Mark Corrigan
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Mark Corrigan is a fictional character in the British television show Peep Show, which first aired on Channel 4 in 2003 and remains a cult hit. Mark is played by David Mitchell.
[edit] Personality
Mark Corrigan is a twenty-something loans manager living with his old university buddy Jeremy Usbourne. Together they sometimes call themselves the "El Dude Brothers"; this name dates back to their (probably happier) days at university, but is now usually only invoked when one of them wants to appeal to the support of the other, against their better judgement. Unlike the work-shy Jeremy, Mark is conscientious about his job, though his experience of it is dominated by two figures: smooth-talking boss Alan Johnson, who seems to view Mark as something of a malleable protege; and Sophie, the object of Mark's rather neurotic affection.
Mark is the ultimate social reject: he is paranoid about nearly everything, thinks too much (usually for the worst), and worries endlessly about seeming normal, something he never quite manages to do. He tries to fit in by using words like "mate" all the time, but the truth is he just not up to the demands of the social world. In practice he spends most of his time obsessing about Sophie. He nearly manages to have sex with her on several occasions, but events (usually triggered by his own self-defeating anxieties) usually get in his way before he can finish the job.
In Series 1 Episode 4, Mark developed a homosexual crush on Alan Johnson, then a visiting manager. In an effort to explore this previously undiscovered side of his personality, Mark rented some gay pornography and eventually came to the conclusion that he was "probably bi, definitely not curious." Alan has since become Mark's boss.
Unsurprisingly Mark is highly sexually frustrated, and also apparently somewhat repressed: he is disgusted by Jeremy's licentious views (if not always practice) on easy women and kinky sexual behaviour. At first his sexual anxiety was partly a result of a testicular hydrocele, about which he became paranoid, but the swelling was reduced by surgery.
[edit] Interests
Mark mostly seems to watch television, read, or just hang about in his flat. He doesn't seem to particularly enjoy the company of flatmate Jeremy, but puts up with him anyway as his only companion, and indeed does not even charge him rent.
He often references Nazi history and Adolf Hitler, and is a fan of classic war films such as Das Boot, which shows his interest in World War II. He also read the book Stalingrad which he later quoted in an attempt to seduce next-door neighbour Toni. He is an avid amateur historian, having a life-long regret of not taking Ancient History as opposed to Business Studies at university. Mark's social life is best summarised by the fact that he likes to go shopping on Friday evenings to avoid the crowds. Without Jeremy he would probably have no social existence at all.
