Christopher Guest

b. 1948 · American-British actor, comedian, director and screenwriter

Biography

Christopher Guest, born in New York City on February 5, 1948, is an actor, comedian, screenwriter and director best known for his satirical comedies and mockumentary-style films. The son of a British United Nations diplomat who later inherited a hereditary peerage, he holds both American nationality and a long connection with Britain. His career spans several decades, from theatre and television work in the 1970s to the independent comedies of the following twenty years.

His musical background, which included classical clarinet, mandolin and bluegrass, shaped his comic sensibility. After studying acting at New York University's Tisch School, he started in theatre with Michael Weller's Moonchildren and contributed to The National Lampoon Radio Hour. His early screen roles were small, such as a police officer in Death Wish. His breakthrough came with This Is Spinal Tap (1984), directed by Rob Reiner, which he co-wrote and in which he played guitarist Nigel Tufnel, still his most celebrated character. That same year he was a cast member of Saturday Night Live for a single season. He went on to appear in The Princess Bride (1987) as Count Rugen and in A Few Good Men (1992), again with Reiner.

From 1996 he began writing, directing and acting in a series of largely improvised films shot in mockumentary style, including Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. He works with a loose repertory of performers, among them his frequent co-writer Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara and Harry Shearer, who share the same fee and profit portion. Guest has said he is not fond of the term mockumentary, although his films are often cited as its defining examples. After a long break from acting, his work remains a reference point for satirical comedy about specific communities.