Acting and Film Career
He appeared in a number of films in the series The Comic Strip Presents... on Channel 4 in the 1980s after becoming one of the breakthrough acts of the Comedy Store in 1979. Notable episodes featuring Allen include The Bullshitters (a parody of The Professionals), and The Yob (a parody of The Fly), which he also co-wrote. Allen has done both straight and comedy acting, once playing Brian Dennehy.
During the brief period of British Satellite Broadcasting as an alternative satellite broadcaster to Sky, he had a regular comedy show of his own I Love Keith Allen on the Galaxy channel, a mix of stand-up and sketches.
In 1993 he starred as the occultist John Peter Barrie, in the Inspector Morse episode The Day of the Devil. This episode of Granada Television's long running drama series was written by Danny Boyle. This would prove to be the first of three projects either penned or directed by Boyle that Allen would be involved in during the '90s.
He appeared briefly in the black comedy, Twin Town (directed by his brother Kevin), the Channel 4 adaptation of A Very British Coup and played the lodger who dies at the beginning of Danny Boyle's thriller Shallow Grave (1994). In the same year, he turned in a critically acclaimed performance in a BBC adaptation of Martin Chuzzlewit. He was used again by Boyle to play a drug dealer in Trainspotting (1996). Danny Boyle has stated that Allen's character from Trainspotting is the same one that moves into the shared flat in Shallow Grave – he wears the same clothes and carries the same bag. He also appeared disguised as a fictional hip-hop star 'Keithski' to present Top of the Pops on 19 July 1996.
In 2000, Allen appeared in two Harold Pinter plays at the Almeida Theatre, playing Lambert in Celebration and Mr Sands in The Room. These were performed again at The Lincoln Center Festival in July, 2001.
In 2001, he played the dark character of "problem-solver" Jim Napeworth in an episode of Murder in Mind, and in 2004 cameod in Black Books as poker-player Dave 'Mouse Ears' Smith.
In 2002 Allen played Roger Ames (the London Records executive) in 24 Hour Party People, a film about Factory Records and the Manchester music scene.
Allen cameoed in the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced in a short homage to the Stanley Kubrick film, The Shining.
He appeared as the villain in the sequel to 2004's Agent Cody Banks, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, opposite Frankie Muniz
He also appeared in the hard-hitting hospital drama, Bodies, as Mr Tony Whitman, a sarcastic but somehow likable consultant obstetrician with an enormous ego. In 2005 he appeared in the Endemol-produced BBC Two television programme Art School alongside Ulrika Jonsson, John Humphrys and Clarissa Dickson Wright where he discovered a passion for painting. From 2006 to 2009, Allen co-starred in the BBC's Robin Hood drama series, as the Sheriff of Nottingham.
His documentary film about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, Unlawful Killing, which was financed by Mohamed Al-Fayed and Associated-Rediffusion, was screened at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. It argued that the British and French authorities had covered up uncomfortable facts about the crash, accused Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret of being 'gangsters in tiaras', and alleged that Prince Philip had a 'Nazi background'. Allen said he refused to make 87 cuts asked for by lawyers to enable the film to be seen in Britain. He also told reporters that he thought the crash had been intended only as a warning but that “something went massively wrong”.
In September 2011 he starred in the BBC six-part drama series The Body Farm as DI Hale.
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