Patrick Marber attended Wadham College in Oxford, England, before beginning his career as a writer, dramatist, and actor for television and the theater. Marber’s father was a financial analyst, but the young Marber knew early on that he wanted to be involved in comedy and acting, writing, and producing plays. Marber had a stint as a stand-up comic doing shows in clubs, which provided him with material for some of his plays. In the past, he has admitted to a fondness for gambling, a theme that shows up in his plays. He worked for several years as a writer and performer for British radio, television serial programs, and made-for-television movies.

Marber has an extensive list of appearances as an actor in television serials and made-for-television movies. He appeared in the television series Saturday Zoo in 1993, as Peter O’Hanarha-Hanrahan, Jaques-Jaques Liverot, and Chapman Baxter in The Day Today in 1994, and in Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge in 1994. Marber also took roles as Christian de Neuvillette in Cyrano de Bergerac on the Bravo channel in 1985, as Niall in Cadfael on the Public Broadcast Service in 1998, as Dr. Piper in “The Curator” episode of Coogan’s Run in 1995, as Max Cone in the “Thieves Like Us” episode of Boon in 1995, and as Sergeant Sayers in Mike and Angelo in 1996. Marber appeared as Tom Stirling in the made-for-television movie Dreams Lost, Dreams Found on the Showtime channel in 1987. Marber’s other television appearances include the role of Humphrey Devize in The Lady’s Not for Burning in 1987, as the Dealer in Private Prince in 1993, as John Trevanion in Poldark in 1996, and as Hamish in the miniseries Big Women in 1998.

Marber also acted on the stage as a Mariner in the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre’s production of The Tempest in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1982. Marber had the role of Second Billy in Shining Souls at the Old Vic Theatre in London in 1997.