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Dylan Moran

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Dylan Moran
Moran performing at theMelbourne International Comedy Festival Galain April 2006
Birth nameDylan William Moran
Born1971 or 1972 (age 52–53)[1]
Navan, County Meath,Ireland
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • film
  • television
Years active1992–present
Genres
Spouse
Elaine Moran
​
​
(m.1997;div.2022)​
Children2
Websitedylanmoran.com

Dylan William Moran(/ˈmɔːrən/MOR-ən;born 1971 or 1972) is an Irish comedian, writer, actor and artist. He is best known for hisobservational comedy,the comedy seriesBlack Books(which he co-wrote and starred in), and his work withSimon Peggin films such asShaun of the DeadandRun Fatboy Run.He was also one of two lead characters in the Irishblack comedyfilmA Film with Me in It.

He is a regular performer at national and international comedy festivals such as theEdinburgh Festival Fringe,Just for LaughsMontreal Comedy Festival, theMelbourne International Comedy Festival,and theKilkenny Comedy Festival.In 2007, he was voted the 17th greatest stand-up comedian byChannel 4;[2]in the updated 2010 list, he was ranked as the 14th greatest.[3]

Early life[edit]

Dylan William Moran was born in 1971 inNavan, County Meath.[4][5][6]He attendedSt Patrick's Classical School,where he experimented early on with stand-up alongside fellow comediansTommy TiernanandHector Ó hEochagáin;he left with hisLeaving Certificateat age 16.[7]He has said that he then spent four years unemployed "drinkingand writing bad poetry ".[8]He worked as afloristat some point, but hated it and quit after a week.[8]He has said that he was very passionate about rugby and enjoyed watching many games when he was growing up, but has since lost interest and has none in any other sport either. He nonetheless makes an effort to keep somewhat abreast of popular sport, explaining: "otherwise nobody would talk to me, as its very hard to find anyone else who's not rabid about sport."[9]

Career[edit]

Moran came to comedy at age 20 after watchingArdal O'Hanlonand other comedians perform atDublin'sComedy Cellar,a fifty-seater comedy club with no microphone, in the basement of The International Bar on South Wicklow Street. He began his stand up there in 1992 and got a good reception.[7]In 1993, he won theSo You Think You're Funnyaward at theEdinburgh Festival.He went on to become the second youngest person to win thePerrier Comedy Awardin 1996 at the Edinburgh Festival at age 24.[8]Gurgling For Moneywas Moran's first major one-man stand-up UK tour in 1997. He went on to perform at many other festivals including theHay Festival,Montreal comedy festival,Vancouver Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Festival. Between 1995 and 1997 Moran wrote a weekly column forThe Irish Times.

Moran won his first major television role in 1998, playing Ian Lyons in theBBC 2sitcomHow Do You Want Me?,oppositeCharlotte Coleman.[7]He went on to appear in a small role in the 1999 movieNotting Hillas a shoplifter. In 2000,Black Bookswas launched onChannel 4.The sitcom, about depressed, bitter, alcoholic, chain-smoking and misanthropic book shop ownerBernard Black,was based on a dream Moran had in the mid-eighties during a weekend away inLimerick.[citation needed]The first series was written with fellow IrishmanGraham Linehan,and produced by 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.[7]In the same year Moran appeared in his first major film role, playing David in the horror comedyShaun of the Dead.

Moran toured his stand-up showsMonster IandMonster IIin 2004, including performances inNew YorkandMilan,as well as a tour across Britain and Ireland which culminated in a week-long run at London'sPalace Theatre,before two shows at Dublin'sVicar Street,and finally an appearance at theHay Festival.The tour was described byThe Timesas a "masterclass of comic charisma: swinging from topic to topic in a manner seemingly spontaneous but actually tightly organised".[7]

A liveDVDof theMonster IItour, 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 inNew York Cityin 2004 as part of the British/Irish Comedy Invasion (including performances by top British and Irish comedians such asEddie Izzard,fellowBlack BooksstarBill Baileyand Irish comedianTommy Tiernan) Moran returned to New York for a month-long run at the Village Theatre. He then performed a two-week LondonWest Endrun at theWyndham's Theatre,1–13 November 2004.

His third major tour,Like, Totally,opened at theBuxton Opera Houseon 3 May 2005,[7]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 filmRun Fatboy Run,released in September 2007 which cast Moran as the best friend to protagonist Dennis, played bySimon Pegg.Moran had previously played an adversary to Pegg's title character inShaun of the Dead.

In June 2008, Moran appeared withArdal O'HanlonandTommy TiernanatLiverpool'sEcho Arenain 'The Three Fellas',[10]a one-off comedy event, part of the city'sEuropean Capital of Culture2008 celebrations. Between October and December 2008, Moran embarked onWhat It Is,a new UK tour starting at theGrand Opera HouseinYork,and ending atOxford's New Theatre. The tour was extended into 2009 and has now been released on DVD.

A compilation DVD of highlights from Moran's three previous stand-up shows was made available in November 2010 calledDylan Moran: Aim Low.Yeah, Yeah,a stand-up tour ofScandinavia,theBaltic states,United States,Australia,New Zealand,Irelandand theUKbegan in April 2011.

In 2012, Moran performed shows inRussia(following two sold-out performances in neighbouring Estonia[11]). The show's promoters indicated that they believed it to be the first time an Irish stand-up had performed live in a Russian venue; his routine mocked Russia's newlaw banning "homosexual propaganda"and jailed oil tycoonMikhail Khodorkovsky.[12]

In 2014, Moran wrote a pilot forABCabout "news media and conflict, war zones and cable news". The channel decided not to go ahead with the show but may possibly sell it to another network. The same year he appeared inJohn Michael McDonagh's filmCalvary.[13]The following July he took his stand-up showOff the HooktoSouth Africafor the first time, performing three sold-out shows at the country'sNational Arts Festival.[14]

In 2018, Moran took his latest standup show Dr Cosmos on tour, starting with 42 dates in the UK before touring Europe and Australia in 2019. The DVD was released in 2021.

In June 2019, Moran reported he was developing a "small format" show for the BBC.[15]Moran finished the series during the COVID-19 pandemic, when live performances were effectively cancelled.[16]The series,Stuck,starred Moran andMorgana Robinsonand was notable for episodes being only fifteen minutes long in keeping with Moran's belief that shorter content is trending. It aired on BBC Two in 2022.[17]

Moran began touring his most recent standup show, We Got This, in November 2021, touring Ireland and the UK in 2022 and Europe, Australia and New Zealand in 2023.

Awards and commendations[edit]

At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, he won the 'So You Think You're Funny? Award' in 1993, and thePerrier Awardin 1996. He later dismissed the latter as "a load of media rubbish," statingBill Baileydeserved it more.

A popular poll commissioned by Channel 4 ranked him the 14th-greatest comedy stand-up.[18]Moran was declared "the greatest comedian, living or dead" by the French newspaperLe Mondein July 2007.[19]He has also twice won theBAFTATV Award for Best Situation Comedy, both forBlack Books.

Personal life[edit]

Moran married his wife Elaine in 1997. They lived inEdinburghwith their two children. In 2022, Moran and Elaine divorced.[20][21]

Moranquit smokingin 2014 and becameteetotalin 2018,[20]but has since resumed drinking.[22]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Film Role
1999 Notting Hill Rufus the Thief
2003 The Actors Tom Quirk
2004 Shaun of the Dead David
2005 A Cock and Bull Story Dr Slop
2006 Tell It to the Fishes Finn
2007 Run Fatboy Run Gordon
2008 A Film with Me in It Pierce
2011 The Decoy Bride Charley
2012 Good Vibrations Pat
2014 Calvary Michael Fitzgerald
2020 Pixie Potential Buyer

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1998–99 How Do You Want Me? Ian Lyons
2000–04 Black Books Bernard Black Also creator and writer
2012 Little Crackers Father 1 episode, also writer
2017 Uncle Marsh 4 episodes
2022 The Witcher: Blood Origin Uthrok One-Nut
Stuck Dan Lead role, BBC original comedy[23]

Stand-up DVDs[edit]

Title Released Notes
Monster – Live 15 November 2004 Live atDublin'sVicar Street
Like, Totally... Dylan Moran Live 27 November 2006 Live at London'sHammersmith Apollo
What It Is – Live 23 November 2009 Live at Sydney'sState Theatre
Aim Low: The Best of Dylan Moran 29 November 2010[24] Selected scenes from previous three DVDs
Yeah, Yeah – Live in London 14 November 2011[25] Live at London'sHammersmith Apollo
Off the Hook 30 November 2015[26] Live at London'sHammersmith Apollo
Dr Cosmos 2015[27] Live in Australia

References[edit]

  1. ^"Dylan Moran: The this, that and the other of stand-up, misanthropy and filming his new sitcom in Belfast".The Irish News.28 May 2022.Retrieved8 June2024.
  2. ^"The 100 Greatest Stand-Ups Series 1, Episode 1 - The 100 Greatest Stand-Ups 2007".British Comedy Guide.Retrieved8 June2021.
  3. ^"Billy Connolly retains top spot in C4 poll".British Comedy Guide.11 April 2010.Retrieved8 June2021.
  4. ^Meath County Council."Dylan Moran Comedian/Actor".Archived fromthe originalon 1 March 2016.
  5. ^Kenny, Ciara (4 December 2013)."'Irishman Abroad' episode 13: Dylan Moran ".The Irish Times.Archivedfrom the original on 4 December 2013.
  6. ^Mackey, Liam (12 March 2001)."Did You Hear The One About The Irishman Who was born in Navan".HotPress Magazine.Archivedfrom the original on 16 April 2017.
  7. ^abcdefMaxwell, Dominic (22 April 2006)."Bye bye Bernard".The Times.London.Retrieved26 July2007.
  8. ^abcKelner, Martin (June 2005)."People have told me I'm grumpy".BBC Bradford and West Yorkshire.Retrieved26 July2007.
  9. ^"Irish comedian Dylan Moran shares his thoughts on the All Blacks with Mel and JT".Coast.15 October 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 11 August 2020.Retrieved9 December2021.
  10. ^Anderson, Vicky (16 June 2008)."LIVERPOOL COMEDY FESTIVAL: The Three Fellas, Liverpool Echo Arena".Liverpool Daily Post.Retrieved5 September2011.
  11. ^DELFI.""Black Booksi" staari Dylan Morani etteaste on kui naerutav hingepeegel - Publik ".Publik.delfi.ee. Archived fromthe originalon 22 September 2013.Retrieved3 May2014.
  12. ^"Irish comedian Dylan Moran 'makes history' in Russia".BBC News.BBC. 19 April 2012.Retrieved19 April2012.
  13. ^Graeme Virtue (5 April 2014)."Dylan Moran: 'A lot of what's on TV now is filler'".The Guardian.Retrieved3 May2014.
  14. ^Jennifer (5 April 2014)."2015 National Arts Festival Line-up Announced: Including Dylan Moran of Black Books".Books Live.Retrieved17 March2015.
  15. ^RTE (6 June 2019)."Dylan Moran writing new show for the BBC".Raidió Teilifís Éireann.Retrieved19 November2019.
  16. ^"Why appealing to everyone doesn't appeal to Dylan Moran".ABC News.15 March 2023.Retrieved8 February2024.
  17. ^"Dylan Moran's Stuck gets debut date".British Comedy Guide. 31 August 2022.Retrieved5 September2022.
  18. ^"100 Greatest Comedy Comedy Stand-ups".Channel4.com.n.d. Archived fromthe originalon 23 June 2013.Retrieved26 July2007.
  19. ^Le Monde, Issue 37954-2375a 29 July 2007
  20. ^abJordan, Justine (13 July 2018)."Dylan Moran: 'Smoking or breathing, one of them had to go'".The Irish Times.Archivedfrom the original on 11 December 2018.Retrieved9 December2021.
  21. ^Roy, David (28 May 2022)."Dylan Moran: The this, that and the other of stand-up, misanthropy and filming his new sitcom in Belfast".The Irish News.Retrieved5 September2022.
  22. ^Curran, Shaun (7 September 2022)."Dylan Moran: 'I don't care about Dave Chappelle – a strutting male ego is deeply boring'".i.Retrieved9 September2022.
  23. ^"Stuck – BBC Two".Retrieved5 September2022.
  24. ^"Aim Low: The Best of Dylan Moran [DVD]".Amazon UK.22 November 2010.
  25. ^"Dylan Moran: Yeah, Yeah – Live in London [DVD]".Amazon UK.14 November 2011.
  26. ^"Dylan Moran: Off the Hook [DVD]".Amazon UK.30 November 2015.
  27. ^"DYLAN MORAN: DR COSMOS: LIVE IN AUSTRALIA (DVD): Amazon.co.uk: DVD & Blu-ray".www.amazon.co.uk.Retrieved8 February2024.

External links[edit]

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