Childhood & Early Life
Walliams was born David Edward Williams on August 20, 1971, in London. He is the son of Kathleen Williams, a lab technician, and Peter Williams, who was a London Transport engineer.
He studied at ‘Collingwood Boys' School’ in Wallington, and ‘Reigate Grammar School’ in Surrey. In 1992, he graduated with Bachelor of Arts (Drama) from the ‘University of Bristol.’
During his university days, he performed with the ‘National Youth Theatre,’ and joined the actors' union named ‘Equity.’ Around this time, he changed his name to David Walliams to avoid confusion as there was another actor in the union named David Williams.
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Career
David Walliams performed in ‘Phantasmagoria,’ a science fiction audio series in 1999. From 2003 to 2006, he co-wrote and co-starred in three series of the TV sketch show ‘Little Britain’ with Matt Lucas.
In 2005, he starred in the video for Charlotte Hatherley's single ‘Bastardo’. The same year, he presented a documentary titled ‘David Walliams: My Life with James Bond’.
In 2007, he portrayed a dangerous manipulator named ‘Greville White’ in Stephen Poliakoff's television drama ‘Capturing Mary.’ The following year, he portrayed comedian Frankie Howerd in the television film ‘Frankie Howerd: Rather You Than Me.’
On August 26, 2008, he made his stage debut in Harold Pinter's ‘No Man's Land.’ That year, ‘HarperCollins’ signed a contract with him to publish two children's books. His first novel titled ‘The Boy in the Dress’ was released worldwide on October 1, 2008.
His second book ‘Mr Stink’ was released in October 2009. It was about a 12-year-old girl who meets a tramp and looks after him.
In 2010, he appeared in the comedy film ‘Dinner for Schmucks.’ On October 28, he published his third book ‘Billionaire Boy’ which narrates the story of ‘Joe Spud,’ a rich 12-year-old who is in need of a friend. His fourth book ‘Gangsta Granny’ was released on October 27, 2011. The book is about ‘Ben’ whose grandma hatches a plan to steal the crown jewels.
David Walliams has been one of the judges on ITV’s talent show ‘Britain's Got Talent’ since 2012. In 2012, he narrated ‘Are You Having a Laugh? TV and Disability’ for ‘BBC Two.’ He also narrated the ITV2 series ‘Top Dog Model.’ In April, he appeared in an episode of ITV's ‘Perspectives’ program titled ‘David Walliams: The Genius of Dahl.’
Meanwhile in 2011, he portrayed a mole-like alien named ‘Gibbis’ in an episode titled ‘The God Complex’ in the sixth series of ‘Doctor Who.’ In September 2012, he released his fifth children's book ‘Ratburger.’ It is the story of a young girl named ‘Zoe’ whose evil stepmother troubles her. He also appeared as ‘Mr. Pumblechook’ in the film ‘Great Expectations.’
In September 2013, he released his sixth book ‘Demon Dentist’ which is the story of a young boy named ‘Alfie’ whose life changes when a new dentist arrives in town. The same year, he portrayed the role of ‘Bottom’ in a production of ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ at the ‘Noël Coward Theatre.’
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In 2013-2014, he wrote and starred in two series of ‘BBC One’ sitcom ‘Big School’ where he portrayed ‘Keith Church,’ a chemistry teacher. On September 26, his seventh children's book ‘Awful Auntie’ was released. It is about a girl named ‘Stella’ whose aunt moves into her house with her owl.
In 2015, he played the role of ‘Tommy Beresford’ in ‘Partners in Crime,’ a six-episode BBC series.
He produced and starred in ‘Walliams & Friend,’ a sketch show aired on ‘BBC One’ in December 2015. The following year, his ninth and 10th books were released; while ‘The World's Worst Children’ released on May 19, ‘The Midnight Gang’ released on November 3. He hosted the New York comedy show ‘Thrills and Spills’ in December 2016.
In 2017, he guest-presented five episodes of ‘The Nightly Show’ for ITV. His 11th book ‘The World's Worst Children 2’ was launched on May 25, 2017.
His book ‘Bad Dad’ was published in November 2017. In November 2018, he published ‘The Ice Monster.’ In 2019, he released two books, namely ‘Fing’ and ‘The Beast of Buckingham Palace.’
He also voiced ‘Mr. Lemuel Lint’ in the 2019 animated film ‘Missing Link.’ The same year, he played the role of ‘Tobias Quince’ in the comedy mystery film ‘Murder Mystery.’
Major Works
The TV sketch show ‘Little Britain’ is definitely David Walliams’ best-known work. He started hogging the limelight after appearing on the show. It was written by him in collaboration with Matt Lucas.
All his children’s books, especially ‘Mr Stink,’ ‘Billionaire Boy,’ and ‘Demon Dentist’ are his remarkable creations for which he has garnered critical acclaim.
‘Walliams & Friend,’ a TV sketch show, wherein he starred and produced, is one of his major works.
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Awards & Achievements
In 2006, he became Patron of ‘Cardiac Risk in the Young.’
In November 2006, David Walliams won the ‘Pride of Britain Award’ for ‘The Most Influential Public Figure’ for raising more than £1.5 million by swimming the English Channel for the ‘Sport Relief’ charity.
On March 7, 2008, he swam the 12 miles Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco, again for ‘Sport Relief.’ He completed the swim in just 4 hours and 30 minutes.
In March 2010, he cycled through the UK raising over £1 million for ‘Sport Relief.’
In September 2011, he won the ‘Lincolnshire Young People's Book Award’ for his book ‘Mr Stink.’
From September 5-12, 2011, he swam the length of River Thames and raised more than £2m for ‘Sport Relief.’
In 2012, Walliams won the 'Landmark Achievement Award' for his television career and achievements in charity work.
For three consecutive years from 2012 to 2014, he won the ‘Specsavers National Book Awards’ under the ‘Children's Book of the Year’ category for ‘Ratburger,’ ‘Demon Dentist,’ and ‘Awful Auntie’ respectively. ‘Awful Auntie’ also won the 2014 ‘Specsavers National Book Award’ under the ‘Audiobook of the Year’ category.
In 2015, he won the ‘National Television Award’ for ‘Best Judge.’
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He was made ‘Officer of the Order of the British Empire’ (OBE) in 2017 for his services to charity and arts.
Personal Life
In 2009, David Walliams began dating Dutch model Lara Stone, and got engaged to her in January 2010. They got married on May 16, 2010. On May 6, 2013, their son Alfred was born. In September 2015, Walliams filed for a divorce due to Lara’s "unreasonable behavior."
In his book ‘Inside Little Britain’ and in an interview, he hinted that he is pansexual. However, he said he doesn’t want to be labeled by that word.
He suffers from bipolar disorder.
