David Mitchell (comedian)

David James Stuart Mitchell (born 14 July 1974) is an English comedian, actor, and writer. Mitchell rose to prominence alongside Robert Webb as part of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb. The duo starred in the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show, in which Mitchell plays Mark Corrigan. He won the British Academy Television Award for Best Comedy Performance in 2009 for his performance. They have written and starred in several sketch shows including Bruiser, The Mitchell and Webb Situation, That Mitchell and Webb Sound and That Mitchell and Webb Look. They also starred in the British version of Apple's "Get a Mac" ad campaign. Their first film, Magicians, was released in 2007. They starred in the short-lived TV series Ambassadors in 2013, and have starred in the Channel 4 comedy-drama Back since 2017. Mitchell starred as Owen in Think the Unthinkable and in the Ben Elton-penned BBC Two historical comedy Upstart Crow, playing William Shakespeare in the latter since 2016. He is a frequent participant on British panel shows, being a team captain on Would I Lie to You?, the host of The Unbelievable Truth on BBC Radio 4 and the former host of The Bubble and Was It Something I Said?, as well as guesting on other panel shows including QI, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, Mock the Week, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and Have I Got News for You. He was also a co-host of the comedy news show 10 O'Clock Live. As a writer, he contributes opinion pieces to British newspapers The Observer and The Guardian. Early life David James Stuart Mitchell was born in Salisbury on 14 July 1974, the son of hotel managers Kathryn Grey (née Hughes) and Ian Douglas Mitchell. As his mother is Welsh, hailing from Swansea, and his father was born to a family that was originally Scottish, he considers himself British rather than specifically English. He would explore his ancestry in a 2009 episode of Who Do You Think You Are? and discover his connection to the Gaelic scholars John Forbes and Alexander Robert Forbes. In 1977, when Mitchell was two years old, his parents left their jobs to give lectures on hotel management as this gave them more time with him. He has a brother named Daniel, who is seven years younger.