Mike Wozniak Explained

Mike Wozniak
Birth Name:Michael James Wozniak
Birth Date:1979 11, df=y
Birth Place:Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Nationality:British
Alma Mater:St George's, University of London (MBBS)
Occupation:Comedian, writer, actor, former physician
Years Active:1990s–present
Notable Works:Man Down

Michael James Wozniak[1] (born 8 November 1979) is a British comedian, writer, actor and former physician.

He portrays Brian in the Channel 4 sitcom Man Down and is a member of the team that makes Small Scenes for BBC Radio 4.[2] [3]

Early life

Wozniak was born in Oxford, was raised in Portsmouth, and has a twin sister.[4] He has Polish[5] and Welsh ancestry.

Education

Wozniak was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School.

He studied Medicine at St George's, University of London and worked as a doctor for several years before pursuing comedy.[5] [6] [4]

Career

Wozniak worked doing live sketch comedy starting in the late 1990s, and began stand-up comedy in 2007.[7] [8]

He won the Amused Moose Laugh-Off contest at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2008.[9] [10] He was nominated for the comedy newcomer award the same year.[11] [12] Wozniak performed at the Adelaide Fringe in 2009. Wozniak was nominated for the Edinburgh Best Comedy Show in 2013.

Television

Wozniak's first major role in television came when he was cast in the series Man Down in 2013 alongside Greg Davies, who created and starred in the show.[13] He played strait-laced financial adviser Brian, a friend of Davies' character.

In 2015, he wrote physical comedy Ruby Robinson for Sky Arts. It starred Kim Cattrall and a troupe of acrobats.[14] [15]

Wozniak appeared and came second in series 11 of Taskmaster, which started broadcast in March 2021.[16] He has a long history with Taskmaster, having won the original Edinburgh Fringe version of the show in 2010.[17]

He also appeared on The Great Celebrity Bake Off: Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) which originally aired on channel 4 on the 16 April 2023.

In May 2023 it was announced that he will be taking part in Junior Taskmaster, a Taskmaster spin-off for children aged 9–11, as the assistant of the Taskmaster, who will be played by Rose Matafeo.[18]

Film

In 2016, Wozniak played the role of Josh in Alice Lowe's Prevenge.[19]

Wozniak made his directorial debut with a dramedy entitled Sump, released in 2017 and screened at various film festivals. The film has a 14 minute run time and features a character named Sally, played by Jeany Spark, whose husband is trapped in a cave with others.[20]

In 2022 Wozniak played the alien Gordan in the science fiction comedy film We Are Not Alone.

Podcasts

On his St. Elwick's Neighbourhood Association Newsletter Podcast, Wozniak plays the role of host Malcolm Durridge. The show focuses on the neighbourhood association newsletter of St Elwick's, a fictional ward of Exeter, forced through budgetary cuts to change from a printed edition to the "cheapest alternative": a podcast.[21]

Wozniak also appears frequently in different roles on the Beef And Dairy Network Podcast, ten episodes of which were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017-2018.[22]

In 2021, he started Three Bean Salad with Henry Paker and Benjamin Partridge.[23] In March 2024, it won the Best Comedy Podcast at the Chortle Awards.[24]

Radio

Wozniak has appeared frequently in Tim Key's Late-Night Poetry Programme as a character called Jiffy, notably in the episodes "Accountancy" and "Cuisine".[25] The show is an anarchic comedy series where Key plans to recite poetry above the Norwegian fjords.

Filmography

!Title!Year!Actor!Writer!Role!Notes
Comedy Lab2010YesVarious
2011YesBradshaw
Stand Up for the Week2012Yes
Live at the Electric2012YesVarious
It's Kevin2013YesVarious
Badults2014YesHarry
Lovesick2014YesDoctor
Crims2015YesPhotographer
Prevenge2016YesJosh
Josh2015–2016YesPhil
The Moonstone2016Yes Superintendent Seegrave
Walliams & Friend2015–2016YesVarious
Drunk History2015–2017YesVarious
Man Down2013–2017YesYesBrianWriter for various episodes in this series.
2019YesOwen Bowen
Dial M for Middlesbrough2019YesNeil
Taskmaster2021YesHimselfSeries 11; Runner-up
Richard Osman's House of Games2021–2022YesHimselfWeekly winner
We Are Not Alone2022YesGordan
The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off2023YesHimselfContestant[26]
Junior Taskmaster2024YesSelf - Host/Assistant

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Channel 4 Comedy . Man Down l Greg meets Mike Wozniak l Comedy on 4 . youtube.com . . en . video . October 16, 2013.
  2. Web site: Mike Wozniak. PBJ Management. 24 November 2019.
  3. Web site: 25 October 2017. Mike Wozniak stars as 'Brian' in new series of 'Man Down'. 24 November 2019. PBJ Management.
  4. The Polish Pompey Prankster . Portsmouth Grammar School Opus . 2010 . 3 . 25 . 2021-05-14 .
  5. Web site: 2009-04-10. Comedian profile: up-and-coming comic Mike Wozniak. 2021-05-02. The Guardian. en.
  6. News: Meakin. Nione. 9 July 2009. Mike Wozniak – In Clown Shoes, Komedia, Brighton, July 15. The Argus. 4 May 2021.
  7. Web site: Edinburgh award-winning stand-up Mike Wozniak comes to Up the Creek, Greenwich. 23 January 2009. News Shopper. en. 2019-11-25.
  8. Web site: Interview with Mike Wozniak for SUMP (2017). McMahon. Vanessa. 30 December 2018. FilmFestivals.com. en. 24 November 2019.
  9. Web site: Amused Moose Laugh Off 2008. Amused Moose Comedy. 24 November 2019.
  10. Web site: Warming Up. Herring. Richard. 23 September 2008. Richard Herring. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20120218065526/http://www.richardherring.com/warmingup/?id=2153. 18 February 2012. 24 November 2019.
  11. Web site: Nominees and Winners. If.Comedy. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090311015158/http://www.ifcomedy.com/newcomers.html. 11 March 2009. 24 November 2019.
  12. Web site: Best comedy gigs of 2008. Arthur. Tim. 15 December 2008. Time Out London. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20100115200304/http://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/features/6458/Best_comedy_gigs_of_2008.html. 15 January 2010.
  13. Web site: Mike Wozniak on Man Down. 2 November 2013. ATV Today. 24 November 2019.
  14. Web site: Ruby Robinson. British Comedy Guide. en-GB. 2019-11-25.
  15. Web site: Matt Lipsey directs Ruby Robinson for Sky Arts. 2 September 2015. Curtis Brown. 2019-11-25.
  16. Web site: Taskmaster series 11 line up . Twitter . 18 December 2020.
  17. Web site: 2021-03-15. Mike Wozniak interview - Taskmaster. 2021-05-02. British Comedy Guide. en-GB.
  18. Web site: Rose Matafeo and Mike Wozniak to host Junior Taskmaster . . 16 May 2023 .
  19. Web site: Prevenge. Western Edge Pictures. en-US. 2019-11-25.
  20. Web site: Sump (Directed by Mike Wozniak) NFF Official Selection. 2021-05-02. Norwich Film Festival. en-GB.
  21. Web site: St.-Elwick's-Neighbourhood-Association-Newsletter-Posdcast. Anchor.fm. en-US. 2020-09-21.
  22. Web site: Guide . British Comedy . Beef And Dairy Network - Radio 4 Comedy . 2023-04-22 . British Comedy Guide . en.
  23. News: Mike Wozniak launches a new podcast . . 2021-05-01 . 2021-05-14 .
  24. Web site: 5 March 2024. Chortle Awards 2024 results. 4 March 2024. Comedy.co.uk.
  25. Web site: Key. Tim. Accountancy. 2021-05-02. www.bbc.co.uk.
  26. Web site: The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off. The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off. 7 February 2023 . 9 February 2023.