| Daniel Rigby | |
| Birth Date: | 6 December 1982 |
| Birth Place: | Stockport, Greater Manchester, England |
| Education: | Cheadle Hulme School |
| Occupation: | Actor, comedian |
| Years Active: | 2004–present |
Daniel Rigby (born 6 December 1982)[1] is an English actor and comedian. He received a BAFTA TV Award for his leading role as Eric Morecambe in the 2011 BBC television film Eric and Ernie.
Rigby was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester. He attended Cheadle Hulme School[2] and, after studying performing arts at Stockport College, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.[3] He is the cousin of Blossoms frontman Tom Ogden.[4]
Rigby has worked as a stand-up comedian, having appeared at the Latitude Festival, won the 2007 Laughing Horse New Act of the Year, and been a nominee for winner of the 2007 So You Think You're Funny competition. In 2007, he moved to television roles with the BBC period drama Lilies.[5] In 2011, Rigby won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for his performance as the late comedian Eric Morecambe in Eric and Ernie, beating both Matt Smith and Benedict Cumberbatch for their roles as the Doctor and Sherlock Holmes, respectively.[6] From 2011 until 2014, Rigby voiced[7] Copenhagen in three series of the BBC Radio 4 comedy Warhorses of Letters alongside Stephen Fry. He performed in Tom Basden's Holes at the Arcola Theatre in London from July to August 2014 alongside Mathew Baynton.
In 2015, he narrated the reboot of the BBC children's television series Teletubbies.[8] In March 2017, he won the best actor award at the 2016 Manchester Theatre Awards for his performance as Alan Turing in Breaking the Code at the Royal Exchange, Manchester.[9]
In 2019, he voiced the title role in the BBC Radio 4 sitcom ReincarNathan, alongside Diane Morgan and Josh Widdicombe.[10]
In 2021, Rigby wrote and performed the highly rated audiobook novel Isaac Steele and the Forever Man.[11]
In 2022 and 2023, Rigby starred as The Maniac in Tom Basden's adaptation of Dario Fo's Accidental Death of an Anarchist with runs in Sheffield and London.
In 2024, he appeared as Jack Trotter in the Disney+ show Renegade Nell.
| Denotes projects that have not yet been released |
| 2006 | Flyboys | Ives | ||
| 2021 | The Electrical Life of Louis Wain | Bendigo | ||
| Anthony | Post-production |
| 2007 | Lilies | Billy Moss | 7 episodes | |
| 2008 | David | Episode: "Hackers" | ||
| 2009 | The Street | James | Episode: "Past Life" | |
| 2011 | Ideal | Hugh | Episode: "The Love" | |
| Eric and Ernie | Eric Morecambe | BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor | ||
| 2012 | Cardinal Burns | Various | Episode #1.6 | |
| Comedy Showcase | Yannick Montagu | Episode: "The Function Room" | ||
| 2013 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Canon Prescott | Episode: "A Caribbean Mystery" | |
| Black Mirror | Jamie Salter / Waldo | Episode: "The Waldo Moment" | ||
| 2013–2014 | Big School | Mr. Luke Martin | 9 episodes | |
| 2014 | From There to Here | Charlie | 3 episodes | |
| That Day We Sang | Mr. Kirkby | Television film | ||
| 2015 | Undercover | Chris | 6 episodes | |
| 2015–2018 | Teletubbies | Narrator | Children's television series | |
| 2016 | Jericho | Charles Blackwood | 8 episodes | |
| 2016–2018 | Flowers | Donald | 12 episodes | |
| 2017 | Gap Year | Jotty | Episode: "Kuala Lumpur: The Expats" | |
| 2017–2018 | Sick Note | Officer Hayward | 10 episodes | |
| 2018 | Watership Down | Dandelion | 4 episodes | |
| Plebs | Nero | Episode: "The Bathhouse" | ||
| 2019 | Timewasters | Martin | Episode: "19:58" | |
| GameFace | David Chaplin | Episode: "Gritty" | ||
| Defending the Guilty | Phillip | Episode #1.5 | ||
| 2020 | Jack and the Beanstalk: After Ever After | Baker | Television film | |
| 2021 | Landscapers | Tony Collier | 4 episodes | |
| Hansel & Gretel: After Ever After | Jester | Television film | ||
| 2022 | The Witchfinder | Hebble | 6 episodes | |
| 2023 | Tom Jones | Partridge | 3 episodes | |
| 2024 | Renegade Nell | Jack Trotter | 2 episodes | |
| 2025 | John Wright[12] | Post-production | ||
| In production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Hamlet | King | Thelma Holt Productions |
| 2005 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Demetrius/Moonshine | Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
| The Burial at Thebes | Haemon | Nottingham Playhouse | |
| 2006 | The White Album | Miles | Nottingham Playhouse |
| 2009 | The Mothwokfantastic | Himself | Performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival |
| Beyond The Front Line | Welsh soldier (Private Vespa) | The Lowry, Salford | |
| The Music Show | Performed at Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada | ||
| 2010 | Afterbirth | Himself | Performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival |
| The Count of Monte Cristo | Edmond Dantès | West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds | |
| 2011 | One Man, Two Guvnors | Alan Dangle | Royal National Theatre (Lyttelton Theatre); UK tour; Adelphi Theatre; Music Box Theatre, Broadway |
| 2013 | Daniel Rigby: Berk in Progress | Himself | Performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival |
| 2014 | Holes | Ian | Arcola Theatre, Dalston, London |
| 2016 | Breaking the Code | Alan Turing | Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester |
| 2017 | Twelfth Night | Sir Andrew Aguecheek | Royal National Theatre (Olivier Theatre |