Born:
June 02, 1953
in
Gorseinon, near Swansea
Best Known For:
Being the bad boy of TV.
Early-life:
Despite his allegiance to the England football team, Keith Howell Charles Allen was born in Swansea, South Wales, in 1953. He supports Fulham FC. His brother Kevin is an actor, director and comedian. On leaving school, Keith had a variety of jobs, including coal mining (although he only completed three shifts), running the shooting gallery at a funfair and working in a chicken factory. His big showbusiness break came when he went down a storm at the Comedy Store in 1979.
Career:
Allen was in a number of Comic Strip Presents... programmes during the 1980s. He also appeared in an episode of The Young Ones and made his film debut in Crystal Gazing, which he co-wrote. Among his highest profile projects are Scandal, A Very British Coup, Carry On Columbus, The Young Americans, Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Martin Chuzzlewit, De-Lovely, 24 Hour Party People and The Others. Allen featured in BBC reality show Art School, released football-themed single Vindaloo as part of the band Fat Les, has conducted often-controversial interviews for Channel 4, and was most recently seen playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood. More recently, he has starred in The Body Farm, By Any Means, and My Mad Fat Diary.
Quote:
"I'm similar to Marmite in many respects. People either love me or hate me."
Trivia:
He supports Fulham FC.