Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a
British comedian,
actor,
writer and producer. Born in
Rochdale,
Greater Manchester, he began his career as a
standup comedian and
impressionist, working as a
voice artist throughout the 1980s on
satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating original comic characters which he presented in stage shows, this led to him winning the 1992 Perrier Award at the
Edinburgh Fringe, for his show with long-time collaborator
John Thomson. The most prominent characters he developed at this time were Paul Calf, a stereotypical lower class
Mancunian and his sister the promiscuous Pauline.