Comedian Eddie Izzard -- accent on the second syllable, please -- is a transvestite. Not a tarted-up old drag queen or someone you would ever likely mistake for a woman. More like a man who happens to like pretty clothes and a tasteful application of eye shadow and lipstick. "I am not gay," he told the icNorthernIreland.co.uk website, confirming a truth about most transvestites. "I'd say if I was. Try as I might, I just can't fancy a man." He prefers to think of himself as a male lesbian with total freedom to dress as he chooses.

None of which really has anything to do with him as a comedian, other than as a great hook to get people's attention. He's getting a lot of that at the moment.

His first blip on American radar arrived in a 1998 HBO special called Dress to Kill, now available on DVD, that won two of its three Emmy nominations. This was followed by further specials -- Glorious, Definite Article and, more recently, Circle -- all of which further cemented his bizarre sense of humor.

It's hard to pin down his style of comedy, though Izzard describes it, in an interview with Merek Cooper in DiSCORDER, as "talking surreal bollocks with added bollocks on top." Unlike the dick and fart joke dog-and-pony show we usually associate with standup, his performances feature what appears to be a rambling two-hour stream of consciousness dialog with several dollops of Monty Pythonesque absurdity stirred into the mix. It seems as though he is just making it up as he goes along, riffing on whatever bizarre topic leaps to mind. But there's a lot more going on than that. Within the dream-like shifting of imagery lies a structure. He is a master of the callback, and certain ideas and motifs recur throughout his work. Just when you have forgotten an earlier moment in the show, Izzard manages to bring his act back full circle, tying together the most diverse and implausible elements of his routine in surprising and hysterical ways.

He's also a lot smarter than his sometimes bumbling stage persona suggests. He regularly delves into history for his material, chiding the audience for their lack of knowledge. Not many comedians would be able to work the Trojan War into their act without a single reference to the obvious condom joke, but with Izzard the antics of Achilles and Agamemnon provide a backdrop for hilarity. If you listen closely you'll find not-so-subtle current political and social commentary woven in.

The role of comedian is not the only dress that hangs in Izzard's wardrobe. He is also a regular fixture on stage and screen, wearing the roles as comfortably as he does his heels. He has been seen in movies such as Velvet Goldmine, Shadow of the Vampire and Mystery Men. Recently he portrayed Charlie Chaplin in The Cat's Meow. His Broadway performances include the lead role of Lenny Bruce in the play Lenny. He recently received Tony nominations for Best Actor in a Stage Play for his role as father to a severely brain-damaged daughter in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg. Not the stuff of comedy, but proof that a man can't be judged by the shoes he wears.