30 Mind-Blowing Facts About Stephen Merchant – Creator of ‘Hip Hop Hooray’

Stephen Merchant, an English actor, comedian, director, writer and radio presenter, has excelled in various fields. He is famous for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais and Karl Pilkington, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular sitcom “The Office.” Here are some interesting facts about the writer:

1. Stephen is all set to debut in big screen as director with his project ‘Fighting with my Family,’ about British wrestler Paige.
2. After Merchant’s break-up with his Christine Marzano, he has been romantically linked to author Alexandra Heminsley and actress Hayley Atwell. He has kept his love life close to his heart.
3. He was born on November 24, 1974 in Hanham, Gloucestershire, England. His father Ronald John Merchant is an insurance salesman and his mother Jane Elaine, a nursery nurse.
4. On October 16, 2016, he hosted the UK game show ‘The Crystal Maze’ in support of ‘Stand Up to Cancer’ a charitable program in partnership with Cancer Research U.K.
5. He attended ‘Hanham High School’ and later graduated from ‘University of Warwick, Coventry with a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Literature in 1996.
6. As a prelude to his celluloid career, he was a presenter on the student radio station ‘Radio Warwick,’ during his college days.
7. He learned his trade as a stand-up comedian the hard way. His first week at Bristol’s Comedy Box, was well received and during the second week he was found wanting.
8. He worked for a brief period with Radio Caroline before being hired by Ricky Gervais of XFM London, as his assistant in 1997.
9. Merchant was the creator of ‘Hip Hop Hooray,’ ‘Make Ricky Gervais Laugh’ and ‘Song for Ladies’ during his days with XFM 104.9, which lasted for seven years.
10. In 2001, he along with Ricky Gervais wrote the screen play and directed the first series of ‘The Office’ for BBC Two.
    
11. The ninth episode of American version of television series ‘The Office’ was the first and only original script written by Merchant and Gervais directed by Jeffrey Blitz. It was aired on November 30, 2006, on NBC.
12. In 2010, Merchant , Gervais partnered Karl Pilkington to produce the radio show ‘The Ricky Gervais Show,’ which went to become animation comedy talk-show.
13. In 2004, he directed critically acclaimedone-off sitcom ‘The Last Chancers’ starring Adam Buxton, for ‘Comedy Lab,’ which went on to become a five part series on the E4.
14. In 2004, ‘The Office’ was adjusted ‘Best Television Series-Music or Comedy’ with ‘Golden Globe Award.’ The first sit-com for any British made series to win beating the likes of Will & Grace, Monk, Sex and the City and Arrested Development.
15. By 2004, he started to accept small roles with ‘Darkplace’ as chef and a brief appearance in the ‘Green Wing.’
16. The weekly podcast also called ‘The Ricky Gervais Show’ starring Merchant, Gervais and Pilkington was offered in 2006. It remained number one podcast in the world and created Guinness World record for the most downloaded podcast.
17. The sitcom ‘Extras’ co-produced by BBC and HBO, aired in 2005 was written, directed and starred by Merchant, Gervais combination. The show earned Merchant his ‘2006 British Comedy Award’ as best T.V actor and was critically acclaimed with Metacritic score of 81/100.
18. Merchant began hosting his own radio show, ‘The Steve Show’ focusing on new music aired by BBC 6 Music on Sunday afternoon. The show was aired for four seasons before concluding in May 2009.
19. He has been providing his voice-over for advertisements and for video games. His voice of Wheatley in Portal 2 received positive review.
20. The film ‘Cemetery Junction’ in 2010 was hailed as coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Merchant, Gervais team. The plot for the film was based upon the song ‘Thunder Road’ by Bruce Springsteen.
    
21. In 2010, Merchant and Gervais created a road trip comedy television series ‘An Idiot Abroad,’ starring Karl Pilkington. It focused on the cultural differences, characteristic, habit and mannerism of the countries he visited. The show received widespread acclaim.
22. On November 10, 2011, BBC Two premiered the sitcom mockumentary ‘Life’s Too Short’ staring Warwick Davis, about the life of showbiz dwarf. The show was co-created by Merchant and also appeared in a supporting role.
23. In 2011, he toured United Kingdom with his stand-up comedy show titled ‘Hello Ladies.’ The show was later released on DVD. A television series of the same was premiered on HBO on September 2013.
24. In July 2015, he along with John Krasinski produced a show ‘Lip Sync Battle’ for Spike T.V. The game was created with his friends forparty entertainment, was first played at ‘Jimmy Fallon’ show where Merchant was a guest.
25. Merchant portrayed historical figures in the American comedy series ‘Drunk History’ on Comedy Central in 2013. He is the only actor to portray a personality twice, that of Abraham Lincoln apart from portraying George Washington once.
26. In ‘The Wolverine’ sequel part 3 ‘Logan,’ Merchant plays the role of kind hearted mutant Caliban, who is taking care of aging and very ill professor Charles Xavier.
27. He was one of the 48 artists to have signed a letter to Conservative party before 2010 General Election, opposing its plan for BBC. They have suggested that new government should prioritize cutting the BBC's license fee.
28. According to Merchant, the film ‘The Apartment’ by Billy Wilderis one of his five favorite films and it has changed his life for good.
29. He disliked boredom and being too tall at 6’ 7”. He does not like having jokes and comments made about his height. His greatest fear is giant crabs.
30. As a teenager he admired a comedian, who was very rude to him. Hence he makes point of not being rude to anyone.
    
31. Stephen Merchant Net Worth: $40 million