Steve Coogan

As Don in Legends (2026), Steve Coogan gives us someone we can keep track of while the undercover thriller piles on information. We were grateful for him and Tom Burke when the plotting became hard work: their characters gave us reasons to remain attentive. This is good ensemble acting in a series that needs it. Coogan helps the drama without curing its crowded storytelling or its excess of solemnity.

Alan Partridge is harder to overlook. Coogan took the socially inept broadcaster from radio's On the Hour (1991) to television's I'm Alan Partridge (1997–2002), working with collaborators including writer-producer Armando Iannucci. The timing makes Partridge's self-importance funny enough for us to tolerate another conversation with him. Tony Wilson in 24 Hour Party People (2002) was an early major film part. By Philomena (2013), which he co-wrote and starred in as Martin Sixsmith, there was ample evidence that the dramatic work deserved attention of its own.

There is less to go on in Despicable Me 4 (2024). Coogan voices Silas, who moves Gru's family into witness protection. That is useful setup, but the film becomes a collection of sketches with too little holding them together. Its constant changes of direction give us little reason to recommend it for its characters, whatever the attractions of the cast. The scattered laughs are not enough to recommend the film, and his presence does not change that.

With Coogan, the temptation is to listen for Partridge even when the character has no business being there. Don earns our attention in a series where Burke's Guy does much of the work of making assumed identity feel personal. That makes Legends worth the concentration if undercover intrigue is your sort of evening. Choose a night when conversation can wait.