Christopher Guest
Screenwriter, Composer, musician, Director, Actor, and Comedian
Christopher Guest, is a British-American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor, and comedian who holds dual British and American citizenship. Guest is most widely known in
Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in his series of comedy films shot in mock-documentary (
mockumentary) style. Many scenes and character backgrounds in Guest's films are written and directed, although actors have no rehearsal time and the ensemble improvise scenes while filming them. The series of films began with
This Is Spinal Tap (directed by
Rob Reiner), and continued with
Waiting for Guffman,
Best In Show,
A Mighty Wind,
For Your Consideration, and
Mascots.
Guest holds a
hereditary British peerage as the 5th
Baron Haden-Guest, and has publicly expressed a desire to see the
House of Lords reformed as a democratically elected chamber. Though he was initially active in the Lords, his career there was cut short by the
House of Lords Act 1999, which removed the right of most hereditary peers to a seat in the parliament. When using his title, he is normally
styled as
Lord Haden-Guest. Guest is married to the actress and author
Jamie Lee Curtis.