Martin Clunes
| Martin Clunes | |
|---|---|
 Clunes on location for Doc Martin in 2007. |
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| Born | Alexander Martin Clunes November 28, 1961 Wimbledon, South West London, England |
| Education | Royal Russell School The Arts Educational Schools |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian, broadcaster, film director, musician, television personality |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Spouse(s) | Lucy Aston (1990–1997) (divorced) Philippa Braithwaite (1997–present) |
| Children | Emily Clunes (born 1999) |
Alexander Martin Clunes (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor and comedian. Clunes is perhaps best known for his roles as Gary Strang in Men Behaving Badly, Doctor Martin Ellingham in Doc Martin and the title character in Reggie Perrin.
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Early life[edit]
Clunes is the son of the classical actor Alec Clunes, who died of lung cancer when Clunes was eight and a half years old. He has an older sister, Amanda.[1] His mother Daphne, later a board member of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, once worked for Orson Welles.[2] Clunes was educated at two independent secondary schools, the Royal Russell School in Croydon and The Arts Educational Schools, in Chiswick, London.[citation needed]
Career[edit]
Clunes served his first role in rep at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester,[3] and his first television appearance came in the 1980s Doctor Who story Snakedance as the spoiled Lon.[3] But a sporadic career led to his supplementing his income as a photo model for Gilbert and George, and he can be seen in their 1983 work World.[4] The highlight of his career was the appearance of his name in a popular song named 'Martin Clunes' as performed by Matt Lucas and David Walliams He got his first regular television role as one of the sons in the BBC sitcom No Place Like Home,[5] and then starred in two series of the sitcom All at No 20.[6]
While Clunes was appearing on stage at the Hampstead Theatre, Harry Enfield came to see him; the acquaintanceship developed into a friendship where Clunes played characters in Enfield's sketch shows (most notably one of the Rugby Players).[7] Enfield then recommended Clunes for the role of Gary in the sitcom Men Behaving Badly,[citation needed] written for Enfield by Simon Nye, bringing Clunes his best-known role to date and for which he won a BAFTA television award in 1996.[citation needed] He played the part of Group Captain Barker in the 2-part TV mini-series Over Here that same year. In 1993, he played Dick Dobson in Demob about a pair of demobilized soldiers who had to adjust to civilian life after entertaining World War II troops with a raunchy cabaret act.
He has since appeared in films and television shows such as An Evening With Gary Lineker,[citation needed] Staggered (starred and directed),[citation needed] Hunting Venus, The Booze Cruise, Saving Grace, and Jeeves and Wooster. In 1998, he was featured in Sweet Revenge and appeared as Richard Burbage in the Oscar-winning film Shakespeare in Love. Clunes has also acted frequently for the radio, including a guest appearance in the BBC Radio 4 series Baldi.
In 2001, he played Captain Stickles in the BBC adaptation of R. D. Blackmore's Lorna Doone.
In 2002, he played serial killer John George Haigh in a Yorkshire TV production A Is for Acid, and took the lead in ITV's production of Goodbye Mr Chips.[8]
Clunes was one of the eponymous leads in the 2004 ITV romantic comedy-drama William and Mary, which ran for three series, with Julie Graham. Clunes had worked with Julie Graham previously on Dirty Tricks (2000).[9]
His leading role in the ITV comedy drama series Doc Martin from 2004[10] marked a successful change of direction for Clunes. In 2005, his portrayal of Dr. Martin Ellingham, the ornery vascular surgeon turned cranky general practitioner, won him a nomination for Most Popular Actor in the National Television Awards. The final episode of Series 3 succeeded in attracting nearly 10 million viewers or 40% of audience share.[11] The fourth series of Doc Martin was broadcast in 2009 and a fifth series commenced broadcasting in September 2011. The series is made by Buffalo Pictures, the company he runs with his wife, Philippa Braithwaite.[12]
In August 2007 he starred in ITV's The Man Who Lost His Head.[13]
Clunes is a regular voice over artist and is the voice of Kipper in the animated children's series Kipper the Dog.
A sponsor of numerous charities, he has made a short online film with Stephen Fry about HIV discrimination for the Terrence Higgins Trust.[14] He is also a patron of the Born Free Foundation and has filmed several adverts for the wildlife charity. He has been involved in Comic Relief which funds Survival International and African Initiatives, two organisations working with the Maasai on indigenous land rights issues.[dead link] [15]
Clunes also appeared in a television dramatisation of Fungus the Bogeyman playing Jessica White's father.
On 9 November 2007 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Bournemouth University.[16]
From 24 April 2009, Clunes starred on BBC One television in the title role of Reggie Perrin, a re-make of classic 1970s British situation comedy The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. In the same year he appeared in a 3 part ITV series Islands of Britain in which he travelled around several of the country's lesser known islands.
Clunes guest-hosted the comedy panel game show Have I Got News for You in 2010, also in 2010 he presented the ITV series 'Horsepower' about man's relationship over time with the horse.[17]
In 2011, Clunes voiced the mischievous dog Dudley in the short film Me or the Dog, starring Edward Hogg and directed by Abner Pastoll. Clunes has also appeared in some TV advertisements for the Churchill insurance company.
In June 2012, he presented a documentary series on ITV on Tuesday nights about the lemurs of Madagascar. He has also gone on to present further documentaries on ITV including Martin Clunes - Heavy Horsepower.[18]
Selected Filmography[edit]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Doctor Who | Lon | TV Series | |
| 1992-1998 | Men Behaving Badly | Gary Strang | TV Series | |
| 1998 | Shakespeare in Love | Richard Burbage | Film | |
| 2003-2005 | William and Mary | William Shawcross | TV Series | |
| 2012 | The Town | Len Robson | TV Series | |
| 2004-present | Doc Martin | Martin Ellingham | TV Series |
Personal life[edit]
Clunes' first marriage was to the actress Lucy Aston in 1990 [19] They divorced in 1997 and Clunes married future Doc Martin television producer Philippa Braithwaite that same year.[20]] In 1999, Braithwaite gave birth to their daughter, Emily.[21][22] Clunes lives with his family in Beaminster, Dorset.[23] In 2010, Clunes was named president of the Royal International Horse Show.[citation needed] He was also named President of the British Horse Society from 1 June 2011.[24]
Clunes supports Weldmar Hospicecare Trust in Dorset.[25] In January 2011, Clunes also became Patron of Animal Care in Egypt.[26][clarification needed] He also enjoys the music of Frank Zappa as he said in his episode of Desert Island Discs, in which one of his selections was "Doreen" from Zappa's album You Are What You Is.
Awards[edit]
- 1995 – British Comedy Awards, Top TV Comedy Actor : Men Behaving Badly – Gary Strang
- 1996 – BAFTA Awards, Best Comedy Performance : Men Behaving Badly – Gary Strang
- 1999 – Screen Actors Guild Awards, Outstanding Performance by a Cast : Shakespeare in Love – Richard Burbage
- 2007 – Honorary Doctorate from Bournemouth University
References[edit]
- ^ Chips Off The Old Bloke; He made his name behaving badly – Page1 Sunday Herald – 15 December 2002
- ^ Helen Weathers (14 April 1997). "Exclusive: My cocaine and booze marriage to a man behaving very badly". The Mirror. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ a b Between The Sheets – No More Mr Nice Guy National Theatre
- ^ "DVD247 - The World". dvd247.tripod.com. 2013 [last update]. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
- ^ Martin Clunes Playlist itv.com
- ^ TV.com – All at No 20 cast list
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDFurMPPzJ8
- ^ Chips Off The Old Bloke; He made his name behaving badly – Page3 Sunday Herald – 15 December 2002
- ^ Dirty Tricks (2000) (TV)
- ^ "Doc Martin" (2004) – Episode list
- ^ Holmwood, Leigh (6 November 2007). "Doc Martin goes out with a bang". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2011-09-11/doc-martins-family-business
- ^ "A close encounter with Martin Clunes". The Sunday Star-Times. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ Terrence Higgins Trust – Gloves Off – Video – Stephen Fry and Martin Clunes – The Scale of Mimsy
- ^ "Celeb appeal". developments magazine. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
- ^ "'Doc Martin' awarded a doctorate". BBC News. 9 November 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ "Horsepower With Martin Clunes" ITV web site, 22 August 2010
- ^ Martin Clunes' admits work worries - News, Entertainment - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk
- ^ England & Wales, Marriage Index, 1916-2005: Marriage of Clunes to Aston 1990 - Ancestry.co.uk
- ^ [1]
- ^ Chloe Scott-Moncrieff in coversation with… Martin Clunes.(Interview) Geographical, April, 2005 by Scott-Moncrieff, Chloe
- ^ Celebrity interview: Martin Clunes – Page2 SouthwestTrains.com
- ^ Around Dorset: Martin Clunes BBC Dorset – 11 October 2004
- ^ Martin Clunes to be next BHS President BHS
- ^ Weldmar Hospicecare Trust web site
- ^ Animal Care in Egypt web site
External links[edit]
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- 1961 births
- Living people
- People educated at the Arts Educational Schools
- English television actors
- English voice actors
- BAFTA winners (people)
- English male comedians
- English musicians
- Actors from London
- People from Wimbledon, London
- English television presenters
- English television personalities
- Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- People educated at Royal Russell School
- 20th-century musicians
- 20th-century English actors
- 21st-century musicians
- 21st-century English actors
- English broadcasters
- English film directors
- Musicians from London
- Film directors from London
- Comedians from London
