Marek Ryan Larwood[1] (born 2 June 1976) is an English comedian, actor and YouTuber. He is best known for the BBC Three sketch show Rush Hour and for being one third of the comedy trio We Are Klang.

Marek Larwood
Birth nameMarek Ryan Larwood
Born (1976-06-02) 2 June 1976 (age 48)
Norwich, Norfolk, England
MediumStand-up, television
NationalityBritish
GenresObservational comedy
Sketch comedy
Subject(s)Everyday life

Early life

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Born in Norwich, Norfolk, Larwood lived in Wales before moving to the Isle of Wight. His forename is of Polish origin, as his mother had seen a 1975 documentary about a Polish schoolboy with a heart defect, who was looking forward to an operation. The operation was unsuccessful, and Marek's mother thought to name her son after the Polish schoolboy.[2]

Career

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Stand-up comedy

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Larwood won the Laughing Horse New Act of The Year competition in 2003. He is part of the comic trio We Are Klang, along with Steve Hall and Greg Davies.[3] They took their show Klangbang to the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe festival and were nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.[4][5] He performed his debut solo show, Typecast, in 2012.[6]

Television

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Larwood has appeared in the sitcom Extras and the BBC sci-fi sitcom Hyperdrive.[4] He featured as a main cast member of the first series of the CBBC show Sorry, I've Got No Head, but was absent from the second, meaning some of his characters were recast. He made a surprise return for the third series, but did not reclaim his original roles. In 2007, he appeared as Giacomo Casanova and Milo of Croton in CBBC's Ed and Oucho.

Larwood appeared in the 2008 ITV2 sketch show Laura, Ben & Him, with Laura Solon and Ben Willbond.[4] He appeared in the sitcom adaptation of We Are Klang, the sketch show Rush Hour,[7] and the improv game show Fast and Loose. From 2012 to 2014, he was a member of the BBC Three hidden camera comedy show Impractical Jokers UK.

He plays pub regular Lee in Romesh Ranganathan's sitcom The Reluctant Landlord.[8]

Larwood appeared in ITV2's celebrity comedy show CelebAbility, alongside comedian Iain Stirling and Scarlett Moffat.[9]

Films

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Larwood made a cameo appearance as an amateur magician in the 2007 film Magicians.

Online

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Larwood has regularly made content on YouTube. He has both his personal channel with sketches, and The Cool Dudes Walking Club, where he chronicles walks around the UK.

He also presented a weekly podcast on classic and current films, Film Fandango, with fellow comedian David Reed and Danielle Ward. He then presented his own podcast Marek Makes a Movie.

Credits

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2006 Extras Autograph Hunter
2007 Hyperdrive Amorf Spets
2007 Rush Hour
2008–2011 Sorry, I've Got No Head Numerous roles
2009 We Are Klang Marek Also wrote 6 episodes
2011 Fast and Loose Himself 5 episodes
2012–2016 Impractical Jokers UK Himself
2015–2017 Drunk History Hawley Harvey Crippen
2018–2019 The Reluctant Landlord Lee
2022 Am I Being Unreasonable?
2022-2024 The Stand Up Sketch Show Ensemble role 10 episodes

References

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  1. ^ England & Wales births 1837-2006
  2. ^ "RHLSTP 306 - Marek Larwood - RHLSTP with Richard Herring". British Comedy Guide.
  3. ^ "New name, old style: classic stand-ups vie for Edinburgh prize". independent.co.uk. 24 August 2006.
  4. ^ a b c Plunkett, John (2007) "ITV2 picks up Solon sketch show", The Guardian, 10 October 2007, retrieved 2010-11-22
  5. ^ Bunbury, Stephanie (2007) "Insults in flight as Klang mixes it", The Age, 4 April 2007, retrieved 2010-11-22
  6. ^ "Marek Larwood - Typecast". British Comedy Guide.
  7. ^ Rush Hour. BBC Comedy.
  8. ^ "Full Cast The Reluctant Landlord". IMDb. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  9. ^ "CelebAbility - ITV2 Comedy". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 10 April 2020.