Michael James Wozniak (born 8 November 1979) is a British comedian, writer, actor and former medical doctor. He portrays Brian in the Channel 4 sitcom Man Down and is a member of the team that makes Small Scenes for BBC Radio 4.
Early life Wozniak was born in Oxford, was raised in Portsmouth, and has a twin sister. He has Polish and Welsh ancestry.
Education Wozniak was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School.
He studied medicine at St George's, University of London and worked as a doctor for several years before pursuing comedy.
Career Wozniak worked doing live sketch comedy starting in the late 1990s, and began stand-up comedy in 2007.
He won the Amused Moose Laugh-Off contest at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2008. He was nominated for the comedy newcomer award the same year. Wozniak performed at the Adelaide Fringe in 2009. Wozniak was nominated for the Edinburgh Best Comedy Show in 2013.
Television Wozniak's first major role in television came when he was cast in the series Man Down in 2013, alongside Greg Davies, who created and starred in the show. He played strait-laced financial adviser Brian, a friend of Davies' character.
In 2015, he wrote physical comedy Ruby Robinson for Sky Arts. It starred Kim Cattrall and a troupe of acrobats.
Wozniak appeared and came second in series 11 of Taskmaster, which started broadcast in March 2021. He has a long history with Taskmaster, having won the original Edinburgh Fringe version of the show in 2010. In 2024, he was the assistant to Taskmaster Rose Matafeo in Junior Taskmaster.
In April 2023, he appeared on The Great Celebrity Bake Off as part of Channel 4's Stand Up to Cancer fundraiser.
Film In 2016, Wozniak played the role of Josh in Alice Lowe's Prevenge.
Wozniak made his directorial debut with a dramedy entitled Sump, released in 2017 and screened at various film festivals. The film has a 14-minute run time and features a character named Sally, played by Jeany Spark, whose husband is trapped in a cave with others.
In 2022, Wozniak played the alien Gordan in the science fiction comedy film We Are Not Alone.
Podcasts On his St. Elwick's Neighbourhood Association Newsletter Podcast, Wozniak plays the role of host Malcolm Durridge. The show focuses on the neighbourhood association newsletter of St Elwick's, a fictional ward of Exeter, forced through budgetary cuts to change from a printed edition to the "cheapest alternative": a podcast.
Wozniak also appears frequently in different roles on the Beef and Dairy Network Podcast, ten episodes of which were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017–2018.
In 2021, he started Three Bean Salad with Henry Paker and Benjamin Partridge. In March 2024, it won the Best Comedy Podcast at the Chortle Awards.
Radio Wozniak has appeared frequently in Tim Key's Poetry Programme as a character called Jiffy, notably in the episodes "Accountancy" and "Cuisine".
Filmography +TitleYearActorWriterRoleNotesComedy Lab2010YesVariousGary: Tank Commander2011BradshawStand Up for the Week2012YesLive at the ElectricYesVariousIt's Kevin2013VariousMan Down2013–2017YesBrianWriter for various episodes in this series.Badults2014HarryLovesickDoctorCrims2015PhotographerJosh2015–2016PhilWalliams & FriendVariousDrunk History2015–2017VariousPrevenge2016JoshThe MoonstoneSuperintendent SeegraveHorrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans2019Owen BowenDial M for MiddlesbroughNeilTaskmaster2021HimselfSeries 11; Runner-upRichard Osman's House of Games2021–2022HimselfWeekly winner We Are Not Alone2022GordanThe Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off2023HimselfContestant Junior Taskmaster2024Self - Host/AssistantTimestalkerDan ChovyNot Going Out2025Will
References
External links
Acting and writing filmography St. Elwick's Neighbourhood Association Newsletter Podcast