Richard Ayoade was born in 1977 to a Nigerian father and Norwegian mother and was educated at St. Catharine's College, Cambridge. In 2000, he appeared on Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight, a show he co-wrote with Matthew Holness. The show was nominated for a Perrier Award and a year later its sequel which he also co-wrote, won the Perrier Comedy Award. His stage appearances also include those in The Mighty Boosh where he played the dangerous villain Dixon Bainbridge. In 2004, Ayoade co-created, directed and appeared in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, a spoof horror comedy from Channel 4. A year later he appeared in Nathan Barley as Ned Smanks. Ayode further entertained audiences in The IT Crowd, where he played Moss. He also appears in its American version which was produced by the NBC network.

Moss is played by Richard Ayoade on both the American and UK versions of the comedy series The IT Crowd. Moss is a computer geek who happens to be friends with another computer nerd. Together they make up the IT function of a small company who banishes them to the basement of their building. Their lives pretty much revolve around technology until they meet Jen, an attractive woman who knows how to make people listen to what she has to say. Little by little she teaches them how to live their lives to the fullest and make the best out of things which are not confined to the basement where they dwell.



(Photo courtesy of NBC)