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Dylan Moran

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Dylan Moran
Born (1971-11-03) 3 November 1971 (age 53)
Navan, County Meath, Ireland
NationalityIrish
Years active1992 – present
SpouseElaine Moran
Notable works and rolesJust For Laughs
Bernard Black in Black Books (also writer of; 2000–2004)
David in Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Monster/Monster 2 (2002 and 2004)
Gordon in Run Fat Boy Run (2007)
Pierce in A Film with Me in It (2008)
Websitehttp://www.dylanmoran.com/
Youngest winner of Perrier Comedy Award (1996)

Dylan Moran (born 3 November 1971) is an Irish comedian, writer, actor and filmmaker. He is most famous for his sardonic observational comedy, the television sitcom Black Books which he co-wrote and starred in and his work with Simon Pegg in Shaun of the Dead and Run Fatboy Run. Moran also appeared as one of the two lead characters in the Irish black comedy titled "A Film with Me in It" in 2008. He is a regular performer at national and international comedy festivals including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Kilkenny Comedy Festival. Moran was also voted 14th on the 2010 '100 Greatest Stand Up Comedians' by Channel 4.

Biography

Early life

Moran was born in Navan, County Meath, Republic Of Ireland. He attended St. Patrick's Classical School, where he experimented early on with standup, (with fellow comic Tommy Tiernan and Hector Ó hEochagáin) and left at age 16[1] with his Leaving Certificate. After leaving school, it has been said that Moran spent four years unemployed "drinking and writing bad poetry".[2] At one point, Dylan worked as a florist but quit after a week because he hated the job.[2]

Career

Moran came to comedy at age 20 after watching Ardal O'Hanlon and other comedians perform at Dublin's Comedy Cellar, a small fifty-seater comedy club with no microphone in the upstairs of The International Bar on South Wicklow Street. He began his stand up there in 1992 and, although nervous, got a good reception.[1] In 1993, he won the So You Think You're Funny award at the Edinburgh Festival. He went on to become the youngest person to win the Perrier Comedy Award in 1996 at the Edinburgh Festival at age 24.[2] Gurgling For Money was Moran's first major one man stand up UK tour in 1997. He went on to perform at many other festivals including the Hay Festival, Montreal comedy festival, Vancouver Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Festival. Between 1995 and 1996 Moran wrote a weekly column for The Irish Times.

Moran won his first major television role in 1998 playing Ian Lyons in the BBC 2 sitcom How Do You Want Me?, with Charlotte Coleman.[1] He went on to appear in a small role in the 1999 movie Notting Hill as Rufus the thief. In 2000, Black Books was launched on Channel 4. The sitcom, about a miserable, unsociable, drunken, chain-smoking, and disorganized book shop owner, Bernard Black, was the original idea of Moran and brought into existence with the aid of co-writer and fellow Irishman Graham Linehan, and producers Mark Buckley and Albert Kenny of Kenley Studios. The second series was televised in 2002, and the third, which aired in 2004, was greeted with great enthusiasm by critics and fans alike.[1] In the same year, Moran appeared in his first major film role along with long-running colleague Andrew Rogers, playing David in the comedy Shaun of the Dead.

Moran toured his new shows Monster I and Monster II in 2004, including performances in New York and Milan, as well as a tour across Britain and Ireland, culminating in a week-long run at London's Palace Theatre, before two shows at Dublin's Vicar Street, and finally an appearance at the Hay Festival. The tour was described by The Times as a "masterclass of comic charisma: swinging from topic to topic in a manner seemingly spontaneous but actually tightly organised".[1]

A live DVD of the Monster II tour, filmed on 28 May at Dublin's Vicar Street, was released that year, as Moran's first live stand-up DVD. After a successful run in New York in 2004 as part of the British Comedy Invasion (including performances by top British comedians such as Eddie Izzard, fellow Black Books star Bill Bailey and Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan) Moran returned to New York for a month-long run at the Village Theatre. He then performed a two-week London West End run at the Wyndham's Theatre, 1–13 November 2004.

His third major tour, Like, Totally, opened at the Buxton Opera House on 3 May 2005,[1] and as with his previous tours the stand-up routine was accompanied by projected cartoons drawn by Moran. A DVD of the tour was released in December 2005. Moran appeared as the character of Gordon in the comedy film Run, Fat Boy, Run, released in September 2007 which cast Moran as the best friend to Dennis (Shaun of the Dead co-star Simon Pegg), having played an adversary to Pegg's character in Shaun of the Dead.

In June 2008, Moran appeared with Ardal O'Hanlon & Tommy Tiernan at the Liverpool Arena in 'The Three Fellas', a one-off comedy event, part of the city's 'European Capital of Culture 2008' celebrations. Between October and December 2008, Moran embarked on a new UK tour entitled What It Is, starting at the Grand Opera House in York, and ending in Oxford's New Theatre. Other notable venues include Colston Hall at Bristol, Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall, the Bournemouth International Centre, the Waterfront Hall Auditorium in Belfast and the Corran Halls in Oban. The tour was extended into 2009 and has now been released on DVD.

Awards and commendations

At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe he has won the 'So You Think You're Funny? Award' in 1993, and the Perrier Award in 1996, but later dismissed the latter as "a load of media rubbish," stating Bill Bailey deserved it more.

A popular poll commissioned by Channel 4 ranked him the 17th Greatest Comedy Stand-up.[3] Moran was declared "the greatest comedian, living or dead" by major French newspaper, Le Monde in July 2007.[4] He has also twice won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Situation Comedy, both for Black Books.

Personal life

Dylan married his wife Elaine on 6 September 1997 in London. They have two children, who are frequently mentioned in his stand-up shows. The family currently resides in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh.

Appearances

Year Title Type Notes
1998 Just for Laughs Comedy Festival
1998 How Do You Want Me? Television Ian Lyons
1999 Notting Hill Film Rufus the Thief
2000 Ready, Steady...Cough Tour
2000–2004 Black Books Television BAFTA Award winning show, starred as Bernard Black
2003 The Actors Film Tom Quirke
2004 Shaun of the Dead Film David
2002 and 2004 Monster 1–2 Tour
2006 A Cock and Bull Story Film Dr Slop
2006 Like, Totally Tour
2006 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Live
2006 Tell it to the Fishes Short film Finn
2006 The Secret Policeman's Ball Television
2007 Run Fatboy Run Film Gordon
2008 A Film With Me In It Film Pierce
2008 The Three Fellas One-off show Dylan Moran, Ardal O’Hanlon & Tommy Tiernan, Liverpool Arena
2008–2010 What It Is Tour
2009 The Fellas Live! Limited US Tour The 'fellas' appearing in Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York City.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Maxwell, Dominic (2006-04-22). "Bye bye Bernard". The Times. London. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
  2. ^ a b c Kelner, Martin (June 2005). ""People have told me I'm grumpy"". BBC Bradford and West Yorkshire. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
  3. ^ "100 Greatest Comedy Comedy Stand-ups". Channel4.com. undated. Retrieved 2007-07-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Le Monde, Issue 37954-2375a July 29, 2007
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