Simon Donald

A renaissance man with a penchant for irreverent comedy, Simon Donald began his multifaceted career when he was only 15. It was then that the Newcastle native founded the comic magazine Viz with his brother Chris, setting into motion a legacy that would affect both of their lives for decades. The young Donald had already been appearing in productions with his hometown's People's Theatre from the age of 12, but Donald had a deeply rooted love of comedy that he couldn't ignore. Donald's mother Kay suffered from multiple sclerosis, and though her struggles were painful for their entire family, the Donalds often found solace when they were laughing together at sketches by Monty Python or Laurel and Hardy. When a major publisher offered Donald and his brother a contract that would give them full editorial control, they jumped at the chance. The Donald brothers would continue to run Viz even as they both pursued other projects. Donald spent much of the early '80s singing with the comedy rock band Johnny Shiloe's Movement Machine, and began appearing on TV as an actor, starting with the TV movie "God Rot Tunbridge Wells!" (Channel Four, 1985). He would also become a successful writer during the '90s, penning TV movies like "Deacon Brodie" (BBC, 1997) and "The Ebb-Tide" (A&E, 1998) before writing a number of successful screenplays like "My Life So Far" (1999) and "Beautiful Creatures" (2000). Donald finally parted ways with Viz in 2003. Not long afterward, he would begin a successful career as a stand-up comedian. Donald would later reflect that it was his brother Steven being diagnosed with cancer that made him realize he should pursue only the passions that interested him most. He would also go on to create successful TV shows, like the mystery-thriller series "Fortitude" (Sky TV, 2015-).