John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British and American comedian, political commentator, actor, and television personality. He hosts Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO and started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United… John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British and American comedian, political commentator, actor, and television personality. He hosts Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO and started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention for his work in the United States as the senior British correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 2006 to 2013.
Oliver won three Primetime Emmy Awards for writing for The Daily Show and became its guest host for eight weeks in 2013. He also co-hosted the comedy podcast The Bugle with Andy Zaltzman, with whom Oliver had previously worked on the radio series Political Animal and The Department. From 2010 to 2013, he hosted the stand-up series John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show on Comedy Central. His acting roles include Ian Duncan on the NBC sitcom Community, as well as voice work in the animated films The Smurfs (2011), The Smurfs 2 (2013), and The Lion King remake (2019).
As the host of Last Week Tonight since 2014, Oliver has received widespread critical and popular recognition for the series, including winning twenty Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards. The show's influence over US culture, legislation, and policymaking has been dubbed the "John Oliver effect", and he was included in the 2015 Time 100, where he was described as a "comedic agent of change [...] powerful because he isn't afraid to tackle important issues thoughtfully, without fear or apology". His work has been described as journalism or investigative journalism, labels that he rejects. He became an American citizen in 2019.
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