Stephen John "Steve" Coogan (born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, stand-up comedian, impressionist, writer and producer. He began his career in the 1980s, working as a voice artist on the satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early 1990s, he began creating original comic characters; this led him to win the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 1999, he co-founded the production company Baby Cow Productions.
While working with Armando Iannucci on The Day Today and On the Hour, Coogan created his most developed and popular character, Alan Partridge, a socially awkward and politically incorrect regional media personality. He featured in several television series, which earned Coogan three BAFTA nominations and two wins for Best Comedy Performance. A feature-length film, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, was released in 2013, and opened at number one at the British box office.