Alan Partridge is by far one of the greatest comedic characters to ever come out of Britain, right up there with Black Adder and Basil Fawlty, and yet many Americans still have no idea who he is. Instead they’re probably familiar with actor Steve Coogan, writer and creator of the handful of Alan Partridge series that have come out since Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge hit the BBC in 1994. He may soon finally become a household name, however, with actual progress being made on the long-gestating feature-length film.
Deadline reports that filming finally began in the U.K. for The Alan Partridge Movie, and its cast has grown larger. Colm Meaney (Hell on Wheels), Anna Maxwell Martin (Becoming Jane), Sean Pertwee (Event Horizon), Monica Dolan (Sightseers), and Dustin Demri-Burns (Life’s Too Short) have all been added to the film’s already sizable list of actors, including returning cast members Felicity Montagu, Tim Key, Simon Greenall, Phil Cornwell, Nigel Lindsay and Darren Boyd.
If you aren’t familiar with the insecure narcissist that is radio/TV presenter Alan Partridge, the following clip is a fine example of his patented brand of oafish discomfort.
The Alan Partridge movie is being directed by Declan Lowney (Father Ted,Little Britain), and was written by Coogan, Peter Baynham, Neil Gibbons, Rob Gibbons, Amando Iannucci and Patrick Marber. The plot will reportedly find Partridge fighting for his job at North Norfolk Digital Radio after a large corporation buy the company out. Rest assured, hectic and uncomfortable antics will ensue when the film makes its U.K. release in August 2013.
