Most of the people on this list are sorted into lovers and haters. Stephen Mangan is more specific than that. He is happy to put Marmite on his toast, but he has strong views about what else is allowed on the plate, and in 2021 he shared them: “Marmalade and Marmite on toast??? Surely no one does that, that’s a hate crime.” It is a small, funny line that tells you he is firmly a Marmite eater, just one with rules.
Does Stephen Mangan like Marmite?
Yes, with a caveat. Mangan is plainly in the Marmite-on-toast camp, otherwise the marmalade objection makes no sense. What he cannot abide is mixing the sweet and the savoury, marmalade and Marmite together on the same toast, which he filed under “hate crime” on social media. So he belongs on the love side of the ledger, with a footnote about keeping the breakfast spreads in their proper lanes.
Who is Stephen Mangan?
Stephen James Mangan was born on 16 May 1968 in Ponders End, north London, to Irish parents. He read law at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, before deciding the law was not for him and training as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Stephen Mangan’s breakthrough: Green Wing
Mangan became widely known as the vain, hapless anaesthetist Guy Secretan in the surreal hospital comedy “Green Wing”, which ran in the mid-2000s. The role showed off a particular Mangan speciality, the charming idiot who is convinced he is the cleverest man in the room, and it built him a devoted following.
Stephen Mangan on screen and stage
He went on to play the screenwriter Sean Lincoln in “Episodes”, the British-American comedy about a couple of writers chewed up by Hollywood, opposite Tamsin Greig and Matt LeBlanc. He has also starred in “Dirk Gently”, co-written and starred in “Hang Ups”, and presented “Portrait Artist of the Year” on Sky Arts. On stage he won an Olivier Award for the Jeeves comedy “Perfect Nonsense” and earned a Tony nomination on Broadway, and he does a great deal of voice and audiobook work alongside it.
Stephen Mangan’s notable work at a glance
- Green Wing (2004-2007), as Guy Secretan
- Dirk Gently (2010-2012)
- Episodes (2011-2017), as Sean Lincoln
- Hang Ups (2018), which he co-wrote
- Portrait Artist of the Year (Sky Arts, presenter from 2018)
- Perfect Nonsense (Olivier Award) and other stage work
His Marmite position is the most reasonable on the whole list. Eat it on toast, by all means, just do not let the marmalade anywhere near it.
