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10 British Comedians Who Have Made It Big In Hollywood (PICS)

PICS: 10 British Comedians Who Have Cracked Hollywood
The Huffington Post UK
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According to Variety, Hugh Laurie is in talks to play the baddie in the upcoming remake of Robocop.

Laurie is already a darling of American TV, of course, thanks to his role as House, MD. And while he has a track record in movies - appearing in the likes of The Borrowers, 101 Dalmatians and, erm, Spice World - it seems that Robocop could be his Hollywood game changer.

But the man Stephen Fry affectionately refers to as "m'colleague" isn't the first Brit to make it big across the Pond, of course. With acknowledgement to those who are sadly no longer with us - we're looking at you, Peter Sellers and Dudley Moore - here are just 10 more comedy folks whose career paths have led them from British shores to Hollywood's glittering silver screen...

10 British Comedians In Hollywood
Russell Brand(01 of10)
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Clearly Hollywood's idea of the consummate, sexy British rogue, Brand has gone from St Trinian's to modern-day Arthur - via Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek.
Simon Pegg (02 of10)
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We tip our hats to Nick Frost, too, of course, but it's Pegg that's really broken out - with roles in the Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and Star Trek, and leading man status in How to Lose Friends & Alienate People.
Sacha Baron Cohen(03 of10)
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We first knew him as Staines 'gangsta' Ali G - but now he's Borat, Bruno, The Dictator and the voice of Julien the lemur in Madagascar.
John Cleese(04 of10)
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Hollywood loves Monty Python, of course - but with Bond films, Harry Potter movies and A Fish Called Wanda under his belt, Cleese is the Brit who really carved his own Stateside film career.
Steve Coogan(05 of10)
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He broke through with Hollywood hits Night At The Museum and Tropic Thunder, but obviously both of those will be mere blips compared to the film we're really waiting for: Alan Partridge: The Movie. Aha!
Ricky Gervais(06 of10)
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No sooner had Wernham Hogg become Dunder Mifflin than the former The 11 O'Clock Show star had written, directed and starred in Cemetery Junction and The Invention Of Lying, bagged a role in Night At The Museum 2 and hosted the Golden Globes.
Stephen Merchant(07 of10)
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Gervais's right-hand man and West Country boy done good, Merchant seems to be carving himself a niche as the Obligatory Weird And/Or British Friend (as seen in the Farrelly Brothers comedy Hall Pass and romcom I Give It A Year).
Rowan Atkinson(08 of10)
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To us, he may always be Blackadder, but to Hollywood, he's the rubberfaced money machine that is Johnny English and Mr Bean. Not forgetting Dexter Hayman in Hot Shots! Part Deux, of course.
Matt Lucas(09 of10)
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His Hollywood breakthrough may have only just happened, but given that Bridesmaids was one of the biggest comedy hits in box office history, we somehow think that Lucas - who also starred in Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland - has many more big screen roles ahead of him.
The Inbetweeners(10 of10)
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OK, so '10' is a whole cast (and crew). But this list wouldn't be complete without The Inbetweeners, who made the most successful British comedy movie in history, grossing over $45m from a film which cost just $3.5m to make. And if it's one thing Hollywood loves, it's that kind of math(s).

All images: Press Association

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