Overview

Paul Kaye is an English comedian and actor. He is known for his portrayals of shock interviewer Dennis Pennis on The Sunday Show, New York lawyer Mike Strutter on MTV's Strutter, Thoros of Myr in HBO's Game of Thrones, and Vincent the Fox on the BBC comedy Mongrels. Kaye was born in Clapham, London, on December 15, 1965. He and his twin sister were adopted by Jackie and Ivan Kaye and raised in Wembley, where his adoptive parents ran a sportswear shop. He is of Jewish background. He was a promising schoolboy athlete who achieved an impressive time in the 100-metre race. He later became a fan of punk rock, particularly the Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious. After graduating from Trent Polytechnic (now Nottingham Trent University) with a degree in Theatre Design in 1987, Kaye designed theatre posters for the King's Head, the Bush Theatre, and the Gate Theatre, Notting Hill. He was a scene painter at the Old Vic Theatre in Waterloo and illustrated regularly for the NME, i-D, Literary Review, Time Out and International Musician magazines between 1987 and 1989. He had two exhibitions of illustration and poster work between 1989 and 1990, firstly at the Soho House Theatre, and then at The Drill Hall. In 1992, Kaye created the character of Dennis Pennis, a fictional shock interviewer who was known for his outrageous and offensive behavior. Pennis first appeared on the Channel 4 comedy show The Sunday Show, and he later starred in his own sketch show, Dennis Pennis Unleashed. The character was a critical and commercial success, and it helped to establish Kaye as a rising star in British comedy. In the 1990s, Kaye also appeared in a number of films, including Twin Town (1997), The Full Monty (1997), and Notting Hill (1999). In 2000, he starred in the BBC comedy series My Beautiful Son, and he later had recurring roles in the American television series The IT Crowd (2007-2013) and Game of Thrones (2011-2014). In recent years, Kaye has continued to work in both comedy and drama. He has starred in the BBC comedy series Mongrels (2009-2018), the ITV drama series Vera (2014-present), and the Netflix film The Stranger (2020). He is also a regular voice actor, and he has lent his voice to characters in a number of animated films and television series, including Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) and Danger Mouse (2015-present). Kaye supports the Zionist occupation of Palestine and advocates for the continuation of the Israeli state, through a two-state plan. Kaye is married to Orly Katz, and they have two sons. They live in Hendon, London.