As Manchester’s finest turns 60, with new film Saipan coming soon, we rank the British comedy hero’s best big-screen performances, from Tropic Thunder and Mindhorn to Philomena and Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. A-Ha!
Steve Coogan entered the unofficial British comedy hall of fame at the tender age of 30, when he joined four of the Pythons and the likes of Stephen Fry and Victoria Wood in this largely forgotten version of the classic children’s tale. Bedecked in a long scarf and wearing rimless specs, he puts in a respectably twitchy turn as Mole alongside Eric Idle’s Rat and Terry Jones’s Toad.
In the comedy franchise about museum exhibits coming to life at night, Coogan plays Octavius, a miniature Roman general. Although it is, quite literally, a small part, Coogan makes the most of sharing the screen with Robin Williams, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson – “We may be small, but our hearts are large … metaphorically speaking!” he bellows at Stiller’s security guard.
Sold for $10m at Sundance, this quirky high-school comedy in the tradition of Rushmore and Election was tipped to be the vehicle that would crack America for Coogan. Instead, it flopped badly and went straight to DVD in the UK. It’s not hard to see why: it’s a bizarre, misfiring story of a drama teacher with daddy issues who stages an ill-advised sequel to Hamlet. Coogan throws everything at it and squeezes out some laughs – the highlight being the Rock Me, Sexy Jesus song in which he prances about in a vest – but he just can’t make it all come together.
