He is best known for his character Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which he developed while working with Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris on On the Hour (1991–1992) and The Day Today (1994).

Coogan began his career in the 1980s as a voice actor on the satirical puppet show Spitting Image and providing voice-overs for television advertisements.

He continued to appear in films such as Around the World in 80 Days (2004), the Night at the Museum trilogy (2006–2014), Tropic Thunder (2008), Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), Our Idiot Brother (2011), Ruby Sparks (2012), Irreplaceable You (2018), and Greed (2019).

In 2013, he co-wrote, produced, and starred in the film Philomena, which earned him nominations at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs, and at the Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.

For his portrayal of Jimmy Savile in the BBC drama The Reckoning (2023), he received a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor.

[5][6] He has four brothers and one sister,[7] and was raised Roman Catholic in what he described as a "lower-middle or upper-working class" family which emphasised the values of education.

[18][19] In the same year, his brother Kevin acquired nine O-levels at the same school[20] and took part in local and regional sports competitions, notably in basketball and cross country running.

Coogan began his career as a comic and impressionist, performing regularly in Ipswich, before working as a voice artist for television advertisements and the satirical puppet show Spitting Image.

His most prominent characters developed at this time were Paul Calf, a stereotypical working class Mancunian, and his sister Pauline, played by Coogan in drag.

While working on the Radio 4 comedy On the Hour, Coogan created Alan Partridge, a parody of British sports presenters, with the producer Armando Iannucci.

[25] According to Coogan, Partridge was originally a "one-note, sketchy character"[26] and "freak show", but slowly became refined as a dysfunctional alter ego.

Vanity Fair called him a British national treasure[32] and the Guardian described him as "one of the greatest and most beloved comic creations of the last few decades".

Calf first came to wider public notice in 1993, with several appearances on Saturday Zoo, a late-night variety show presented by Jonathan Ross on Channel 4.

Paul lives in a council house in the fictional town of Ottle with his mother and his sister, Pauline Calf (also played by Coogan).

[36] Other Coogan creations include Tommy Saxondale, Duncan Thicket, Ernest Eckler and Portuguese Eurovision Song Contest winner Tony Ferrino.

The first film that Coogan co-wrote with Henry Normal was The Parole Officer, in which he also acted alongside Ben Miller and Lena Headey.

Chortle comedy guide described it as "most definitely a show of two-halves: the superlative Alan Partridge plus a collection of characters that are not only less successful, but woefully less funny".

[58] He portrayed the journalist Martin Sixsmith, who helps a former resident of an Irish Roman Catholic mother and baby home, Philomena Lee, played by Judi Dench, find her son after decades long absence.

The Variety critic Justin Chang wrote, "The two leads make decent sparring partners and better allies, and Coogan is especially good whenever Martin's impatient manner tilts into genuine moral indignation.

The film earned four Academy Award nominations including for Best Picture losing to Steve McQueen's historical drama 12 Years a Slave (2013).

[61] Since joining, Langan has executive-produced all of the content from Baby Cow Productions, including Camping, Stan & Ollie, Zapped and The Witchfinder.

[62] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Coogan "slips neatly into the role" and added, "Coogan and Reilly not only excel at creating convincing impressions of one of the most famous comic teams of the last century, but they do an uncanny job of recreating a handful of their famous routines, which today mostly play as mild yet expertly timed delights.

[65] The podcast has now run for three seasons,[66] including a free teaser episode where Partridge commented on the coronation of Charles III and Camilla.

"[79] He has been a British tabloid fixture since as early as 1996, and has stated that such outlets have subjected him to entrapment and blackmail, printed obvious lies about him,[80] and have targeted his family and friends in attempts to extract stories from them.

[86] He became a prominent figure in the News International phone hacking scandal as one of the celebrities who took action against the British tabloids in light of these events.

Mulcaire was forced by the High Court of Justice to disclose to Coogan's legal team who amongst the staff at the News of the World ordered him to hack phones.

[110] In August 2014, Coogan was one of 200 public figures to sign a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in the Scottish independence referendum.

"[112] In November 2019, along with other public figures, Coogan signed a letter defending Corbyn, describing him as "a beacon of hope in the struggle against emergent far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism in much of the democratic world" and endorsed him in the 2019 general election.

The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few".

[118] In June 2024, Coogan was one of more than 100 cultural figures to sign a letter calling for Labour to halt sales of arms to Israel if it is elected.