Eddie Izzard And The Bucket of Inspiration

With the start of the year having just passed us by, many of us may already be struggling to keep our resolutions. So for this week's PWEU (i think it should be pronounced "phew!") I'll introduce you to a man who's as inspiring as he is entertaining:


Eddie Izzard (born 7 February 1962) is an English actor and stand-up comedian. You may remember seeing him playing minor parts in Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen, or as the Nazi dissenter in the 2010 movie Valkyrie, but he is, to me, most memorable for his comedy bit as Darth Vader in the Death Star's canteen.

Izzard has recently released a biopic titled "Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story" which encompasses the story of his struggle to be a performer. During his teenage years, his choice of university education revolved around his ambition of appearing at the Edinburgh Festival, an annual performance arts pilgrimage for many in the UK. This endeavour ended in relative failure and the story continues to trace his years performing on the street, honing his skills to be the delightful comedy act he is today. Having been repeatedly tickled thoroughly pink by his stand-up comedy performances, it was surprising to learn how long he took to become widely acclaimed success he is now.

With success and acclimation under his belt, Izzard has continued to challenge himself, landing leading roles on American television and even parts on big budget Hollywood films. In 2009, he took part in Sport Relief, a biennial charity event, and ran 43 marathons in 51 days despite having never been a long distance runner.

Eddie Izzard is a fantastic inspirational story. His talent and success are the result of years of hard work on the street. Our own lack of innate talent is no longer a good excuse to keep us from getting out of our chairs.

Are you out of your chairs yet? No? Then sit back and watch some of the best comedy ever performed as he conclude this week's PWEU!