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Marc James Wootton (born 8 February 1975) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his role as Mr Poppy in theNativity! film series. He also starred in the television seriesHigh Spirits with Shirley Ghostman,La La Land,Nighty Night and voiced Max inCounterfeit Cat.

Wootton made early television appearances on theChannel 4 comedy showThe Eleven O'Clock Show andBBC Three'sCyderdelic,E4 comedyThe Pilot Show and the BBC Two sitcomThin Ice. His breakthrough role came with the Channel 4 comedy gameshowMy New Best Friend, in which contestants had to convince their closest friends and relatives that a series of awful characters (played by Wootton) were their new best friend, for a prize of £10,000.^[1] He then wrote and starred in theBBC Three sketch showMarc Wootton Exposed, the first series of which started on 13 January and finished on 25 February 2008.^[2]

His regular character Shirley Ghostman, a parody of television psychics such asDerek Acorah andColin Fry, was spun off into his own series,High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman, for BBC Three. The series was shelved after an in-character appearance by Wootton onFriday Night with Jonathan Ross, during which he made a number of jokes referencing "Jews, cancer patients andHitler".^[3] The BBC apologised after receiving over 350 complaints.

Ghostman returned, along with other characters, in Wootton's six-part showLa La Land. The series premiered on theShowtime USA network on 25 January 2010 and premiered onBBC Three on 27 April 2010. In 2018, Wootton wrote and starred in the six part comedy seriesHigh & Dry forChannel 4 in the UK, which debuted on the station on 4 May 2018.^[4]

Wotton played the role of softly spoken dating agent Gary Furze (Lasso The Moon agency) in the first series ofJulia Davis'Nighty Night. In the second series he played Dennis, Linda's aggressive husband. Wootton collaborated with Julia Davis again in the semi-improvised character comedyCouples, for BBC Radio 4.^[5] In 2014, he starred in the first episode of the comedy anthology seriesInside No 9, "Sardines".^[6]

In 2006, Wootton appeared in the filmConfetti as a best man, Snoopy. In 2009 he starred inDebbie Isitt's Christmas comedy filmNativity, a role he reprised in the sequel,Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger, released in November 2012.^[7]

• Season's Greetings as Eddie –National Theatre (2010–2011)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream asNick Bottom –Royal Shakespeare Theatre –Royal Shakespeare Company (2011)
• The Same Deep Water As Me as Kevin Needleman –Donmar Warehouse (1 August – 28 September 2013)
• Bull –The Young Vic (2015–2016)
• Till the Stars Come Down as Marek -National Theatre (2024)^[9]

• And The Winner Is hosted byMatt Lucas, PanellistBBC Radio 2 (2011)
• Date Night,BBC Radio 4 (2019)

• Rose D'or Golden Rose Award Best Gameshow, 2004My New Best Friend (2004)
• British Comedy Award Best New TV ComedyMy New Best Friend (2003)
• BBC Two Greenlight AwardCyderdelic (2003)

• Marc Wootton official site titled "Fooling Nobody"
• Marc Wootton atIMDb

• 1975 births
• Living people
• 20th-century English male actors
• 21st-century English male actors
• English male comedians
• English male film actors
• English male stage actors
• English male television actors
• English male voice actors
• Comedians from Hampshire
• Male actors from Portsmouth
• Writers from Hampshire

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