Paul Whitehouse

Welsh comedian Paul Whitehouse is best known for his work on British television, particularly as a cast member of the popular sketch comedy show "The Fast Show," on which he played a wide array of wild characters. Whitehouse loved to mimic from an early age and was always fascinated by accents. In his early twenties, he was making ends meet as a tradesman and discovered that he and two of his clients, Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, had a similarly absurd sense of humor. The three began to write together, leading to Whitehouse's first TV gig, as a writer on the Channel 4 sketch comedy show "Saturday Live." He wrote for a number of comedy series, including "Harry Enfield's Television Programme," on which he also played various characters. "The Fast Show" debuted in 1994 and proved popular for its rapid-fire jokes and zany sense of humor. After three seasons, the show spawned a stage tour before eventually returning to television in 2000. Since then, Whitehouse has reprised various characters from the show in the 2003 TV special "The Fast Show Farewell Tour" and the 2011 revival "The Fast Show Faster." In 2004, Whitehouse appeared opposite American megastar Johnny Depp in the J.M. Barrie biopic "Finding Neverland." Depp, an avid "The Fast Show" fan, has said he believes Whitehouse to be "the greatest actor of all time." Since then, Whitehouse has appeared in two more Depp features, the creepy animated romance "Corpse Bride" and the whimsical adventure "Alice in Wonderland."