Biography for
Mackenzie Crook More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

29 September 1971, Maidstone, Kent, England, UK

Birth Name

Paul Mackenzie Crook

Height

5' 9" (1.75 m)

Mini Biography

Mackenzie Crook, one of British comedy's best known faces who collected Star Wars figurines as a child, is now immortalized in plastic as a 6in-high pirate action figure. He was born Paul Mackenzie Crook on September 29, 1971, in Maidstone, Kent, England, UK. His father worked for British Airways. His mother was a hospital manager. He went to grammar school in Dartford, and did his first plays there. In the summers he spent time with his uncle in Zimbabwe.

Young Mackenzie Crook expressed his creativity through painting and even copied a pre-Raphaelite's painting on to the back of his biker's jacket. He also joined a local youth theatre. At the age of 18 he failed to secure a place at art college and turned to writing comedy sketches. Crook ended up working at Pizza Hut, then at a chicken factory and at hospitals. However, the principal of the youth theatre believed in his potential and became his manager, guiding Crook to a career as a stand-up comedian. In 1996 he made his film debut in 'The Man Who Fell in Love with a Traffic Cone!'. In 1997 Crook was scouted by Bob Mortimer at the Edinburgh Festival. Soon he made his debut on television as a stand-up comedian on The 11 O'Clock Show, then worked on other TV shows playing grotesques and exaggerated characters.

He shot to fame as Gareth Keenan, a quirky geek with a funny haircut in a TV hit comedy "The Office" (2001), and earned himself a British Comedy Award nomination. He was also a member of the main cast of the BBC show 'TV to Go'. After that Crook shared the screen with Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice (2004), Heath Ledger in The Brothers Grimm (2005), and Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland (2004). Johnny Depp had bonded with Crook during the making of 'Neverland' and it was Depp who recommended him as Ragetti, his best known role, in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) and the sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006). He is also billed as Ragetti in the third installment of the 'Pirates' franchise Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007).

After having spent about a decade on a stand-up comedian circuit, he made a perfect tool out of that character-actor face and added experience to his effortless style. It is in the 'Pirates' trilogy that Mackenzie Crook had showed his funniest and widest variety of emotions, effortlessly shifting his facial expression from a deep philosophical pensiveness to a grotesque excitement, and from a comically exaggerated fear to such a gleeful exuberance while removing his wooden eyeball. For that particular scene he was wearing two contact lenses sandwiched on top of each other.

In 2004 Crook appeared as Billy Bibbit opposite Christian Slater in the West End stage production of 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest', which initially opened at Gielgud Theatre and then was shown at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival. At the same time Crook has been writing a script for his own future project; he describes it as a period production which is set in London around the same period as the 'Pirates' movies.

Mackenzie Crook has been enjoying a happy family life with his wife, Linsay, a former advertising executive and club-owner, and their son Jude (born in 2003). He is fond of gardening and is also focused on maintaining an organic way of life. He currently resides with his family in Peter Seller's old art-deco house in Muswell Hill, North London, England.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Steve Shelokhonov

Spouse

Lindsay

(September 2001 - present) 2 children

Trivia

Has one son, Jude (born January 17th 2003) with his wife Lindsay.

Before being cast as Gareth in "The Office" (2001) he used to work at Pizza Hut, in a chicken factory and at hospitals. He also did stand up comedy for a decade.

Lives in Peter Sellers's old semi-detached house in Muswell Hill, North London.

His mother was a hotel administrator and his dad worked in reservations for British Airways.

Daughter, Scout Elizabeth Crook (born 24 December 2007), with wife Lindsay.

Personal Quotes

There are probably more resemblances than I'd like to admit. He's very pedantic. I don't think I'm pedantic in everyday life, but he loves trivia and facts, and that's what I'm into as well. And survival stuff; I'm quite into learning about that. I just have a tendency to get very nerdy about any hobbies I pick up. - about his similarity to his character Gareth from "The Office

I can usually keep a straight face while everyone else cracks up around me, which makes me feel quite humorless. Must be my professionalism!

I once camped outside Wembley Stadium when I was 15 to see Madonna in concert. I had already bought a ticket, but I wanted to be the first in, to get as close to the stage as possible. In the end I was so exhausted from lack of sleep I just hovered at the back in a daze.

I've never actually considered myself a comedian, even though I started off in stand-up and then got the part in The Office, which was obviously a comic role. So I would say it's not a conscious decision to move away from comedy, but just to try different things. And if, in a few years' time, it turns out that people don't accept me in those roles, then I'd be quite happy to go back to being the skinny weirdo in each script.

I'm very neurotic. My mind doesn't switch off. Are you haunted by social faux pas you might have committed in the past? This happens to me 10 times a day. I wish I could be a little bit more cool, just let things go and not worry so much. I spend my whole day cringing.

I'd love to play a more serious role in a movie, really...If someone was to trust me with a more serious role in a movie, I would love that. That would be great.

It's the most profound experience of my life, doing this show [The Seagull]. It's the first time I've been entrusted with a role of this nature. Up until now, I get the quirky character, the goofy comedy guy - and this is just so far removed from those parts that I normally get.