Matthew James Holness is an English comedian, actor, writer and director. His better known roles have included Simon in The Office and horror author Garth Marenghi.
In 2000, Holness first appeared on television as a cast-member of the short-lived BBC Two comedy series Bruiser. In the same year, Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight, a stage show written by Holness and Ayoade and starring the pair along with Alice Lowe, was nominated for the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe. The show was built around a spoof horror writer named Garth Marenghi. The sequel, Garth Marenghi's Netherhead, won the Perrier Award the following year. In 2002, Holness played the role of Simon, an arrogant and sarcastic computer technicianin series two of The Office. About the same time, Holness appeared in the comedy stage playThe Mighty Boosh, filling the role of Bob Fossil while regular cast memberRich Fulcher was overseas. In 2004, the character of Garth Marenghi transferred to television in the Channel 4 horror comedy Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. Despite critical acclaim and a later cult following, the series suffered from relatively low ratings when first broadcast. From 2004 to 2006, Holness played the character of Keith Bilk in the BBC Radio 4 series The Department. In 2006, the parody chat showMan to Man with Dean Learner appeared on Channel 4, with Holness playing a series of bizarre celebrity guests interviewed by a sleazy host, played by Ayoade. One of the guests was folk singer Merriman Weir, in which guise Holness also appeared in comedy clubs around Britain playing a guitar. In 2006, Holness appeared in the BBC Two comedy series Time Trumpet, a mock retrospective documentary set in the future. In 2009, he appeared in the Channel 4 sitcom Free Agents. In 2010, he played the part of a bandleader in Cemetery Junction, a comedy-drama film by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. In 2011, he played a minor role in the first episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner. The same year, A Gun for George was released, a short film written and directed by Holness in which he plays an angry loner who writes pulp-fiction crime novels about a vigilante called The Reprisalizer. In 2011, he played the part of a smug lawyer in Life's Too Short, a sitcom starring Warwick Davis. In 2012, he wrote and directed a short film for Sky Arts' Playhouse Presents series entitled The Snipist, which depicted a dystopic alternative 1970s Britain stricken by rabies. Douglas Henshall starred, with John Hurt providing the voice of The Ministry. In 2014, Holness played the part of egotistical movie star Max Gland in an episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Toast of London. In 2016, he wrote and directed Smutch, a Halloween Comedy Short shown on Sky Arts, in which he played an embittered author haunted by a ghost writer. In 2017, he appeared in the Channel 4 sitcom Back as a recently deceased father who appears in flashback scenes. In 2018, he played the part of brooding Swedish detective Knut Ångström in the BBC Radio 4 Nordic noir parody Angstrom. In 2019, he played Prince Hector of Bulgaria in an episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Year of the Rabbit. The same year, Holness made his debut as a feature director with Possum, a psychological horror film set in Norfolk. He described the film as "not remotely funny". In interviews to promote Possum, Holness said he had written a script for another horror film which he was also hoping to get made. Holness has written several short stories, such as 'Possum', 'The Toad and I', and 'The Mastiff: A story of The Diggers', which have been published in horror anthologies and as e-book downloads. He has also done voiceover work for audiobooks. His agents' website lists several projects as being in development with Holness as writer/director: Cometh the Fiend, The Reprisalizer, and The Mast.
