The world of celebrity is teaming with a vast array of original, crazy, inventive and hilarious fictional characters and they are often more famous than the people who portray them. However, many celebrities with alter-egos outgrow the characters they have played and become better known as themselves - take Matt Lucas, Paul O'Grady and even Ricky Gervais as prime examples. For years, many people knew them best as George Dawes, Lily Savage and David Brent until they came in to their own and became better known for their work as themselves. The people in this list, however, haven't outgrown their characters. And that's not necessarily a smear on their name - in fact it's often more of a compliment to their characters! Here are 10 celebrities who are better known by the names of their alter-egos...
10. Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge)
Aha! Let's get the most controversial one out of the way first! Don't get me wrong, Steve Coogan is now a huge star unto himself, so I imagine some people may argue against this one. But has he really outgrown Partridge? I don't think so! Partridge is one of the most recognisable faces in British television. Period. Coogan's Norwich-based, hapless television presenter and radio host is what really brought him in to the mainstream spotlight and he continues to make us laugh to this day. There is even an upcoming Partridge movie on the way and there will no doubt be more to come from him in the future. So, even though Coogan has starred alongside the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, Ben Stiller and Jack Black and in films such as Around the World in 80 Days, Night at the Museum, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and Tropic Thunder, he is still (and always will be) best known as his own creation: Mr. Alan Partridge.