Matthew Holness

In 2019, he played Prince Hector of Bulgaria in an episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Year of the Rabbit.

In 2018, he played the part of brooding Swedish detective Knut Ångström in the BBC Radio 4 Nordic noir parody Angstrom.

In 2017, he appeared in the Channel 4 sitcom Back as a recently deceased father who appears in flashback scenes.

In 2016, he wrote and directed Smutch, a Halloween Comedy Short shown on Sky Arts, in which he played an embittered author haunted by a ghost writer.

In 2014, Holness played the part of egotistical movie star Max Gland in an episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Toast of London.

In 2012, he wrote and directed a short film for Sky Arts' Playhouse Presents series entitled The Snipist, which depicted a dystopic alternative 1970s Britain stricken by rabies. Douglas Henshall starred, with John Hurt providing the voice of The Ministry.

In 2011, he played a minor role in the first episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner.

In 2011, he played the part of a smug lawyer in Life's Too Short, a sitcom starring Warwick Davis.

In 2010, he played the part of a bandleader in Cemetery Junction, a comedy-drama film by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.

In 2009, he appeared in the Channel 4 sitcom Free Agents.

In 2006, the parody chat show Man to Man with Dean Learner appeared on Channel 4, with Holness playing a series of bizarre celebrity guests interviewed by a sleazy host, played by Ayoade. One of the guests was folk singer Merriman Weir, in which guise Holness also appeared in comedy clubs around Britain playing a guitar.

In 2006, Holness appeared in the BBC Two comedy series Time Trumpet, a mock retrospective documentary set in the future.

In 2004, the character of Garth Marenghi transferred to television in the Channel 4 horror comedy Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. Despite critical acclaim and a later cult following, the series suffered from relatively low ratings when first broadcast.

From 2004 to 2006, Holness played the character of Keith Bilk in the BBC Radio 4 series The Department.

In 2002, Holness played the role of Simon, an arrogant and sarcastic computer technician in series two of The Office.

In 2000, Holness first appeared on television as a cast-member of the short-lived BBC Two comedy series Bruiser.

Holness attended Chaucer Technology School in Canterbury and went on to read English at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. As a member of the Cambridge Footlights, he appeared in a number of shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the mid-1990s. He also served as vice-president when David Mitchell was president. Other contemporaries included Robert Webb, Richard Ayoade and John Oliver. Holness received the honorary Master of Arts from Cambridge, graduating in absentia due to his comedy work.

Matthew James Holness (born 1975) is an English comedian, actor, writer and director. His better known roles have included Simon in The Office and horror author Garth Marenghi.