). The two also starred in the six-episode series that covered issues like domestic violence, depression and death in a light-hearted manner. After "Human Remains," roles that were both comedic and serious opened up to Brydon, such as his portrayal of the controversial film critic in "Kenneth Tynan: In Praise of Hardcore" (2005). From 2007 until 2010, British television viewers watched him as the anxiously over-protective Uncle Bryn in BBC Three's romantic sitcom "Gavin and Stacey." The show became an acclaimed breakthrough show for the network, winning several BAFTA Awards and British Comedy Awards throughout its run. His affable personality and wide array of impersonations made him perfect to take over as the host of the comedy panel show "Would I Lie to You?" Brydon began hosting his own talk show, "The Rob Brydon Show" (BBC Two, 2010-13) in 2010, which lasted three seasons. In the same year, Brydon teamed up with English actor and comedian Steve Coogan to play exaggerated fictionalized versions of themselves in the sitcom series, "The Trip." Directed by Michael Winterbottom, "The Trip" followed the two actors as they go on a restaurant tour of North England, constantly bickering with one another while hilariously trying to one-up the other with celebrity impersonations. The series was a huge critical success, and was turned into a feature film that debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2010. In 2013, Brydon was honored at the year's Birthday Honors as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to comedy and broadcasting and for charitable services. He once again teamed up with Coogan for the second series of "The Trip" called "The Trip to Italy" (2014). The series was broadcast on BBC Two and was also edited into a feature length film that premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival; both the series and film received positive reviews from critics.