John Oliver was born on April 23, 1977 in Birmingham, England as John William Oliver. He is a writer and actor, known for The Daily Show (1996), John Oliver: Terrifying Times (2008) and The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear (2010). He has been married to Kate Norley since October 2011. They have one child.
Comedian, political commentator, television host, accasional actor
Education
Christ's College , Mark Rutherford School, University of Cambridge
Nationality
British,
Spouse
Kate Norley
Parents
Jim Oliver, Carole Oliver
Awards
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series (2012)
Nominations
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing - Variety Series Or Special, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing - Variety Series, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control - Series, British Comedy Award for the Best International Comedy Program...
Movies
The Smurfs 2, The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow, Bones Brigade: An Autobiography, The Smurfs, John Oliver: Terrifying Times, The Love Guru, Moves: The Rise And Rise Of The New Pornographers, Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert for Autism Education
TV Shows
John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show, Important Things with Demetri Martin, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Daily Show, Mock the Week
Star Sign
Taurus
#
Quote
1
[on Boris Johnson] A man with such horrifically poor judgment, he wasn't just Britain's most ardent advocate for pulling out of the EU, he may be its strongest argument for pulling out in general.
2
Why do neo-Nazis always like metal? Is there anyone into both anti-Zionist conspiracy theories and smooth jazz?
3
[on his desire to produce more in-depth analysis of news events] You see something that's a little bit weird, you start looking into it, and then three days in we have the same meeting which is basically going, 'Holy shit! This is a lot worse than we thought it was going to be'. The problem is that the loudest journalism in America is generally saying the least.
4
[on newly-installed and embattled General Motors CEO, Mary Barra] She hasn't just broken the glass ceiling, she's been ejected through the glass windshield.
5
[on preparing for his new show 'Last Week Tonight'] We're trying to build the machine that will one day make fun of stories that haven't happened yet. It's most important task is to take something really depressing in one end and spit out jokes on the other, in about a hundred different ways.
6
Australia turns out to be a sensational place, albeit one of the most comfortably racist places I've ever been in. They've really settled into their intolerance like an old resentful slipper. You can say what you like about Australian racism, it is undeniably specific. I had a couple of Australians - more than one - complain to me about all the Lebbos in the country, referring apparently to the Lebanese. Who the fuck is annoyed by Lebanese people? In a way you have to admire the attention to detail. Not just all those Arabs, but the Lebanese.
7
Australia is a sensational place and it really begs the question: why the f-- did we make that our penal colony when its nicer than where we live? We should have said to criminals at the time 'you're all staying here, we're off to go live in paradise'.
8
[on what he's learned from Jon Stewart] In terms of how he's able to oversee the writing and the production of what the script needs every day, that has been interesting. What he's always told us is you want to make sure that the spine of the argument is in shape. You can write jokes at any point of the day. Jokes are not that hard to write, or they shouldn't be when it is literally your job. It's harder to shift the point of view of a headline later in the day. That's the kind of thing you need to keep an eye on early. You'd think you'd come in early in the day and go, "What jokes should we tell?" And that's not always the case.
9
[on taking over The Daily Show (1996) for Jon Stewart] I'll do anything for him, whether it's hosting this show or disposing of a body. I guess I was just happy it was the first of those two choices, and I wasn't taking a trip to the East River under the cover of darkness. On the phone with him, I was saying, I'll do it. It was only upon hanging up that my legs started to buckle. I thought, What have I just agreed to? But it was long enough away that it didn't really seem real.
10
Armando Iannucci is one of my heroes. As I was growing up, he was probably the most influential comic voice that I had. The only way I may be able to say thank you is to invite him on a television show, where we're both one step removed from having to directly deal with each other on a human level. Hillary Kun, the guest booker [on The Daily Show (1996)] and I have been talking about who might be interesting to have come on and trying to get a balance of people. And trying to get the Queen.
#
Fact
1
Has one son, Hudson.
2
On his father's side, John is the great-great-grandson of The Rev. William Boyd Carpenter (1841-1918), who was a court chaplain to Queen Victoria and the Bishop of Ripon. He was from a prominent family that produced many Church of England clergy.
3
He has English and Irish ancestry. On his father's side, he is the grandson of Osborne George Oliver, an electricity board official, and Charlotte Hester Girdlestone, a religious education adviser.
4
His uncle (father's brother) was composer Stephen Oliver.
5
Oliver met his wife, Kate Norley, when he was covering the 2008 Republican Convention for The Daily Show (1996). Norley, an Army veteran who served as a medic in the Iraq War, was there with a group called Vets for Freedom.
TV Series 35 episodes, 2014 - 2016 writer - 1 episode, 2015
The Daily Show
2007-2013
TV Series writer - 962 episodes
New York Stand-Up Show
TV Series 1 episode, 2012 writer - 3 episodes, 2012 written by - 1 episode, 2010
Decline of the American Empire
2012
TV Movie written by
The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear
2010
TV Special
John Oliver: Terrifying Times
2008
TV Special documentary
The Late Edition
2005
TV Series writer - 1 episode
2004: The Stupid Version
2004
TV Movie additional material
Smack the Pony
2000
TV Series additional material - 1 episode
Movie Babylon
2000
TV Series documentary
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Amusement Park
2018
announced voice
Bob's Burgers
2017
TV Series
Ian Amberson
Danger Mouse
2016
TV Series
Augustus P. Crumhorn IV
The Simpsons
2014
TV Series
Booth Wilkes-John
Community
2009-2014
TV Series
Professor Ian Duncan
Xim-Xam
Mix-Max
Robot Chicken
2014
TV Series
Serpentor
Rick and Morty
2013
TV Series
Dr. Xenon Bloom
Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja
2012-2013
TV Series
Coach Green
The Smurfs 2
2013
Vanity Smurf (voice)
The Smurfs 2
2013
Video Game
Vanity (voice)
The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow
2013
TV Short
Vanity Smurf (voice)
The Daily Show
2012
TV Series
Tiny Tim / The British Pound
Gravity Falls
2012
TV Series
Wax Sherlock Holmes
The Smurfs
2011
Vanity (voice)
Moves: The Rise and Rise of the New Pornographers
2011
Short
Protest Leader
Important Things with Demetri Martin
2009
TV Series
The King
William Shakespeare
The Prince
The Love Guru
2008
Dick Pants
Green Wing
2004
TV Series
Car Salesman
People Like Us
2001
TV Series
My Hero
2001
TV Series
Man from the BBC
Masterpiece Theatre: Bleak House
1985
TV Mini-Series
Pardiggle Boy
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
TV Series executive producer - 34 episodes, 2014 - 2016 producer - 1 episode, 2016
New York Stand-Up Show
2010-2013
TV Series executive producer - 4 episodes
John Oliver: Terrifying Times
2008
TV Special documentary executive producer
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Xander De Rycke: Houdt het voor bekeken 2015-2016
2016
TV Special documentary thanks
Wyatt Cenac: Brooklyn
2014
TV Movie special thanks
Wyatt Cenac: Comedy Person
2011
TV Special documentary special thanks
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
2014-2017
TV Series
Himself - Host / Himself
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015-2017
TV Series
Himself / Himself - Guest
Billy on the Street with Billy Eichner
2017
TV Series
Himself
The Daily Show
2006-2016
TV Series
Himself - Correspondent / Himself - Host / Himself
CBS This Morning
2015-2016
TV Series
Himself / Himself - Guest
Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2016
TV Series
Himself
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2016
TV Series
Himself
The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards
2016
TV Special
Himself - Winner
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014-2016
TV Series
Himself / Himself - 'True Confessions' Player / Himself - Guest
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014-2016
TV Series
Himself - Guest / Himself
The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards
2015
TV Special
Himself - Presenter: Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special and Nominated: Outstanding Variety Talk Series & Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
Park Bench with Steve Buscemi
2015
TV Series
Himself
The Soup
2015
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Night of Too Many Stars: America Comes Together for Autism Programs
2015
TV Special
Himself
Good Morning America
2015
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Late Show with David Letterman
2013-2015
TV Series
Himself - Guest / Himself - Comedian
Turn Down for 2014
2014
Video short
Himself
The Concert for Valor
2014
TV Special
Himself
The Insider
2014
TV Series
Himself
Harmontown
2014
Documentary
Himself
The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards
2013
TV Special
Himself - Nominee: Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
New York Stand-Up Show
2010-2013
TV Series
Himself - Host
Charlie Rose
2013
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
2010-2013
TV Series
Himself - Guest
If These Walls Could Talk: The Story of the Punchline
2013
Documentary
Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell
2012
TV Series
Himself - Guest
7 Minutes in Heaven
2012
TV Series short
Himself (2012)
Decline of the American Empire
2012
TV Movie
Himself - Host
The Secret Policeman's Ball
2012
TV Movie
Himself
7 Minutes in Heaven
2011
TV Series
Himself - Guest
The 2011 Comedy Awards
2011
TV Special
Himself
The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear
2010
TV Special
Himself - Correspondent
Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert for Autism Education
2010
TV Movie
Himself
Bill Moyers' Journal
2010
TV Series documentary
Himself
Water and Power
2009
TV Series short
Himself
John Oliver: Terrifying Times
2008
TV Special documentary
Himself
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
2008
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Mock the Week
2005-2006
TV Series
Himself
The Comic Side of 7 Days
2005
TV Series
Himself
The Late Edition
2005
TV Series
Himself
28 Acts in 28 Minutes
2005
TV Special
Himself
Britain's Finest
2003
TV Series documentary
Himself
Gash
2003
TV Series
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
13th
2016
Documentary
Himself
Charlie Rose
2015
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Inside Edition
2014-2015
TV Series documentary
Himself / Himself - Host, The Daily Show
Mock the Week
2005-2012
TV Series
Himself
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
2016
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014)
2016
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Variety Talk Series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014)
2016
OFTA Television Award
Online Film & Television Association
Best Male Performance in a Variety Program
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014)
2016
PGA Award
PGA Awards
Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014)
2015
Wilde Wit of the Year
Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (GALECA)
2015
WGA Award (TV)
Writers Guild of America, USA
Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014)
2012
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
The Daily Show (1996)
2011
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series
The Daily Show (1996)
2010
WGA Award (TV)
Writers Guild of America, USA
Comedy/Variety - (Including Talk) Series
The Daily Show (1996)
2009
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series
The Daily Show (1996)
Nominated Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
2016
Wilde Wit of the Year
Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (GALECA)
2016
Gold Derby TV Award
Gold Derby Awards
Performer of the Year
2016
Gold Derby TV Award
Gold Derby Awards
Variety Performer
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014)
2015
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014)
2015
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Variety Talk Series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014)
2015
Gold Derby TV Award
Gold Derby Awards
Variety Performer
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014)
2015
OFTA Television Award
Online Film & Television Association
Best Male Performance in a Fiction Program
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014)
2015
PGA Award
PGA Awards
Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014)
2015
WGA Award (TV)
Writers Guild of America, USA
Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series
The Daily Show (1996)
2014
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
The Daily Show (1996)
2014
WGA Award (TV)
Writers Guild of America, USA
Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series
The Daily Show (1996)
2013
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
The Daily Show (1996)
2013
WGA Award (TV)
Writers Guild of America, USA
Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series
The Daily Show (1996)
2012
WGA Award (TV)
Writers Guild of America, USA
Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series
The Daily Show (1996)
2011
Daytime Emmy
Daytime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Special Class Writing
The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear (2010)
2011
WGA Award (TV)
Writers Guild of America, USA
Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series
The Daily Show (1996)
2010
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series
The Daily Show (1996)
2009
WGA Award (TV)
Writers Guild of America, USA
Comedy/Variety - (Including Talk) Series
The Daily Show (1996)
2008
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program
The Daily Show (1996)
Known for movies
The Daily Show (2006-2016) as Writer
John Oliver: Terrifying Times (2008) as Writer
The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear (2010) as Writer
$5 Million
$2 Million Per Year
