Claim: Steve Coogan is a person.

Stephen John Coogan -LRB- born 14 October 1965 -RRB- is an Irish-English actor , stand-up comedian , impressionist , screenwriter , and producer . He began his career in the 1980s , working as a voice artist on the satirical puppet show Spitting Image and providing voiceovers for television advertisements . In the early 1990s , he began creating original comic characters , leading him to win the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe . In 1999 , he co-founded the production company Baby Cow Productions .   While working with Armando Iannucci on On the Hour and The Day Today , Coogan created his most developed and popular character : Alan Partridge , a socially awkward and politically incorrect regional media personality . He featured in several television series , which earned him three BAFTA nominations and two wins for Best Comedy Performance . A feature-length film , Alan Partridge : Alpha Papa , was released in 2013 , and opened at number one at the British box office .   Coogan grew in prominence within the film industry in 2002 , after starring in The Parole Officer and 24 Hour Party People . He portrayed Phileas Fogg in the 2004 remake Around the World in 80 Days and co-starred in The Other Guys , Tropic Thunder , In the Loop , Hamlet 2 , Our Idiot Brother , Ruby Sparks and the Night at the Museum films , as well as collaborating with Rob Brydon in The Trip and A Cock and Bull Story . He was also a voice actor in the animated comedy films Despicable Me 2 and its prequel Minions , and played Hades in Percy Jackson & the Olympians : The Lightning Thief .   Coogan has also branched out into more dramatic roles , with What Maisie Knew , and portrayed Paul Raymond in the biopic The Look of Love . He co-wrote , produced , and starred in the film adaptation Philomena , which earned him a Golden Globe and BAFTA nomination , and two Academy Award nominations -LRB- for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture -RRB- . He has been cast in the lead role for the ABC television pilot Doubt and the Showtime drama Happyish .   On 22 November 2011 , Coogan , along with Hugh Grant , gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on phone hacking , favouring regulation of the press .