Rik Mayall is one of the top British actor/comedians in the entertainment world. Known for his wild, loud, brash and often violent characterizations, Rik's comedic style has never been duplicated.

Rik's parents, John and Gillian, were both drama teachers who met at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. Rik was born in a village called Matching Tye, just outside Harlow in Essex, England on March 7, 1958. His full name is Richard Michael Mayall, but Rik gave himself the nickname of "Rik" in honor of the comic strip character "Erik the Viking".

When he was three, his family moved to a town called Droitwich, near Birmingham. Though he claims to have been a self centered child, he also says that he was the model older brother who took care of his younger siblings without objection. He has an older brother named Anthony (a civil engineer), and two younger sisters, Libby (works in the music industry) and Kate (a doctor of psychology).

Rik's stage debut was at the age of six, when he appeared in a crowd scene in his father's production of The Good Woman of Setzuan. Three years later he appeared as the boy in Waiting for Godot. He met Adrian Edmondson at Manchester University years later.

Rik and Adrian formed a comedy group called "Twentieth Century Coyote" in the late 70s while the two attended college together in Manchester. Originally a five man team, Twentieth Century Coyote eventually became a partnership between just Rik and Ade. That partnership exists to this present day and is one of the most enduring and successful partnerships in modern comedy.

The duo appeared often on Saturday nights during open mike time at a club called The Comedy Store. But they made their name at a club called The Comic Strip. The Comic Strip was also the launching ground of other well known "alternative" comedians such as French & Saunders, and has since become part of the alternative comedians "legend".

Rik first came to national prominence in the UK by co-writing and playing the character of "Kevin Turvey" on A Kick Up the Eighties. From this initial fame, he went on to co-write and star in The Young Ones with Ben Elton and Lise Meyer. If he was on his way to international fame prior to The Young Ones, then the debut of this show forever sealed his fame as a performer. It's since become a cult hit that's known all over the world (even in the US) and is his best known project.

Since doing The Young Ones, Rik has appeared in numerous television shows and films (please see the Filmography section of this web site for a complete list). Some of the most famous are Bottom, which rivals The Young Ones for its cult status; The New Statesman, in which Rik portrayed Tory MP Alan B'Stard with a wicked sense of satire; The Comic Strip Presents..., in which Rik played numerous parts including Colin Grigson of the heavy metal band Bad News; and the film Drop Dead Fred, one of the few projects of Rik's to be released in the US.

Rik has been married to a former make-up artist named Barbara since 1985, and they have three children: Rosie, Sydney and Bonnie. Much has been made of the overlap of Rik's former romantic relationship with Young Ones co-writer Lise Meyer and his meeting and later marrying Barbara. For the full story (or, as much of the full story as Rik cares to reveal), check out the A Joker Who Scorns His Critics article from the Daily Mirror and Rik Admits: 'I Dumped Angus's Girl' from The Library section of this site. Rik and Lise remain friends.

In the spring of 1998, Rik was in a serious quad bicycle accident, which put him on the critical list. He has since made a full recovery and is currently back on his feet and taking on new acting projects regularly.

Rik's "autobiography" was released on September 5th, 2005.

For the women out there, Rik is 5 feet 11 inches tall (or so he claims) and has blue eyes.
 

Click here to read Rik's a press bio of Rik's from the Valiant pressbook (US version).

The Wikipedia entry on Rik is also excellent and up to date.

Want to see Rik through the years? Then take a look at this excellent graphic courtesy of Anne-Sophie Pottier!

Also see the Frequently Asked Questions page on this site
for more essential Rik information.