Lenny Henry

Lenny Henry, byname of Sir Lenworth George Henry, (born August 29, 1958, Dudley, West Midlands, England), British comedian, actor, and writer who was one of Britain’s best known and most highly respected comic actors, especially noted for his range of characters. He later added serious acting roles to his repertoire. In addition, Henry cofounded and hosted the British version of Comic Relief.

As a teenager, Henry performed a comedy act in local nightclubs, which led to a successful appearance on the television talent program New Faces when he was 16 years old. The national exposure he gained from that show helped to secure him a role in The Fosters (1976–77), the first British situation comedy with an all-black cast. He followed this stint with a number of short television appearances that varied from Saturday morning children’s shows (Tiswas) to surreal alternative sitcoms (The Young Ones).

In 1984 Henry married fellow comedian Dawn French (whom he would divorce in 2010). That same year he was given his own series by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), The Lenny Henry Show. The program consisted of a mix of stand-up comedy and sketches that featured him playing a number of offbeat catchphrase-spouting characters, routines that quickly became his comedic calling card. Although his impersonations were mostly crowd-pleasing, they also drew criticism for playing up racial stereotypes, and Henry later lamented that some of his roles had been “self-detrimental.” The popular show went through a series of cancellations and relaunches, including a short-lived format change to a pseudositcom during 1987–88. Henry founded his own production company, Crucial Films, in 1991. That same year he attempted to break into Hollywood by starring in the film True Identity, which was both a critical and a commercial flop.

Henry rebounded by returning to the BBC to star in the situation comedy Chef! (1993–96). He was given the Radio and Television Industry Club Award for BBC Personality of the Year in 1993. He took on a purely dramatic role in the BBC production Hope and Glory (1999–2000), which helped lead to varied small parts in films such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and MirrorMask (2005). In 2017 Henry played a greengrocer and possible rape suspect in the final season of the crime drama Broadchurch, and three years later he appeared in the opening episodes of the 12th season of Doctor Who.

In 1988 Henry began hosting Comic Relief’s annual telethon (which, like its American counterpart, featured comedians performing to raise money for charity), and he soon became one of the most public faces of that organization’s annual fund-raising Red Nose Day. In 2009 Henry made his stage debut in the lead role of Shakespeare’s Othello at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. His performance won rave reviews, and the production later transferred to London’s West End theatre district. He also won praise for his performance as Troy Maxson in a 2013 production of August Wilson’s Fences. Henry was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1999 and a knight bachelor in 2015.