Jim Piddock
{{Short description|British actor (b. 1956)}}
{{Lead too short|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jim Piddock
| image = Jim Piddock at TIFF 2016.jpg
| caption = Piddock exiting the premiere of the film Mascots at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival
| birth_name = James Anthony Piddock
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|04|08}}
| birth_place = Rochester, Kent, England
| occupation = Actor, producer, writer, and author
| alma_mater = Drama Studio London
King's College, London University
| years_active = 1978–present
| spouse = {{marriage|Margaret Oberman|1991|2004|end=divorce}}{{cite web |title=Odd Couple Become Partners in Crimefighting |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/09/movies/odd-couple-become-partners-in-crimefighting.html |website=www.nytimes.com}}
{{marriage|Ann Cusack|2023}}
| relatives = Joan Cusack (sister-in-law)
John Cusack (brother-in-law)
Dick Cusack (father-in-law)
| children = 1
}}
Jim Piddock (born April 8, 1956) is an English actor, producer and writer who began his career on the stage in the United Kingdom before immigrating to the United States in 1981.
Early life
Piddock was born James Anthony Piddock on April 8, 1956, in Rochester, Kent, the son of Celia Mary (née O'Callaghan) and Charles Frederick Piddock.{{Cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/48/Jim-Piddock.html|title=Jim Piddock Biography (1956-)|website=www.filmreference.com}}
Career
Piddock began his acting career on the stage in the UK before immigrating to the US in his early twenties. He made his US theatrical debut in a one-man show, The Boy's Own Story, in 1982. He also appeared in Lethal Weapon 2, Independence Day, The Prestige, Austin Powers in Goldmember, The Five-Year Engagement, Think Like a Man Too, and several Christopher Guest films, including Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.{{cite web|title=Jim Piddock Biography|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/48/Jim-Piddock.html|publisher=Film Reference}}{{cite web|title=Jim Piddock| date=20 April 2022 |url=http://www.hollywood.com/celebrities/1118594/jim-piddock#credits|publisher=Hollywood.com}}
=Stage career=
Piddock made his theatrical debut in the US in The Boy's Own Story, a one-man show about a football goalkeeper, at the Julian Theatre in San Francisco. That same year (1982), he was cast in Noël Coward's Present Laughter, and other Broadway and Off-Broadway shows followed, including the original US production of Noises Off, The Knack at the Roundabout Theatre, Make and Break, and Design For Living.
I spent the first few years of my career pretty much doing nothing but stage work. I started in rep companies in England then did a one-man show in the US which led very quickly to doing several Broadway shows. I got very lucky early on. They were fun shows to do. I was in the first ever production of Noises Off in America and my first ever job in New York was being directed by and appearing with George C. Scott.{{cite web|last=Willoughby|first=Shane|title=Major Zero Speaks!|url=http://thegamingliberty.com/index.php/2011/01/15/major-zero-speaks-an-interview-with-jim-piddock/|publisher=The Gaming Liberty|access-date=4 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110119034623/http://thegamingliberty.com/index.php/2011/01/15/major-zero-speaks-an-interview-with-jim-piddock/|archive-date=19 January 2011|url-status=dead}}
In November 2007, he appeared at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood, starring on stage in a production of What About Dick? alongside an all British expat cast, including Billy Connolly, Tim Curry, Eric Idle, Eddie Izzard, Jane Leeves, Emily Mortimer and Tracey Ullman.{{cite web|title= Eric Idle Workshops 'What About Dick?' with Izzard, Curry|url=http://losangeles.broadwayworld.com/article/Eric_Idle_Workshops_What_About_Dick_with_Izzard_Curry_20071012|publisher=Broadway World|date=12 October 2007}} When the play officially premiered in 2012, with the addition of Russell Brand, he was again in the cast.{{cite web|first=Michael|last=Gioia|title=What About Dick?, With Russell Brand, Eddie Izzard, Jane Leeves, Tracey Ullman, Offered 26–29 April in L.A.|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/165295-What-About-Dick-With-Russell-Brand-Eddie-Izzard-Jane-Leeves-Tracey-Ullman-Offered-April-26-29-in-LA|publisher=Playbill|date=26 April 2012}} He also appeared in 2009 at the Montalban Theatre and on Broadway in An Evening Without Monty Python.
=Film and television career=
Of his transition into television, Piddock said:
I'd always wanted to end up working in film and TV. I guess I could have stayed in New York and probably had a long and fruitful career in the theatre but in the mid-1980s I felt like it was time to change gears and I'd certainly not been short-changed in terms of getting to perform live.{{cite web|last=Willloughby|first=Shane|title=Major Zero Speaks!|url=http://thegamingliberty.com/index.php/2011/01/15/major-zero-speaks-an-interview-with-jim-piddock|publisher=The Gaming Liberty}}
He has appeared in close to a hundred TV shows, including The Haunting of Bly Manor, Modern Family, A Confession, Designated Survivor, Get Shorty, Training Day, Mom, Childrens Hospital, The Royals, Touch, Two and a Half Men, Castle, ER, Law & Order: LA, Party Down, Chuck, Dollhouse, Without a Trace, Monk, Lost, Crossing Jordan, Citizen Baines, Friends, Yes, Dear, Angel, The Tracey Ullman Show, Murder She Wrote, Coach, Tour of Duty, Max Headroom, and The Twilight Zone.
He has also appeared in several TV films and mini-series, including From The Earth to the Moon, A Mom for Christmas, She Creature on HBO, and The Women of Windsor. He also created, wrote and produced the BBC series Too Much Sun.
His film appearances include Get Him to the Greek, Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. Falling Up, The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising, Who's Your Caddy?, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, The Prestige, Love for Rent, A Different Loyalty, See This Movie, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Multiplicity, Independence Day, Traces of Red, and Lethal Weapon 2.
He also appeared in the Christopher Guest comedies Best in Show as the Dog Show commentator with Fred Willard, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration, and Mascots, the last of which he co-wrote and produced.
=Voice work=
As a voice actor, Piddock provided the voice of Major Zero in the English version of the video game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater as well as Agent One in Return to Castle Wolfenstein for Xbox and PlayStation 2. In film he provided the voice of Bolero the Bull in the film Garfield 2 and of Kenneth Loring, the fictional artistic director of Forever Young Films, in the commentary of the directors' cut of the Coen brothers' Blood Simple. He also voiced the part of King Mufasa's hornbill majordomo, Zazu in the Disney games Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games and The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure, Batman's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, in the DC Comics animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood, and voiced Chic for the animated science fiction film Dead Space: Downfall, based on the video game Dead Space.{{cite web|first=Shane|last=Willoughby|title=Major Zero Speaks! An Intervie with Jim Piddock|url=http://www.thegamingliberty.com/2011/01/major-zero-speaks-an-interview-with-jim-piddock/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141021045512/http://www.thegamingliberty.com/2011/01/major-zero-speaks-an-interview-with-jim-piddock/|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 October 2014|publisher=The Gaming Liberty|date=15 January 2011}}
=Later work=
Piddock appeared in 2012's The Five-Year Engagement, which starred Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, playing Blunt's father, The Cold Light of Day starring Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver, 1915, Kill Your Friends, and The Dictator with Sacha Baron Cohen.
In August 2012, it was announced{{cite web|last=Morris|first=Clint|title=Christopher Guest, Jim Piddock & Chris O'Dowd plant Family Tree|url=http://moviehole.net/201256700christopher-guest-jim-piddock-chris-odowd-plant-family-tree|publisher=Moviehole|access-date=4 September 2012|archive-date=21 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120821174147/http://moviehole.net/201256700christopher-guest-jim-piddock-chris-odowd-plant-family-tree|url-status=dead}} that Piddock would be co-writing, acting, and producing a new TV comedy series with Christopher Guest for HBO and the BBC titled Family Tree. The show subsequently aired in 2013.
On 13 October 2016, Mascots, which he also co-wrote with Guest, stars in, and produced, premiered on Netflix. Since then he has appeared in several television shows, including Modern Family, Designated Survivor, Get Shorty, Training Day, Blunt Talk, and The Royals.
In 2021, he played Captain Carradine in the film Haunting of the Queen Mary, which was shot in the UK and the US and released in 2023.
=Writing and producing=
Piddock wrote the story for and produced Tooth Fairy in 2010, New Line's action-comedy The Man, One Good Turn, Traces of Red, and the Cold War romantic thriller A Different Loyalty starring Rupert Everett and Sharon Stone, in which Piddock played a supporting role.
In November 2019, it was announced that his screenplay Frankel would begin shooting in 2022 with Jeremy Irons playing the lead role of Sir Henry Cecil.{{Cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/jeremy-irons-to-star-as-racehorse-trainer-sir-henry-cecil-in-frankel-for-wazabi-films-exclusive/5144185.article|title=Jeremy Irons to star as racehorse trainer Sir Henry Cecil in 'Frankel' for WaZabi Films (exclusive)|last=Kay|first=Jeremy|website=Screen|language=en|access-date=2019-12-11}}
=Author=
His light-hearted and irreverent memoir, CAUGHT WITH MY PANTS DOWN and Other Tales from a Life in Hollywood, chronicling his four decades in the entertainment industry, was released on March 23, 2022, in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.
British comedian, actor, and writer, Russell Brand said of the book: "Jim has done that rare thing that perhaps only Michael Caine and David Niven have done before; conjured a funny, inclusive, whimsical, and magical tale." American actress Jean Smart wrote: "This laugh-out-loud book... entertains endlessly and most wisely". And British actor Hugh Bonneville described it as "hilarious, passionate, beautifully told, and memorably waspish."
Filmography
=Film=
=Television=
| class=wikitable
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes | |||
| 1985 | Wildside | Bank Robber | Episode: "The Crimea of the Century" |
| 1985 | The Twilight Zone | Brian | Episode: "Take My Life... Please!/Devil's Alphabet/The Library" |
| 1986 | Fame | The Record Producer | Episode: "Fame and Fortune" |
| 1987 | The Tracey Ullman Show | Derrick | 2 episodes |
| rowspan="2" |1988 | Max Headroom | Mr. Kelly | Episode: "Neurostim" |
| CBS Summer Playhouse | Hank | Episode: "Old Money" | |
| 1989 | Tour of Duty | Maj. Shadlow | Episode: "Lonely at the Top" |
| 1990 | A Mom for Christmas | Wilkins | Television film |
| 1990–1991 | Coach | Alan / Attendant | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | Murder, She Wrote | Malcolm Brooker | Episode: "Murder in White" |
| 1994–1996 | Mad About You | Logic Professor / Hal Conway | 7 episodes |
| 1997–1998 | Team Knight Rider | Max Amendas | 2 episodes |
| rowspan="2" |1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | John Hodge | Episode: "Can We Do This?" |
| The New Batman Adventures | Martin | Voice, episode: "Cult of the Cat" | |
| 1999 | Tracey Takes On... | Vicar | Episode: "Hair" |
| rowspan="2" |2000 | The Geena Davis Show | Mr. Levenstein | Episode: "Piece of Cake" |
| Angel | The Valet | Episode: "The Trial" | |
| rowspan="4" |2001 | Yes, Dear | Vet | Episode: "Worst in Show" |
| Friends | Dennis Phillips | Episode: "The One After I Do" | |
| She Creature | Captain Dunn | Television film | |
| Citizen Baines | Larry | Episode: "The Appraisal" | |
| rowspan="3" |2002 | Maybe It's Me | Judge Parks | Episode: "The Quahog Festival Episode" |
| The Drew Carey Show | Lord Mercer | 4 episodes | |
| ER | Dr. Earl Whitehead | Episode: "Chaos Theory" | |
| 2003 | Crossing Jordan | Norman Gibson | Episode: "Family Ties" |
| 2004 | The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch | Troy Nixon | Television film |
| 2005 | Lost | Francis Heatherton | Episode: "Homecoming" |
| rowspan="2" |2006 | That '70s Show | TV Announcer | Voice, episode: "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"; uncredited |
| Monk | Jake Colbert | Episode: "Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing" | |
| 2007 | Without a Trace | Dr. McNeil | Episode: "Claus and Effect" |
| 2008 | The Middleman | Arthur Mendelson | Episode: "The Cursed Tuba Contingency" |
| 2009 | Dollhouse | Biz | Episode: "Stage Fright" |
| 2009–2011 | Batman: The Brave and the Bold | Doctor Sivana, Dr. Watson, Shazam | 4 episodes |
| rowspan="5" |2010 | Chuck | Curator of Classical Art | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Mask" |
| Ben 10: Ultimate Alien | King Urien, Color Commentator, Chair Umpire | Voice, episode: "Duped" | |
| Party Down | Leland Corke | Episode: "Not on Your Wife Opening Night" | |
| Law & Order: LA | Jay Bickson | Episode: "Hollywood" | |
| Castle | Lord Henry | Episode: "Punked" | |
| rowspan="2" |2011 | Up All Night | Matthew Taylor | Episode: "New Car" |
| Two and a Half Men | Edward | Episode: "One False Move, Zimbabwe!" | |
| rowspan="2" |2012 | Touch | Dr. Knox | Episode: "Zone of Exclusion" |
| Childrens Hospital | Cyrus Mittleman | Episode: "British Hospital" | |
| rowspan="3" |2013 | Family Tree | Mr. Pfister | 5 episodes; also writer and executive producer |
| NTSF:SD:SUV:: | Hobson Chipps | Episode: "Hawaii Die-0" | |
| Work It | Carl | Episode: "My So-Called Mid-Life Crisis" | |
| rowspan="3" |2014 | Turbo Fast | Sir Reginald, Rich Man #2 | Voice, episode: "The Escargot Affair" |
| Franklin & Bash | Dean Casseday | Episode: "Spirits in the Material World" | |
| Mom | Kenneth | Episode: "Forged Resumes and the Recommended Dosage" | |
| rowspan="6" |2015 | Man Seeking Woman | Unknown | Episode: "Stain" |
| Marry Me | Chuck | Episode: "Date Me" | |
| Instant Mom | Dr. Ian Houser | Episode: "Ghost Busted" | |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Lord Simultaneous, Sir John, Overmind, Warbot | Voice, 2 episodes | |
| The Grinder | Barrister Cromwell | Episode: "Buckingham Malice" | |
| The Royals | Truman | 2 episodes | |
| 2016 | Blunt Talk | Unknown | Episode: "Your Therapist and His Pussy Are Here" |
| rowspan="4" |2017 | Elementary | Tom Saunders | Voice, episode: "Fidelity"; uncredited |
| Training Day | Abel Cribbs | Episode: "Sunset" | |
| Get Shorty | Julian Pynter | Episode: "A Man of Letters" | |
| Designated Survivor | Dr. Rune | Episode: "Line of Fire" | |
| 2017-2021
|Alistair |Voice, 3 episodes | |||
| 2018 | Modern Family | Malcolm Fennerman | Episode: "The Escape" |
| 2019 | A Confession | Judge Griffith Williams | Episode #1.6 |
| rowspan="2" |2020 | The Haunting of Bly Manor | Father Stack | Episode: "The Pupil" |
| Big City Greens
|Additional voices |Voice, 2 episodes | |||
| 2021
|Commander Mandel |Voice, episode: "First First Contact" | |||
| 2022
|Harris Gramercy |Episode: "Caelum Bank (N°169)" | |||
| 2023
|Additional voices |Voice, episode: "An Unconventional Cruise Line" |
=Video games=
| class=wikitable
! Year !! Title !! Voice role !! Notes | |||
| 1995
|Leah Servant | |||
| 2001 | The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure | Zazu | |
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Bilbo Baggins, Elrond | |
| 2004 | The Bard's Tale | Additional voices | {{cite video game | developer=InXile Entertainment | title=The Bard’s Tale | publisher=InXile Entertainment | scene=Ending credits, 2:10:21 in, More Great Talent | year=2004}} |
| 2004 | Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater | rowspan=2|Major Zero | rowspan="2" |English dub |
| 2006 | Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops | ||
| 2010 | The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest | rowspan=3|Elrond, Bilbo Baggins | |
| 2011 | The Lord of the Rings: War in the North | ||
| 2012 | Lego The Lord of the Rings | ||
| 2013 | Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure | Alfred Pennyworth |
Personal life
Piddock was married to producer Margaret Oberman from 1991 until 2004.{{cite web |title=Producers will throw MGM ‘Bone’ |url=https://variety.com/1993/film/news/producers-will-throw-mgm-bone-105976/ |website=variety.com}}{{cite web |title=Get set to be let down by ‘The Man’ |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-sep-09-et-man9-story.html |website=www.latimes.com}} Together they have one child, a daughter, who was born in 1994.{{cite web |title=The One That Got Away: Actor Jim Piddock on cars, miscarriages and VIP passengers |url=https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/interviews/the-one-that-got-away-actor-jim-piddock-on-cars-miscarriages-and-vip-passengers/ |website=www.hagerty.co.uk}}{{cite web |title=From left, Jim Piddock and daughter Ally Piddock arrive for the opening night performance of "An Act of God" at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre on Wednesday, February 10, 2016, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging) |url=https://www.facebook.com/CTGLA/photos/from-left-jim-piddock-and-daughter-ally-piddock-arrive-for-the-opening-night-per/10153261273356990/ |website=facebook.com}}
Piddock married actress Ann Cusack on April 1, 2023 in a private ceremony in their home in Los Angeles, California.{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/richard-e-grant-sells-provence-house-jim-piddock-ann-cusack-gbkvknj6t |title=Richard E Grant sells Provence farmhouse to Jim Piddock and Ann Cusack |work=The Times |date=October 31, 2023 |first=David |last=Byers |access-date=October 13, 2024 }}{{cite web |title=Our 1st wedding anniversary today (yes, we got married in our garden in LA on April Fools Day). 😄 Apparently, tradition dictates that you’re both supposed to eat a piece of any leftover wedding cake (first picture) on your 1st anniversary, so we kept ours in the freezer (although this one was only in there for 10 months because our reception was in the UK two months after the legal wedding ceremony). The rather unique design of the Penguin Books themed cake (we’re both voracious readers) had @realanncusack and I as bespectacled penguins on top (Ann in a veil and me in a @cpfc shirt). The original cake (second picture) had twelve books in all, eleven of which were authored by guests at the reception. Needless to say, my own book found its way into the “remainder bin” (but in excellent company, I might add!). |url=https://www.instagram.com/jimpiddock/p/C5NlieFiCEd/ |website=instagram.com}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
;General
- {{Official website|http://www.jimpiddock.com}}
- {{IMDb name|682063}}
;Interviews
- [http://culture.com/articles/5238/seeker-the-dark-is-rising-the-jim-piddock-interview.phtml "Culture: The Seeker Interview"]
- [http://maartenbouw.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/interview-with-jim-piddock.html "Straight2DVD Interview"]
- [http://www.geekweek.com/2010/01/interview-with-the-tooth-fairys-jim-piddock.html "GeekWeek Tooth Fairy Interview"]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piddock, Jim}}
Category:20th-century English male actors
Category:21st-century English male actors
Category:English expatriate male actors in the United States
Category:English male film actors
Category:English male television actors
Category:English male voice actors
Category:English people of Irish descent
Category:Male actors from Kent