Colin Mochrie Canadian Actor Known for The Tuxedo

Early life

Colin Mochrie was born on 30 November 1957 in Kilmarnock, Scotland, the eldest of three children. His family emigrated to Canada in 1964, settling first just outside Montreal and then, about five years later, in Vancouver. He went to Killarney Secondary School, where a friend persuaded him to audition for a school play. Getting his first laugh on stage convinced him to look for a career in entertainment. After finishing school he trained for three years at the Studio 58 theatre programme at Langara College, and it was there that he came across improvisational comedy.

Career

Mochrie began working in 1980 with the Vancouver TheatreSports League, which gradually turned from a side job into full-time employment. During this period he got to know fellow performer Ryan Stiles, who would become a long-time collaborator. After Expo '86 he left Vancouver for Toronto and joined The Second City, where he performed with the national touring company. He co-wrote and appeared in three productions and directed three seasons of the touring group. It was in that company that he met Debra McGrath, who was directing it at the time.

His best-known work is on Whose Line Is It Anyway? He auditioned for the British version several times; the first attempt failed, a second led to a single appearance, and the third earned him a regular place. He stayed with the British programme until it ended in 1998. When the American edition began on ABC with Drew Carey as host, he joined it alongside Stiles and took part in every episode from August 1998 until the finale in 2006. He returned for the revival on The CW in the summer of 2013.

Outside that show he built a varied record in Canadian television. He co-starred in the series Blackfly in 2001 and 2002, appeared on This Hour Has 22 Minutes between 2001 and 2003, and was part of Drew Carey's Green Screen Show in 2004. In 2007 he was named host of the Canadian edition of Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? He and McGrath wrote and acted in the comedies Getting Along Famously and She's the Mayor, which debuted in 2011. In 2011 he was also a regular on Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza, and in 2012 he starred in the ABC improv series Trust Us with Your Life.

On film, his best-known credits are Lucky Numbers (2000) and The Tuxedo (2002). His first screen credit on record is Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983), and his latest listed film is Canadian Strain (2019), in which he plays Jack Banting. In 2013 Viking Canada published his short-story collection Not Quite the Classics, which takes the first and last lines of well-known novels and invents a new middle for each. He later co-created Hyprov, a stage show that combines hypnosis and improvisation.

Since 2002 Mochrie and fellow Whose Line performer Brad Sherwood have toured North America as a two-man stage act. It began as "An Evening with Colin and Brad" in small theatres, and by 2018 it was billed as the "Scared Scriptless Tour" and played larger venues, including the Sydney Opera House and the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Recognition

In 2013 Mochrie received a Canadian Comedy Award for Comedic Artist of the Year. His career has also brought him a Gemini Award and a Writers Guild of Canada award for his work on This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

Personal life

Mochrie married the actress Debra McGrath on 8 January 1989. They have one child and live in Toronto.