Guide Note Actor and director Christopher Guest portrays guitarist
Nigel Tufnel in
Rob Reiner's classic heavy metal satire
This is Spinal Tap. Guest has since directed a number of other "mockumentary" films, including
Waiting for Guffman and
Best in Show.
Fast Facts:
- Born February 5, 1948 in New York City, New York
- The 5th Baron Haden-Guest, a former member of the British House of Lords
- Wife: Jamie Lee Curtis
- Has two adopted children
- Frequently co-writes his films with Eugene Levy
- Spinal Tap: Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins, Harry Shearer as Derek Smalls, Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel
Career Background
Guest started his career in comedy as a contributor to The National Lampoon Radio Hour and an actor in the theatrical show National Lampoon's Lemmings, along with future Saturday Night Live players John Belushi and Chevy Chase.
Guest would himself appear on SNL, but only for one season, from 1984 to 1985, the same year in which Spinal Tap was released. Guest would play another memorable role for director Rob Reiner a few years later, as the Six-Fingered Man in 1987's The Princess Bride.
In 1996, Guest produced and directed the mockumentary Waiting for Guffman. Three more mockumentaries have followed, starring many of the same actors and all done in a similar style: 2000's Best in Show, 2003's A Mighty Wind (in which the members of Spinal Tap reunited as The Folksmen) and the 2006 show business parody For Your Consideration. Guest has played a role himself in each of the films.
Stock Company
Actors frequently appearing in Guest films include:
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