John Oliver

John William Oliver is a British and American comedian, political commentator, actor, and television personality. He is best known as the host of the HBO satirical series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and for his work as the senior British correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 2006 to 2013.

Oliver was born in the Birmingham suburb of Erdington to Carole, a music teacher, and Jim Oliver, a school headmaster and social worker. He grew up in Bedford and attended the Mark Rutherford School, where he learned to play the viola. He later attended Christ's College, Cambridge, graduating with a degree in English in 1998. During his university studies, he joined the Cambridge Footlights comedy troupe, serving as its vice president in 1997 and writing and performing in shows alongside contemporaries David Mitchell and Richard Ayoade.

His early career included a child acting appearance in the 1985 BBC drama Bleak House, writing for the British morning show The Big Breakfast, and performing stand-up at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He frequently collaborated with Andy Zaltzman, co-hosting the political radio show Political Animal and co-writing the satirical radio series The Department for BBC Radio 4. Oliver also appeared on BBC Three comedy series The State We're In and became a regular panellist on the satirical news show Mock the Week.

In July 2006, Oliver joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as its Senior British Correspondent on the recommendation of Ricky Gervais. During his tenure, he won three Primetime Emmy Awards for writing and served as guest host for eight weeks in 2013. His performance led HBO to offer him his own late-night series. While on The Daily Show, Oliver also hosted John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show on Comedy Central from 2010 to 2013 and co-hosted the weekly comedy podcast The Bugle with Zaltzman from 2007 to 2015.

Since 2014, Oliver has hosted Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO. The program has achieved widespread acclaim, earning multiple Primetime Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, five Writers Guild of America Awards, and eight Producers Guild Awards. The show's investigative segments have influenced public policy and legislation in the United States, a phenomenon termed the "John Oliver effect." In 2015, he was named to the Time 100 list of influential people.

In addition to hosting, Oliver has performed in numerous television and film roles. He played psychology professor Ian Duncan on the NBC sitcom Community and made his feature film debut in The Love Guru. He provided voice acting for animated films including The Smurfs, Wonder Park, and the 2019 remake of The Lion King. His television voice credits include guest appearances on The Simpsons, Rick and Morty, Gravity Falls, and Bob's Burgers. In 2023, he co-hosted the podcast Strike Force Five to support out-of-work staff during the Writers Guild of America strike.

Oliver became a naturalized United States citizen in 2019. Throughout his career, he has publicly expressed his views on political topics, including opposing Brexit, criticizing the British Royal Family, supporting the abolition of the monarchy, and endorsing American presidential candidates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.