Mackenzie Crook's Real Name: Paul Mackenzie Crook
Mackenzie Crook → Paul Mackenzie Crook
Quick answer: The actor is known professionally as Mackenzie Crook. A BBC Comedy profile identifies him as (Paul) MacKenzie Crook and says he was born in Maidstone, in Kent, in 1971. A Royal Television Society feature independently says he was born Paul Mackenzie Crook in 1971 in Kent. Neither account used here gives a month and day of birth.
Real name and early life
The BBC profile lists him as (Paul) MacKenzie Crook, born in Maidstone in 1971. The RTS feature independently says the name under which he is known is not what appears on his passport, and that he was born Paul Mackenzie Crook in 1971 in Kent, to parents who worked for British Airways and the NHS. Maidstone is in Kent, but the RTS article does not name the town. The BBC spelling of the middle name is MacKenzie, with a capital K; the RTS feature uses Mackenzie. Neither source used here gives a month and day of birth.
Career highlights
The BBC says he performed at the Edinburgh Fringe with comedy characters including Charlie Cheese and the PE teacher Mr Bagshaw, appeared on The 11 O'Clock Show and the sketch show TV To Go, and then played Gareth Keenan in The Office, a part originally written for a different kind of actor. The RTS feature independently discusses that Office role and says a 1998 Channel 4 sketch show, Barking, first brought him to attention. The BBC names later cinema work in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and theatre work including One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Seagull, the latter with Kristin Scott Thomas. The RTS independently discusses The Seagull at the Royal Court in 2007, later Broadway performances with a cast led by Kristin Scott Thomas, and Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem in 2009-10. It also describes the BBC series Detectorists, which it says Crook writes, directs, and appears in, and which had already won a BAFTA for Situation Comedy by the time of the 2018 article. The same RTS feature says he appeared in the 2015 BBC One drama Ordinary Lies as car salesman Pete, a part the writer Danny Brocklehurst had not been sure a film actor would accept.
Name notes for searchers
People looking up Mackenzie Crook, MacKenzie Crook, or Paul Mackenzie Crook are looking for the same actor.
FAQ
What is Mackenzie Crook's real name?
He is known professionally as Mackenzie Crook. The BBC records (Paul) MacKenzie Crook, and the RTS independently records Paul Mackenzie Crook.
When and where was he born?
Both sources give 1971. The BBC names Maidstone; the RTS says Kent, without naming a town. Neither gives a calendar date.
What later work is cited here?
Both sources discuss The Office and the Pirates of the Caribbean films. The BBC also names The Seagull. The RTS discusses Detectorists, which Crook writes and directs, and also names Ordinary Lies and Jerusalem.