What Is Lee Evans' Net Worth?
Lee Evans is a retired stand-up comic, actor, and screenwriter who has a net worth of $30 million. At his peak, Lee Evans was one of the most popular and highest-earning comedians in the world. After rising to fame in the '90s, he had major successes in the 2000s with his "Roadrunner," "Big," and "Monsters" comedy tours. Meanwhile, as an actor, Evans has appeared in such films as "Funny Bones," "The Fifth Element," "Mouse Hunt," "There's Something About Mary," and "Freeze Frame."
In November 2005, Lee broke the world record for a solo act performing to the largest audience when 10,108 people watched his solo act at the Manchester Evening News Arena. That record has since been broken by other comedians. His 2008 UK tour "Big" included 59 dates and was performed for over 500,000 people.
Early Life
Lee Evans was born on February 25, 1964, in Bristol, England. He is the son of a Welsh father, Dave, and an Irish mother, Shirley. He has an older brother named Wayne. In 1975, the family moved from Bristol to Essex, where Evans went to the Billericay School and later Thurrock Art College. He subsequently moved to Scarborough, North Yorkshire, and became a drummer in the punk rock band the Forgotten Five.
Stand-Up Comedy
As a stand-up comic, Evans rose to stardom in the 90s with his raucous, caustic, and very sweaty stage performances, which were marked by observational comedy and slapstick humor. Performing at the Edinburgh Festival in 1993, he won the Perrier Comedy Award. Evans' popularity continued to steadily grow throughout the decade before reaching its zenith in the 2000s. In late 2005, he set a new world record for the biggest comedy audience in attendance for a solo act, with 10,108 people present at the Manchester Arena. Evans had another massive success in late 2008 with his "Big" tour, during which he performed in front of more than 500,000 people across 59 dates. The DVD recording of his performance at London's O2 Arena sold over one million copies.
Lee returned to touring in 2011 with his "Roadrunner" comedy tour of the UK. In addition to dates in most of the UK's major cities, the tour also visited Dublin, Ireland, for two nights. The "Roadrunner" tour was an instant smash; on the first day of ticket sales alone, Evans sold £7,000,000 worth of tickets. In the summer of 2014, Evans embarked on his "Monsters" tour, which would be his final comedy tour. He released a DVD of his performance at Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham later that year.
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Film and Television Acting
As his reputation as a stand-up comic was being cemented in the '90s, Evans began acting on film and television. In 1995, he made his feature film debut in the dramedy "Funny Bones," co-starring Jerry Lewis, Oliver Platt, and Leslie Caron, among others. The same year, Lee created the television comedy series "The World of Lee Evans," which consisted of four episodes. Following this, he appeared in three major Hollywood movies. In 1997, Evans had a supporting role in the science-fiction film "The Fifth Element," starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich. Also that year, he starred opposite Nathan Lane in the black comedy "Mouse Hunt," with the two playing a pair of brothers who wage a war on a stubborn mouse in a mansion they've inherited from their father. Evans' final film of the decade was the 1998 romcom "There's Something About Mary," in which he plays a pizza delivery man who uses deception to get close to Cameron Diaz's titular character.
Kicking off the new millennium, Evans had a supporting role in the sex comedy film "The Ladies Man," starring Tim Meadows. He followed this with a leading role in the 2001 comedy film "The Martins," co-starring Kathy Burke. That same year, Evans created the BBC television sitcom "So What Now?," on which he starred alongside Steven O'Donnell and Sophie Thompson. The series ran for eight episodes. In 2002, Evans voiced the character of Zippo in the television miniseries "Dinotopia" and appeared in the ensemble cast of the black comedy film "Undertaking Betty." The following year, he played an Interpol agent in the Jackie Chan action-comedy "The Medallion." Evans subsequently had a rare non-comedic role in the 2004 psychological thriller "Freeze Frame," playing a paranoid man accused of a triple homicide. Among his other credits, Lee starred in a television adaptation of H. G. Wells' book "The History of Mr. Polly" and appeared in a 2009 episode of the science-fiction series "Doctor Who."
Stage Acting
Beyond his acting on screen, Evans has established an acclaimed career as a stage actor. He made his debut in 2004 in a production of Samuel Beckett's play "Endgame." From 2004 to 2005, Lee reunited with his "Mouse Hunt" costar Nathan Lane to play Leo Bloom in the London production of the musical "The Producers." For his work, he earned a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. Next, in 2007, Evans played the role of Gus in a 50th-anniversary production of Harold Pinter's "The Dumb Waiter." From 2013 to 2014, he originated the part of Darnley Packer in the black comedy "Barking in Essex."
Personal Life
In 1984, Evans married Heather Nudds, whom he had met when they were both 17. The couple has a daughter named Mollie, who is an illustrator. They live in Billericay, Essex.
