Ali Cook

Cook's career started on the Channel 5 sketch series, The Jerry@Trick show with the alternative comedians Phil Nichol and Boothby Graffoe. Andrew Newman, then the head of comedy at Five, spotted Cook during tapings which lead to him writing and starring in seven of his own comedy and Magic series for Channel 4, Channel 5, and Sky1. His Channel 4 Series Dirty Tricks was nominated for a British Comedy Award and The Golden Rose of Montreux.{{cite news |title=Making the impossible possible |url=https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2017/12/14/1768582/making-impossible-possible |access-date=11 February 2019 |publisher=The Philippine Star}}

Cook's acted in the Channel five sketch series Jerry@Trick Show before moving on to co-write and star in TV series, including The Golden Rose of Montreux nominated Monkey Magic (UK TV series), Psychic Secrets Revealed with Derren Brown for Channel 5 and the Secret World of Magic for Sky One.

Cook was the star of Channel 4's British Comedy Award nominated, late night show Dirty Tricks.{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0757073/characters/nm1246334 |title=Dirty Tricks |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=IMDb }}

Cook starred in the first Penn & Teller: Fool Us (ITV) hosted by Jonathan Ross. In 2011 he performed his Houdini-style water torture cell escape on The Slammer (CBBC).{{Cite AV media |title=The trick that killed Houdini |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nHa-sQutdI |date=2011-11-19 |type=Video |language=English |publisher=BBC}}{{Cite news |title=Grand illusions - Magic, live and astonishing, is making a comeback |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/england/london-travel/grand-illusions-dhcwrt687ss |last=Wise |first=Louise |date=2015-07-05 |access-date=2023-11-01 |work=The Times}}

He has also starred in the France 2 series Le Plus Grand Cabaret du monde produced by Magic. Recent television credits include: Ragdoll for AMC, Mr Selfridge, the role of the villainous Patrick in multiple episodes of Emmerdale in 2016 and the German officer in the BBC's 2018 adaptation of Agatha Christie's The ABC Murders.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bxc1sn |title=Episode 3 |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=BBC }}

Cook portrayed Sgt. Paul "Spud" McMellon in 2014's Kajaki. The production won the Producer of The Year Award at the 2015 British Independent Film Awards and was nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award in 2015.{{cite web|title=Nominations Announced for the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2015|url=http://www.bafta.org/press/press-releases/nominations-announced-film-awards-2015|access-date= 11 February 2019}}

Cook stars alongside Katherine Parkinson and Jay Pharoah in 2018's How To Fake A War, directed by Rudolph Herzog and produced by Film and Music Entertainment.

Other recent credits include: Twist for Sky Cinema, The Obscure Life of the Grand Duke of Corsica starring Timothy Spall, Muscle directed by Gerard Johnson, In the Cloud directed by Robert Scott Wildes for Sony Pictures, Once Upon a Time in London directed by Simon Rumley, and British Independent Film Awards nominated thriller Isolani.{{cite news |title=Movies to watch this week at the cinema: Everybody Wants Some!!, Green Room, more.|url=https://www.gamesradar.com/movies-to-watch-13-may-2016/ |access-date=10 September 2022 |publisher=gamesradar.com|language=en}}

In 2011 he appeared in Outside Bet, directed by Sacha Bennett, alongside Bob Hoskins, Phil Davis and Jenny Agutter. He has played the lead role in ten British short film dramas, most notably the psychotic character Greg in Andrew Saunder's and Stephen Frears' Striklem

In 2011, Cook was an executive producer on the feature film Dark Tide, starring Halle Berry.{{cite web |title=First Look at Simon Rumley's Once Upon a Time in London |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/837469-first-look-at-simon-rumleys-once-upon-a-time-in-london |publisher=CraveOnline |access-date=11 February 2019 |date=13 April 2017}}

• 2019 The Cunning Man, Harvest Films

Cook has written and performed three critically acclaimed sell-out Edinburgh solo shows: A Touch of Vegas (2008),{{cite news|title=Ali Cook Review|url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/a/33680/ali_cook/review|access-date=10 September 2022|publisher=chortle.co.uk|date=}} Pieces of Strange (2010),Louisa-Claire Dunnigan,{{cite news|title=Ali Cook: Pieces of Strange|url=https://broadwaybaby.com/shows/ali-cook-pieces-of-strange/22757|access-date=10 September 2022|publisher=broadwaybaby.com|date=11 August 2010}} and Principles and Deceptions (2011)Emily Priestnall,{{cite news|title=Ali Cook - Principles and Deceptions|url=https://broadwaybaby.com/shows/ali-cook-principles-and-deceptions/18293|access-date=10 September 2022|publisher=broadwaybaby.com|date=26 August 2011}}

• {{citation|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/interview-ali-cook-magician-comedian-2468234|title=Interview: Ali Cook, magician, comedian|work=The Scotsman|date=2010-08-11|access-date=2022-09-10}}
• {{citation|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/ali-cook-interview|title=Ali Cook: interview|last=Arthur|first=Tim|work=Time Out|date=2010-07-05|access-date=2019-02-03|archive-date=3 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203143832/https://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/ali-cook-interview|url-status=dead}}
• {{citation|url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/england/london-travel/grand-illusions-dhcwrt687ss|title=Grand illusions|last=Wise|first=Louis|work=The Times|date=2015-07-05|access-date=2022-09-10}}

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb name|1246334}}
• [https://www.instagram.com/ali_cook/?hl=en Ali Cook] on Instagram
• [https://twitter.com/ali_cook Ali Cook] on Twitter

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Ali}}

Category:English magicians

Category:English comedy writers

Category:English male television actors

Category:Living people

Category:1975 births