Editing Stephen Merchant (section)

{{Short description|English comedian, writer, director, and actor (born 1974)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Stephen Merchant
| image              = StephenMerchantAltNov09.jpg
| alt                = Merchant looking to the camera
| caption            = Merchant in 2012
| birth_name         = Stephen James Merchant
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1974|11|24}}
| birth_place        = [[Bristol]], England
| alma_mater         = [[University of Warwick]]
| occupation         = {{hlist|Comedian|actor|director|writer}}
| years_active       = 1997–present
| height             = 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
| partner            = <!--Partner parameter is for unmarried/long-term life partners. Not a dating history.-->
| website            = {{URL|stephenmerchant.com}}
}}

'''Stephen James Merchant''' (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, writer, director, and actor. He was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''[[The Office (British TV series)|The Office]]'' (2001–2003), and co-writer, co-director, and co-star of both ''[[Extras (TV series)|Extras]]'' (2005–2007) and ''[[Life's Too Short (TV series)|Life's Too Short]]'' (2011–2013) alongside [[Ricky Gervais]]. With Gervais and [[Karl Pilkington]], he hosted ''[[The Ricky Gervais Show]]'' in its radio, podcast, audiobook, and television formats; the radio version won a bronze [[Sony Award]]. He also provided the voice of the robotic "Intelligence Dampening Sphere" [[Wheatley (Portal)|Wheatley]] in the  video games ''[[Portal 2]]'' (2011) and ''[[LEGO Dimensions]]'' (2015) . Merchant co-developed the [[Sky1|Sky One]] travel documentary series ''[[An Idiot Abroad]]'' (2010–2012) and co-created ''[[Lip Sync Battle]]'' (2015–2019).

Merchant has performed as a stand-up comedian, which led to him writing and starring in the [[HBO]] series ''[[Hello Ladies]]'' (2013–2014), based on his stand-up material. He starred in his first play, [[Richard Bean]]'s ''[[The Mentalists]]'', at London's [[Wyndham's Theatre]] in 2015. He wrote and directed the films ''[[Cemetery Junction (film)|Cemetery Junction]]'' in 2010 and ''[[Fighting with My Family]]'' in 2019, and starred in, co-wrote, co-produced, and co-directed the comedy crime series [[The Outlaws (2021 TV series)|''The Outlaws'']] (2021–present). He also appeared as the mutant [[Caliban (comics)|Caliban]] in the superhero film ''[[Logan (film)|Logan]]'' (2017), a Nazi Gestapo leader in the comedy-drama film ''[[Jojo Rabbit]]'' (2019), and as the serial killer [[Stephen Port]] in the 2022 television drama ''[[Four Lives]]''.

Merchant has received numerous accolades, including a [[Peabody Awards|Peabody Award]], two [[Golden Globe Awards]], three [[British Academy Television Awards|BAFTA Awards]], a [[Primetime Emmy Award]], four [[British Comedy Awards]], and the [[Rose d'Or]].