Alistair McGowan

A virtually unknown entity in American households, Alistair McGowan is considered one of Great Britain's most talented impressionists and comedians. McGowan graduated from London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1989. Initially starting out as a stand-up comic, he used his gift for mimicry to start getting work doing voices on ITV's satirical puppet show, "Spitting Image." Throughout the 1990s, McGowan landed roles as a cast regular in numerous British sitcoms, including "Fist of Fun," "All Quiet on the Preston Front," and "Dark Ages." But it was in the sketch comedy show "Alistair McGowan's Big Impression" (later changed to "The Big Impression") where the English comic blew up in his homeland. Along with cast mates Ronni Ancona and Jan Ravens, McGowan mocked numerous celebrities and politicians, including Michael Douglas, Tony Blair, and Cary Grant. One regular bit featured the show's namesake and Ancona impersonating the wedded couple soccer star David Beckham and pop singer Posh Spice throughout the series' run from September 1999 to December 2002. When the show ended, the avowed Greenpeace activist continued doing voiceover work on a number of radio shows, but started expanding his range with parts in the 2006 BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens's "Bleak House" and theatrical productions of Gilbert & Sullivan, Neil Simon, and Shakespeare. American audiences were afforded an Alistair McGowan sighting when he was cast as Nico in the 2009 Nia Vardalos romantic comedy, "My Life in Ruins."