# Matt King (comedian)
**Matt King** (born 1968) is an English actor, comedian and writer best known for playing Super Hans, the drug-addled musician and friend of [Robert Webb](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-webb)'s character, in the [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) sitcom *Peep Show* (2003–2015)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/). He is also a stand-up comedian who spent 15 years on the Australian circuit, a screenwriter with created series on [BBC Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-two) and Sky1, and a film actor with roles in *Bronson* (2008) and *RocknRolla* (2008)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/) • [2](https://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/m/34068/matt_king/review).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1968, Watford, England, UK[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/) |
| Signature role | Super Hans in *Peep Show*, 36 episodes across all nine series, 2003–2015[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/) |
| Early career | Builder, chef and stand-up comic in Australia for 15 years before returning to Britain[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/bio/) |
| Writing credits | Co-writer and star of *Dogface* (Channel 4), *Whites* (BBC Two) and *Starlings* (Sky1)[2](https://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/m/34068/matt_king/review) |
| Film roles | Paul Daniels in *Bronson* (2008), Cookie in *RocknRolla* (2008), Andre the Thief in *Paddington* (2014)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/) • [4](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/matt_king/) |
| Recent work | Voice role as Humphry in the video game *Fable* (2027); autobiography *Moreish: My Mad Autobiography by Super Hans* (Mudlark)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/) • [5](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/sep/28/peep-show-matt-king-interview-super-hans-comedy) |
## Early life and stand-up career
King was born in 1968 in Watford, England[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/). Before acting, he worked as a builder, a chef and a stand-up comic, spending 15 years on the Australian comedy circuit before returning to Britain[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/bio/). His stage work in Australia included the 1995 show *Two Bums Go Vegas* with Darren Casey at Budinski's Theatre in Melbourne[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/). He later returned to live comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe, with shows including *Matt King BC* (2000) and *Matt King Is A Child* (2001); a 2014 Chortle review of his hour-long monologue on the history of the world praised his chatty style and observational writing[2](https://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/m/34068/matt_king/review).
## Peep Show and Super Hans
King's career-defining role came with *Peep Show*, the Channel 4 sitcom starring [David Mitchell](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-mitchell-comedian) and Robert Webb as two dysfunctional flatmates whose inner thoughts are heard in voice-over[6](https://www.channel4.com/programmes/peep-show). King played Super Hans, Jeremy's heavily drugged, amoral friend and musical collaborator, appearing in 36 episodes from 2003 to 2015[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/). According to Rotten Tomatoes, King won the role over actor [Russell Brand](https://www.edgepedia.org/russell-brand)[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/matt_king_3). The show's co-creator [Jesse Armstrong](https://www.edgepedia.org/jesse-armstrong), a British comedy writer and one of the creators of *Succession*, said of the casting: "Matt King made [the role] his own. He was the only contender for us... He plays Super Hans on a great line between being a bullshitter and totally for real"[8](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/mar/05/matt-king).
The character's line "this crack's really moreish" became the quote strangers most often shout at King, from tube carriages to scaffolding[5](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/sep/28/peep-show-matt-king-interview-super-hans-comedy). King has said he has never watched a whole episode of Peep Show, though he appeared with the cast in *The Great Peep Show Christmas Bake Off*, a 2025 Christmas special that reunited Mitchell, Olivia Colman, Isy Suttie, King and [Sophie Winkleman](https://www.edgepedia.org/sophie-winkleman) for the first time in ten years[5](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/sep/28/peep-show-matt-king-interview-super-hans-comedy) • [9](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/peep-show-matt-king-stroke-instagram-b2968264.html). *Peep Show* ran for nine series and became Channel 4's longest-running comedy series[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/peep-show-matt-king-stroke-instagram-b2968264.html).
In 2026 King published *Moreish: My Mad Autobiography by Super Hans* (Mudlark), a book written in the voice of his character, in which Super Hans finds a legal loophole in his own marriage certificate[5](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/sep/28/peep-show-matt-king-interview-super-hans-comedy). He has also performed as Super Hans at DJ events around the UK[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/peep-show-matt-king-stroke-instagram-b2968264.html).
## Writing and other acting work
Before *Peep Show* premiered, King had written for the comedy shows *Full Frontal*, *Jimeoin* and *Smallest Room in the House*[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/matt_king_3). In 2006 he played various real public figures, including director [Guy Ritchie](https://www.edgepedia.org/guy-ritchie), musicians [Elton John](https://www.edgepedia.org/elton-john) and [Gary Kemp](https://www.edgepedia.org/gary-kemp), and football manager Terry Venables, on the celebrity satire *Star Stories*[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/matt_king_3). He co-wrote and starred in *Dogface* (Channel 4), *Whites* (BBC Two, created with Oliver Lansley and starring Alan Davies) and *Starlings* (Sky1, starring Brendan Coyle and Lesley Sharp), in which he also played Uncle Loz[2](https://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/m/34068/matt_king/review) • [10](https://www.yaketyyak.co.uk/artists/matt-king).
His screen credits beyond *Peep Show* include [Paul Daniels](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-daniels), a posh gay boxing promoter, in the prison biopic *Bronson* (2008) opposite [Tom Hardy](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-hardy), and Cookie in Guy Ritchie's *RocknRolla* (2008)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/mar/05/matt-king). Film and television appearances include *Inkheart*, *Made in Dagenham*, *Paddington* (as Andre the Thief), *Get Santa*, *The IT Crowd*, *Doctor Who*, *Skins*, *Jekyll*, *[The End of the F***ing World](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-end-of-the-f-ing-world)* (as DC Eddie Onslow) and *Time Bandits*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/) • [4](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/matt_king/). In Australia he starred as Henry Mallet in the series *Spirited* (2010–11)[11](https://www.nndb.com/people/888/000353826/). He has also worked extensively in voiceover and video games, including *Rick and Morty* and a role as Humphry, an ex-hero forced out of retirement, in Playground Games' *Fable* (2027)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/) • [12](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/rpg/playground-games-fable-has-kind-of-nicked-the-offices-mockumentary-style-interviews-a-lot-of-people-assume-we-just-did-that-for-those-trailers/).
## 2026 stroke
In April 2026 King suffered a rare spinal cord stroke, a disruption of the blood supply to the spinal cord that the Brain and Spine Foundation says accounts for 1.25 percent of all strokes[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/peep-show-matt-king-stroke-instagram-b2968264.html). He announced it on Instagram, saying he was initially paralyzed and rushed to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, and that he had regained the ability to walk[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/peep-show-matt-king-stroke-instagram-b2968264.html). In a September 2026 Guardian interview he described being paralyzed for 36 hours, waking on the stroke ward, and doctors telling him he could have ended up in a wheelchair or worse; he said he remained cognitively different from before the stroke but was improving, and that the condition struck while about a quarter of his autobiography remained to write[5](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/sep/28/peep-show-matt-king-interview-super-hans-comedy).
## A note on namesakes
A different [Matt King](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-king), born 1983 in Toronto, Ontario, is a Canadian producer and writer known for *True Dating Stories*, *Crown the Town* and *Bit Playas*[13](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2443468/).
## References
1. [Matt King (I), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/)
2. [Matt King, comedian reviews, Chortle](https://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/m/34068/matt_king/review)
3. [Matt King Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455057/bio/)
4. [Matt King, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/matt_king/)
5. ["I've never watched a whole episode of Peep Show": Matt King on surviving a stroke and reviving Super Hans, The Guardian (28 September 2026)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/sep/28/peep-show-matt-king-interview-super-hans-comedy)
6. [Watch Peep Show, Channel 4](https://www.channel4.com/programmes/peep-show)
7. [Matt King, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/matt_king_3)
8. [Oi Super Hans!, The Guardian (2009)](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/mar/05/matt-king)
9. [Peep Show star Matt King left unable to walk after suffering "rare stroke", The Independent (30 April 2026)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/peep-show-matt-king-stroke-instagram-b2968264.html)
10. [Matt King, Yakety Yak All Mouth Ltd](https://www.yaketyyak.co.uk/artists/matt-king)
11. [Matt King, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/people/888/000353826/)
12. [Playground Games' Fable has "kind of nicked" The Office's mockumentary-style interviews, GamesRadar (25 January 2026)](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/rpg/playground-games-fable-has-kind-of-nicked-the-offices-mockumentary-style-interviews-a-lot-of-people-assume-we-just-did-that-for-those-trailers/)
13. [Matt King (VIII), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2443468/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames I to K*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license