Ewen MacIntosh
Actor BORN DECEMBER 25, 1973 – DIED FEBRUARY 21, 2024, AGED 50
EWEN MacIntosh was a standout star of BBC comedy The Office playing deadpan, scotch egg eating accountant “Big Keith”. Awkward and rotund and fixed with a permanent blank expression, the joy lay in his relatability as a bored, uninspired worker – someone we’ve all undoubtedly encountered.
The actor impressed show creator Ricky Gervais – cringeworthy office boss David Brent – in one early scene as he improvised “staring down” a new colleague in the office. “He couldn’t stop laughing and I think Ricky thought: ‘This guy’s a great foil’,” he said in a 2021 interview.
He became a regular character with killer lines. In one episode as Brent appraises Keith, MacIntosh chews gum as his selfpenned strengths are listed as “accounts”. Brent replies, “That’s your job,
though” before revealing Keith has written “eczema” under weaknesses.
Born in Merionethshire, north Wales, Ewen Douglas MacIntosh was the son of Ewen MacIntosh and wife Sara. He attended Repton School in Derbyshire and studied linguistics at Edinburgh University, and performed in its comedy troupe now known as The Improverts. The Office, which ran from 2001 to 2003, was his big break.
MacIntosh had follow-up roles in the prime-time comedies Little Britain (2002-03) and Miranda (2009) but struggled to shake off “Little Keith”. He was bankrupted in 2016 after failing to find work.
MacIntosh played Lionel in 2017 British rom-com film Finding Fatimah.
He died of undisclosed causes but a statement released by his talent agency said he’d “suffered ill health for two years”. He is survived by his parents and younger brother. The Office co-creator Stephen Merchant said he was “a lovely guy to work with”.