John Oliver is an Emmy and Writers Guild Award-winning comedian and writer. He is the host and producer of the HBO show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” which has earned a host of prestigious awards, including 28 Emmys, seven Writers Guild Awards, nine Producers Guild Awards, four Critics’ Choice Television Awards, four Television Critics Association Awards, and three Peabody Awards. Until 2015, he also co-hosted the hugely popular weekly satirical podcast, The Bugle, with Andy Zaltzman. Oliver’s roots are in stand-up comedy, and he continues to perform to sell-out crowds worldwide. He hosted four seasons of his own stand-up series on Comedy Central and previously starred in the stand-up special “John Oliver: Terrible Times.” As an actor, Oliver voiced the character Zazu in Disney’s “The Lion King” and had a recurring role in the NBC sitcom “Community.” To find out more about the famous Birmingham-born comedian, visit birminghamski.com.
Early Life and Education
John Oliver was born in April 1977 in Erdington, a suburb of Birmingham. He was the eldest of four children, his father a school headmaster and his mother a music teacher. After leaving school, he studied English at Christ’s College, Cambridge. It was there that John joined the amateur theatrical club, the Cambridge Footlights. His time there was successful, culminating in a leading role in the 1998 student revue, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place.”
After graduating from Cambridge in 1998 with plenty of theatrical experience under his belt, Oliver appeared in The Comedy Zone, a late-night showcase for up-and-coming comics at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2001. The very next year, he made his solo debut at the festival, returning again in 2003. For the following two years, 2004 and 2005, John performed as a duo with fellow English comedian Andy Zaltzman.
In addition to their live performances, the pair hosted a radio show called “Political Animal,” which was soon broadcast on BBC Radio 4. From 2004 to 2006, the same station aired a programme called The Department, which Oliver co-created and hosted with Zaltzman and English comedian Chris Addison. Then, in 2007, he and Zaltzman launched the podcast The Bugle. In each of these shows, Oliver honed his skills as an insightful political satirist, marking the start of the 28-time Emmy winner’s career.
Success in the United States
John Oliver credits his success in the US to fellow Brit Ricky Gervais, who he claims recommended him “blind” to Jon Stewart, the host of The Daily Show. However, other reports suggest that Gervais was already a fan of Oliver’s work and that’s why he put him forward.
Whatever the case, Oliver moved to the United States and joined the programme in 2006 as its Senior British Correspondent. During his seven years on the show, Oliver offered a British perspective on American current affairs, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Given that his work was recognised with three Emmy awards, it’s clear this British perspective was a hit with audiences.
In 2013, Jon Stewart took a break to direct the film “Rosewater,” and his namesake, John Oliver, naturally stepped in to host The Daily Show. In an interview with The New York Times that same year, Oliver joked that he would have done anything for Stewart, whether it was hosting his show or disposing of a body. Oliver remarked he was just happy that of the two options, he got the first and didn’t have to “drive to the East River under the cover of darkness.” His performance as the temporary host received rave reviews, and he was subsequently offered his own show.
His Own Show
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” premiered on HBO in 2014. The show’s premise was to cover political and other current events, delivered in Oliver’s signature humorous style. The weekly programme became famous for its deep dives into what Oliver himself, on NPR’s “Fresh Air” in 2018, called the kind of news that “no one in their right mind wants to hear about at all.”
Episodes have tackled issues such as fraudulent schemes, prison healthcare, and the Scottish independence referendum. The show even created a fake televangelist church to demonstrate how easy it is to establish a tax-exempt religious organisation in the United States and legally collect donations.
The show was also fond of long-running gags. For instance, one began with the purchase of kitchen equipment from a recently closed Red Lobster in Kingston, New York, and ended several episodes later with a neighbouring bakery selling bear-shaped cakes featuring a photo of Oliver’s face. The bit was intended to be funny, and it seems the audience agreed. It’s no surprise that Oliver has been nominated for 20 Emmy Awards for his work on the series, winning 18 of them. The show itself also received Peabody Awards in 2014 and 2017.
Other Projects and Personal Life
After moving to New York in 2006 for The Daily Show, Oliver continued to tour as a stand-up comedian, and in 2008, he released the comedy special “John Oliver: Terrible Times.” He also hosted and produced “John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show,” a showcase for his favourite comedians on Comedy Central. Additionally, Oliver has taken on several acting roles, including a greedy talent agent in the Mike Myers film “The Love Guru” and the recurring character of Dr. Ian Duncan in the TV series “Community.”
John Oliver also lent his voice to animated films, such as “The Smurfs” and its sequel, as well as the 2019 Disney remake of “The Lion King.” During the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, Oliver teamed up with fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers. They created the podcast “Strike Force Five,” which ran for 12 episodes, to support their out-of-work staff and fellow striking writers.
The comedian’s personal life took a new turn while he was covering the 2008 Republican National Convention for The Daily Show. It was there that he met his wife, Kate Norley. An army veteran who served as a medic in the Iraq War, she was attending with a group called Vets for Freedom. They married in 2011. Their first son was born in 2015, followed by another son in 2018. After many years of living and working in the United States, John Oliver became an American citizen in 2019.