Editing Paul Kaye (section)

==Career==
===Early career===
On graduation, Kaye designed theatre posters for the King's Head, the [[Bush Theatre]], and the [[Gate Theatre (London)|Gate Theatre]], [[Notting Hill]]. He was a scene painter at the [[Old Vic Theatre]] in Waterloo and illustrated regularly for the ''[[NME]]'', ''[[i-D]]'', ''[[Literary Review]]'', ''[[Time Out (company)|Time Out]]'' and ''[[International Musician]]'' magazines between 1987 and 1989. He had two exhibitions of illustration and poster work between 1989 and 1990, firstly at the [[Soho]] House Theatre, and then at [[RADA Studios|The Drill Hall]].{{cn|date=June 2024}}

Kaye formed and sang in many bands, including the dark psychedelic outfit We Are Pleb, who played extensively in [[Camden Town|Camden]] during 1988–89 (at the same time as [[Blur (band)|Blur]] and [[Suede (band)|Suede]]) and had a penchant for setting the stage on fire. Kaye was signed to [[Go Discs]] in 1992 with a group called TV Eye (formed with ex-members of the band [[Eat (band)|Eat]]), which released two singles, "Killer Fly" and "Eradicator".{{cn|date=June 2024}}

In 1993, Kaye filmed a prototype Dennis Pennis, interviewing his own band on a late-night indie music show on [[Granada TV]] called ''Transmission''. After the interview, Kaye then went out with the crew, got very drunk and offended as many people as possible in [[Oxford Street]]. This tape somehow arrived on the desk of producers at [[Planet 24]] six months later, and they offered Kaye the job of knocking on people's doors at 6.00am on ''[[The Big Breakfast]]''. Kaye turned them down, preferring to stay on [[Jobseeker's Allowance]] and stick with We Are Pleb; [[Mark Lamarr]] eventually took the job.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

Kaye was a graphic designer<ref name="geek">{{Cite web|url= https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/paul-kaye-interview-dennis-pennis-game-of-thrones-zapped/ |title=Paul Kaye interview: Dennis Pennis, Game Of Thrones, Zapped|first=Louisa|last=Mellor|date= October 18, 2017}}</ref> for [[Tottenham Hotspur]]. He had an office in [[White Hart Lane]] and designed in-house merchandise for Spurs, [[Derby County F.C.|Derby County]], [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]] and [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] for Danish sportswear brand [[Hummel International]] (doing caricatures of [[Paul Gascoigne]] for school lunchboxes etc.). As an [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] fan, Kaye has said there are subliminal cannons contained within his work for Spurs, including a pen and ink drawing of Tottenham's new stand on a catalogue cover which features a minute cannon in the crowd: 70,000 were printed. Kaye became in-house theatre designer of the Bet Zvi Drama Academy in [[Tel Aviv]] for 12 months in 1994, designing all the in-house productions in their studio theatre.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

His TV debut was on ''[[The Word (TV series)|The Word]]'' being secretly filmed in [[Oliver Reed]]'s dressing room. Kaye recalls "Reed had drunk two bottles of vodka, taken all his clothes off and I honestly thought he was going to kill me on live television. I swore in bed that I'd never do a celebrity interview again. Typically, six months later I'd come up with Dennis Pennis."{{cn|date=June 2024}}

In 1994, Kaye convinced his old friend Anthony Hines (a car mechanic and some time roadie for TV Eye) to help him write Dennis Pennis when he was offered the job on ''[[The Sunday Show]]''.<ref name="geek"/> (Hines was later poached by [[Sacha Baron Cohen]] to write for [[Ali G]] on ''[[The Eleven O'Clock Show]]'' and went on to receive an [[Academy Award|Oscar]] nomination for co-writing ''[[Borat]]'' in 2006).<ref name="geek"/>

===Dennis Pennis===
Celebrity interviewer Dennis Pennis, created by Kaye and Hines, was one of Kaye's earliest characters.<ref name="newz">{{Cite web|url= https://www.americanisraelite.com/jews_in_the_newz/article_03909efc-9d4f-11e7-bccc-53076296bef6.html|title = Jewz in the Newz| date=21 September 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190709141120/https://www.americanisraelite.com/jews_in_the_newz/article_03909efc-9d4f-11e7-bccc-53076296bef6.html |archive-date= 9 July 2019 }}</ref> With dyed red hair, gaudy jackets adorned with punk-style badges, and thick glasses, Pennis stood out from the crowd and asked celebrities atypical questions, ranging from playful to cruel.<ref name="newz"/> After brief stints presenting two episodes of ''Transmission'' (ITV's early 1990s indie music magazine show) as Pennis, the character next appeared in 1995 on [[BBC2]]'s ''The Sunday Show''.<ref name="geek"/> 

Originally, the celebrities would be mainly British stars harassed at assorted London-based events, such as actor [[Hugh Grant]], TV host [[Ulrika Jonsson]], and sports pundit [[Des Lynam]]. A late night half-hour one-off special aired on 15 September 1995 on BBC2 called ''Anyone For Pennis?'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00vffzg |title=Anyone for Pennis? |publisher=[[BBC Online]] |accessdate=28 November 2022}}</ref> which contained previously unseen footage that couldn't be shown on ''The Sunday Show'' due to the show's pre-watershed slot at lunchtime. When the Pennis character took off, Kaye was afforded a budget large enough to travel to [[Cannes]], Hollywood, and [[Venice]] to record footage for a two-part special on 9 and 16 August 1996 on BBC2 called ''Very Important Pennis''.<ref name="very">{{cite web |url= https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/c6750f18447e4756baa055460f5222e3 |title=Very Important Pennis - BBC Two England - 9 August 1996 |date=9 August 1996 |publisher=[[BBC Genome Project]] |accessdate=28 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/9d34d8e517ce42488633e06e943068d6 |title=Very Important Pennis - BBC Two England - 16 August 1996 |date=16 August 1996 |publisher=[[BBC Genome Project]] |accessdate=28 November 2022}}</ref> His victims from this point on were more renowned, the most famous of whom were [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], [[Demi Moore]], [[Kevin Costner]], [[Morgan Freeman]] and [[Bruce Willis]], amid a raft of other Hollywood A-list stars.<ref name="very"/> 

Pennis was visibly amused at the look of disgust on some of the stars' faces. There was some controversy when Pennis asked of [[Steve Martin]], "How come you're not funny any more?" Although it was claimed that Martin subsequently cancelled all scheduled press interviews, in 2024 he denied doing so.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gilbey |first1=Ryan |title='If you're anointed tonight, you can be dumped on tomorrow': Steve Martin on fame, failure and TV humiliation |url= https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/mar/22/if-youre-anointed-tonight-you-can-be-dumped-on-tomorrow-steve-martin-on-fame-failure-and-tv-humiliation |access-date=22 March 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=22 March 2024}}</ref> Kaye later said that he regretted this interview for a while, but nevertheless said, "Anyone who thinks they can improve on [[The Phil Silvers Show|Bilko]] and [[Inspector Clouseau]] needs a slap, don't they?"<ref name="chort">{{cite web|url= https://www.chortle.co.uk/interviews/2007/10/09/5881/i%92m_proud_and_ashamed_in_equal_measure...|title=I'm proud and ashamed in equal measure... |website=www.chortle.co.uk |access-date=4 February 2010}}</ref>

A special one hour video-only feature was released in 1997 called ''Dennis Pennis RIP: Too Rude to Live'', which saw the character killed off, after Kaye decided the rewards were not worth the effort.<ref name="chort"/>  However, Pennis did appear in public one last time in June 1997 on the main stage at Glastonbury introducing the headliners that night [[The Prodigy]] – the band had been a fan of Pennis's character and had requested him personally. Kaye, as his Pennis character, conducted the 60,000+ crowd in a sing-song during a power cut during the band's set that evening.<ref name="chort"/>

===Acting career===
[[File:Paul Kaye.jpg|thumb|right|Kaye as Mike Strutter in 2008]]
In 1998, Kaye appeared in the video to the [[Fat Les]] song "[[Vindaloo (song)|Vindaloo]]" as a [[Richard Ashcroft]] look-alike. That same year, he also appeared as the character DI Lindsay De Paul in the TV comedy movie ''You Are Here''.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195425/combined|title=You Are Here (1998) (TV)|access-date=11 November 2017|website=IMDb.com}}</ref>

Kaye also appeared as the singer of a fictional punk band called Spunk in a 1999 [[mockumentary|mock-documentary]] of the same name, which appeared as the 'wrath' part of a [[Channel 4]] series on the [[seven deadly sins]].<ref name="campaignlive">{{cite web |url=https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/1145198/ |title=BetVictor brings in comedian Kaye for latest ad campaign |last1=Reynolds |first1=John |date=14 August 2012 |publisher=campaignlive.co.uk |access-date=14 April 2013}}</ref>

In 2000, Kaye starred in the comedy series ''[[Perfect World (sitcom)|Perfect World]]'', a sitcom about a down-on-his-luck marketing manager. He also briefly presented a BBC2 quiz show, ''Liar'', in which six contestants would all have a supposed claim to fame and the studio audience voted on which one they believed was telling the truth. In the same year, Kaye took a dramatic role alongside [[Michelle Collins]] in ''[[Two Thousand Acres of Sky]]''.<ref name="2000A">{{cite web| title= 2,000 Acres of Sky Mon 1st Jan 2001, 20:30 on BBC One London| url= https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/48e815c07e694c12a45f7001e2fcce85| website=[[BBC Genome]]|date=1 January 2001 |access-date=24 February 2023}}</ref>

In 2004, Kaye played the leading role in the film ''[[Blackball (film)|Blackball]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Blackball – Paul Kaye and Alice Evans Interview – Video Dailymotion|url= http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqs03p_blackball-paul-kaye-and-alice-evans-interview_shortfilms|website=Dailymotion|access-date=30 September 2016|date=12 May 2012}}</ref> His role as [[Deafness|deaf]] DJ Frankie Wilde in the 2005 mockumentary ''[[It's All Gone Pete Tong]]''<ref>{{cite web|title=Paradise Lost: It's All Gone Pete Tong|url= https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2005/06/paradise-lost-its-all-gone-pete-tong.html |website=pastemagazine.com|date=17 June 2005|access-date=30 September 2016}}</ref> won him the Film Discovery Jury Award at the 2005 [[US Comedy Arts Festival]]. He played in two episodes of the BBC drama series ''[[Waking the Dead (TV series)|Waking the Dead]]'', playing Dr. David Carney in "Shadowplay".<ref>"Shadowplay" on the IMDb.</ref> Television appearances in 2006 and 2007 included episodes of ''[[Hustle (TV series)|Hustle]]'', ''[[EastEnders]]'' and ''[[Kingdom (2007 TV series)|Kingdom]]''. Kaye was the chief interviewer on rockworld.tv, in which he interviewed up-and-coming punk and indie bands.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

Kaye appeared in ''[[Hotel Babylon (BBC series)|Hotel Babylon]]'' (11 March 2008, [[BBC One]]), ''[[Pulling (TV series)|Pulling]]'' (Series 2, March 2008, [[BBC Three]]), and as Uncle Gorwel in ''[[A Child's Christmases in Wales]]'' by [[Mark Watson]] (17 December 2009, [[BBC Four]] and 24 December 2009, [[BBC One Wales]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/christmas/sites/content/pages/a-childs-christmases-in-wales.shtml |title=Wales – Christmas – Content – A Child's Christmases in Wales |publisher=BBC |date=9 December 2009 |access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref>

From November 2010 to January 2011, Kaye played Matilda's father Mr. Wormwood in the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]]'s musical ''[[Matilda (musical)|Matilda]]'', based on the classic [[Roald Dahl]] [[Matilda (novel)|novel of the same name]].<ref>{{cite news|series=Culture |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/8160186/Waltzing-Matilda-Dahls-classic-dances-on-to-the-stage.html |author=Allott, Serena|title=Waltzing Matilda: Dahl's classic dances on to the stage |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=26 November 2010 |access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref> Kaye reprised the role when the musical transferred to the [[Cambridge Theatre]] in London's West End in October 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rsc.org.uk/about-us/press/matilda-the-musical-young-actresses.aspx |title=Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical |publisher=RSC |access-date=26 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226170211/http://www.rsc.org.uk/about-us/press/matilda-the-musical-young-actresses.aspx |archive-date=26 December 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In April 2012, Kaye was nominated for the [[Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical]].<ref name="NTU"/>

In 2012, he appeared as a character called Maurice in UK TV adverts for the rebranding for the digital era of betting website [[Victor Chandler|BetVictor]], to launch their new BetVictor app.<ref name="vc">{{cite web|title= Victor Chandler - Brand History |url= https://www.bv-group.com/victorchandler/|work= bv-group.com|access-date= 19 September 2024}}</ref>

In 2013, Kaye appeared as [[List of A Song of Ice and Fire characters#Thoros of Myr|Thoros of Myr]] in the [[Game of Thrones (season 3)|third season]] of the [[HBO]] series ''[[Game of Thrones]]'', and as Danno in the [[BBC Radio 4]] series ''Love in Recovery''. In 2016, he reprised his role as Thoros of Myr in the [[Game of Thrones (season 6)|sixth season]] of ''Game of Thrones'',<ref>{{cite web|title='Game Of Thrones' Season 6 Spoilers: Paul Kaye Returns As Thoros Of Myr|url=http://www.movienewsguide.com/game-thrones-season-6-spoilers-paul-kaye-returns-thoros-myr/196126|website=movienewsguide.com|access-date=30 September 2016|date=21 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717183602/https://www.movienewsguide.com/game-thrones-season-6-spoilers-paul-kaye-returns-thoros-myr/196126|archive-date=17 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> and returned for the [[Game of Thrones (season 7)|seventh season]].<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.spotlight.com/interactive/cv/1/M72277.html|title=Paul Kaye Spotlight CV|work=Spotlight|access-date=June 22, 2017}}</ref>

In 2014, Kaye played Brother Lucian in the movie ''[[Dracula Untold]]''. In 2015 he played a criminal in the BBC drama ''[[The Interceptor]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wallis|first1=Sara|title=The Interceptor, on BBC1 tonight, is a gripping pacey thriller|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-previews/interceptor-been-done-before-gripping-5855089|website=mirror.co.uk|access-date=30 September 2016|date=10 June 2015}}</ref>

In 2015, he featured as the drunken, haunted Naval Officer Harry Brewer in the National Theatre's revival of ''[[Our Country's Good]]''. He also appeared in ''[[Doctor Who]]'' as an alien funeral director.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/our-countrys-good?cast|title=Our Country's Good|work=National Theatre}}</ref> That same year, He played Vinculus in Susanna Clarke's ''[[Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (TV series)|Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell]]''.<ref name="tv">{{cite web |url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/paul-kaye/credits/3000652342/|title=Paul Kaye credits |publisher=tvguide.com|accessdate=8 April 2024}}</ref>

Kaye's other television credits include ''The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge'', an episode of [[Reece Shearsmith]] and [[Steve Pemberton]]'s anthology series ''[[Inside No. 9]]'', Netflix's first original TV series ''[[Lilyhammer]]'', the BAFTA winning ''[[Murder in Successville]]'',<ref name="tv"/> BBC miniseries ''[[Three Girls (TV series)|Three Girls]]'',<ref name="tv"/> Sky comedy ''[[Zapped (TV series)|Zapped]]'',<ref name="tv"/> ''[[Drunk History (UK TV series)|Drunk History]]'', ''[[The Windsors]]'', ''[[Urban Myths (TV series)|Urban Myths]]'', ''Terry Pratchett: Back in Black'', and the adaptation of [[Terry Pratchett]] and [[Neil Gaiman]]'s ''[[Good Omens (TV series)|Good Omens]]''.<ref name="tv"/>

In 2017, Kaye appeared onstage as Chilean bomb maker Jose Miguel in ''B'', a new play by [[Guillermo Calderón]] at the [[Royal Court Theatre]]. He appears as Dr. Malcolm Donahue, the pathologist in ITV's ''Vera'' until  2023. Kaye has appeared as Danno, who is a recovering alcoholic attending Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) meetings in Pete Jackson's [[BBC Radio 4]] comedy drama series ''Love in Recovery''. In 2019, Kaye debuted as hospital chaplain Daniel Booth in the ITV dramedy ''[[Cold Feet]]'', and played a psychiatrist in the [[Netflix]] comedy series ''[[After Life (TV series)|After Life]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/after-life-cast-ricky-gervais-netflix-new-series/|title=After Life cast: who stars with Ricky Gervais in new Netflix series – and where else you've seen them|last=Sanusi|first=Victoria|work=iNews|date=8 March 2019|access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref>

In 2020, he appeared in the [[Netflix]] drama ''[[The Stranger (British TV series)|The Stranger]]'', as Patrick Katz, and portrayed "The Cowboy" in the HBO miniseries ''[[The Third Day (miniseries)|The Third Day]]''. In 2021, he played Guy Forks in a [[Bonfire Night]] special of [[Mackenzie Crook]]'s re-working of [[Worzel Gummidge (2019 TV series)|''Worzel Gummidge'']] for the BBC. 
In 2023, Kaye starred in ''[[The Pillowman]]'', staged at the [[Duke of York's Theatre]], London.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/jun/22/the-pillowman-review-duke-of-yorks-london-lily-allen-martin-mcdonagh|title=The Pillowman review – Lily Allen fails to deliver visceral punch|website=The Guardian|last=Akbar|first=Arifa|date=22 June 2023|access-date=22 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/the-pillowman-review-lily-allen-tickets-b2362238.html|title=The Pillowman review: A dark, twisted triumph despite lightweight Lily Allen's one-note turn|website=The Independent|last=Thompson|first=Jessie|date=22 June 2023|access-date=22 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/the-pillowman-duke-of-yorks-theatre-review-lily-allen/|title=The Pillowman, Duke of York's Theatre, review: Lily Allen all at sea in dull revival|website=The Telegraph|last=Allfree|first=Claire|date=21 June 2023|access-date=22 June 2023}}</ref>