University honours top comedian

Yemen-born comedian Eddie Izzard has received an honorary degree, 25 years after originally attending the University of Sheffield.

Izzard flew in especially from Los Angeles to collect the award, where he is filming a TV pilot with Minnie Driver. He was accompanied by his proud father Harold, who has always wanted his son to get a degree.

"It's very nice to be given this," said a smiling Izzard, dressed in a smart navy suit, with no nail varnish in sight. "It's only taken me 25 years to get a degree! Now I can put Doctor at the beginning of my name."

The star of television and film only completed a year of his Accountancy and Financial Management with Mathematics Degree at the University before being "thrown out for getting zero in a maths exam".

Not many people can imagine Izzard as an accountant, but he claims he chose the degree to make his dad proud.

"My dad wanted me to get a degree, so I did joint honours in Accountancy with Mathematics. I wanted to do something that I could just do and then concentrate on shows."

Early shows at the Drama Studio

After dropping out Izzard stayed in Sheffield sleeping on friends' floors. He put on shows and did performances in the University's Drama Studio. In 1981 he went to the Edinburgh Festival with some student friends and is delighted that the University still sends students to Edinburgh each year.

Izzard has fond memories of his time in Sheffield, which quickly became a learning experience for the budding comedian: "I learnt here in Sheffield that you've got to do good work rather than do things quickly. I also realised that I had a talent for advertising and producing shows, even though the earlier ones weren't very good."

Praise for the locals

As is the case with so many other Sheffield graduates, Izzard was full of praise for the local people of Sheffield who, he says, used to lend him his bus fare to get to and from shows.

"I always love coming back to Sheffield, I had a weird and bizarre old time here. The people in Sheffield are just amazing. I encourage all people from Sheffield to go out and be ambitious, because ambition is a very important thing."

Silver screen ambition

Izzard is himself ambitious for better and bigger things in his own career. As well as working in America with Minnie Driver, he will star in 'My Super Ex-Girlfriend' alongside Uma Thurman, out soon here in Britain. He says he wants his career to follow in the paths of Hugh Laurie and Bill Murray, moving from stage to the silver screen. With appearances in 'Oceans Twelve' and 'Velvet Goldmine' he's well on his way to achieving his goal.

"I'll be back"

But, he says he has one outstanding ambition yet to fulfil; he has never sold out the University of Sheffield's Drama Studio.

"I've sold out Hallam FM arena and City Hall, but not the drama studio! I will though, I'll come back and do a show there."

Let's hope that appearance doesn't take another 25 years to happen.

close window