Richard Ayoade

Richard Ellef Ayoade married actress Lydia Fox in 2007. They have three children, including daughters Ida Ayoade and Esmé Bibi Ayoade. They stay in East Dulwich in the London Borough of Southwark, England.

Richard Ellef Ayoade was born on June 12, 1977 in Hammersmith in west London, but grew up in Suffolk County, where his parents moved to later on. His Nigerian father Layide Ade Laditi Ayoade is an electrical engineer and his mother Dagny Amalie is a Norwegian. He is their only child.

He attended St Joseph's College in Ipswich, and in 1995, he went to Cambridge University to study law. In 1998, he graduated from Cambridge with other future stars like Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Olivia Colman.

He was the president of the Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club in 1997. He also bagged the Martin Steele Prize for play production in college.

He wrote and performed in several Footlights Dramatic Club productions along with the club’s vice-president John Oliver. He participated in touring shows like ‘Emotional Baggage’ and ‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place’.

Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness together wrote the stage show ‘Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight’. He also starred in the show along with Matthew at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2000. The show was nominated for a Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

He wrote the TV comedy sketch show ‘Bruiser’ in 2000, which starred David Mitchell, Robert Webb, and Matthew Holness. In 2001, he co-wrote and performed in ‘Garth Marenghi's Netherhead’, the sequel to ‘Fright Knight’. He bagged the Perrier Comedy Award for it.

He was a part of ‘The Mighty Boosh’ television show. The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe, which includes comedians like Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. The troupe has developed numerous stage shows and radio series.

Ayoade also appeared in the radio series ‘The Boosh’ in 2001. He continued appearing in the second series in 2005 and portrayed the character of Saboo. He was associated with ‘The Mighty Boosh’ in the third series too, this time as an actor as well as a script editor.

In 2004, Richard and Matthew created a horror comedy series called ‘Garth Marenghi's Darkplace’ for Channel 4. He wrote, directed and starred in the series. In the same year, he directed, co-wrote and co-starred with Matt Berry in ‘AD/BC: A Rock Opera’, which was aired on BBC Three. He also appeared in a small role as a reporter in the HBO television film ‘The Life and Death of Peter Sellers’ in 2004.

Richard Ayoade’s performance in ‘The IT Crowd’ was highly praised by critics. Written by Graham Linehan, the British television comedy sitcom featured Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, and Matt Berry.

The story focused on the IT department of the Reynholm Industries and its three staff members—Maurice Moss, played by Ayoade, Roy Trenneman, portrayed by O'Dowd, and Jen Barber, played by Parkinson. The show bagged several awards, including the BAFTA, Emmy, the British Comedy Awards and Irish Film and Television Awards.

His first directorial comedy film ‘Submarine’, which was based on the debut novel of the same name by Joe Dunthorne, received rave reviews from the critics. The film revolves round an intellectual teenager who tries to solve his parents' marital difficulties. It starred Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor and Paddy Considine.

The film premiered at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival in 2010. It also featured five original songs by Arctic Monkeys and Alex Turner of The Last Shadow Puppets. The film bagged the British Independent Film Award for Best Screenplay, Palm Springs International Film Festival Directors to Watch Award, and Giffoni Film Festival Award for Best Film.