 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Chris Addison" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Chris Addison | |
|---|---|
 Addison at theUK Social Enterprise Awards, 2018 | |
| Born | Christopher David Addison (1971-11-05)5 November 1971 (age 54) Cardiff, Wales, UK |
| Education | University of Birmingham (BA) |
| Notable work | |
| Children | 2 |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Genres | Observational, satire |
Christopher David Addison (born 5 November 1971) is a British comedian, writer, actor, and director. He is known for his role as Ollie Reeder in theBBC Two political satire seriesThe Thick of It (2005–2012) and Toby Wright in its spin-off filmIn the Loop (2009). He was a panellist on several editions of TV comedy panel showMock the Week. He is known for lecture-style stand-up comedy shows, two of which he later adapted forBBC Radio 4.
Addison starred in theSky Living comedy-dramaTrying Again (2014) and appeared in three episodes ofseries 8 ofDoctor Who. He co-created and starred in the BBC Two sitcomLab Rats (2008). On radio, he hosted the weekly comedy news satire show7 Day Sunday onBBC Radio 5 Live from 2009 to 2010. In 2020 he co-created the FX parental-comedy seriesBreeders, starringMartin Freeman.
Christopher David Addison[citation needed] was born on 5 November 1971[1] inCardiff, Wales, to English parents. The family moved toWorsley,Salford, England, when he was four.[2] On theBBC Radio 4 programmeChain Reaction, he stated he considers himself a middle-classMancunian.[2]
He was educated atManchester Grammar School, an independent school for boys in Manchester.[3] At MGS rather than playing cricket he played the gamepodex.[4] He then attended theUniversity of Birmingham, where he studied English literature with the original intent of becoming atheatre director.[5] After his directing plans did not work out, he drifted into comedy as an alternative creative outlet.[2]
Addison's first solo show at theEdinburgh Festival Fringe was in1998, for which he was nominated for Best Newcomer at thePerrier Awards. He continued to bring shows to the Fringe for several years, gaining two Perrier Award nominations – for his2004 showCivilisation and2005'sAtomicity.[6]In 2005 he won theCity Life Comedian of the Year Award, a stand-up competition in theNorth West of England.
First broadcast in 2004, Addison co-wrote and co-starred in thepolitical satireThe Department, along withJohn Oliver andAndy Zaltzman. It ran for 14 episodes over three series onBBC Radio 4, ending in 2006.
In August 2005, Radio 4 airedThe Ape That Got Lucky, Addison's adaptation of his2002 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show of the same name. This programme featured fellow comediansGeoffrey McGivern,Jo Enright andDan Tetsell. On 8 May 2006,The Ape That Got Lucky won the gold award in the comedy production category at theSony Radio Academy Awards.[7]
In 2006, Addison recordedChris Addison's Civilization, again for Radio 4, based on hisEdinburgh Fringe show of2004; this again featured McGivern, Enright and Tetsell and was aired in four parts over the summer.
He has been a panellist on three of Radio 4's comedy panel games:Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive, first appearing in 2006,Just a Minute, first appearing in 2007, andThe Unbelievable Truth, first appearing in 2009.
Addison hosted a series of the Radio 4 comedy series4 Stands Up, which showcases up-coming and established comedy talent. As host, Addison performs a short opening set and introduces the acts, in the style of acompère at acomedy club. The first episode was broadcast on 2 April 2009.
On 10 May 2009, Addison hosted theSunday Night Show onAbsolute Radio in place of fellow stand-up comedianIain Lee who was away due to being on his honeymoon.
Addison hosted7 Day Sunday, a satirical news show onBBC Radio 5 Live along with his co-hostsSarah Millican andAndy Zaltzman. The first episode aired in January 2010. Addison presented the second series of the show until February 2011, when he was replaced byAl Murray.
He is also good friends withGeoff Lloyd onAbsolute Radio and has made a few appearances onGeoff Lloyd's Hometime Show.
From 2005 to 2012, Addison appeared in theBBC television satirical comedy seriesThe Thick of It as Oliver "Ollie" Reeder, Junior Advisor (later Special Advisor) to the Secretary of State (Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship). He appeared in all of the four series, as well as the two specials 'Rise of the Nutters' and 'Spinners and Losers'.
Addison also featured in the film spin-off ofThe Thick of It, titledIn the Loop, playing Toby Wright, a character very similar to his part in the television original.[8]
In July 2008,BBC Two airedLab Rats, a sitcom starring Addison and co-written with Carl Cooper.Lab Rats featured cast membersJo Enright,Geoffrey McGivern andDan Tetsell, with whom Addison had worked previously on the radio adaptations of his one-man showsThe Ape That Got Lucky andCivilisation.
Lab Rats was a return to the traditional, joke-heavy, studio based sitcom format that has fallen out of fashion in recent times in favour of the single-camera sitcom.[5] The series was not generally well received by critics and was not renewed for a second series.
After several guest appearances on the comedy panel showMock the Week, in September 2011 Addison became a regular panellist, appearing in every episode from the second part of series 10 until series 12 (2013). He appeared alongside other regular panellistsHugh Dennis andAndy Parsons and the show's host,Dara Ó Briain.
In 2014 Addison starred in theSky Living seriesTrying Again.
In 2000 Addison co-hosted the short-livedChannel 4 comedy seriesDotcomedy withGail Porter. This was a late-night, risque show featuring video clips and other humour derived from the Internet.
He has appeared onHave I Got News for You six times,Would I Lie to You? once and8 Out of 10 Cats twice. Addison also appeared in episode 3 of series 5 ofLive at the Apollo. He has thrice appeared onQI.
Addison appeared onThe Graham Norton Show on 16 April 2009 promotingIn the Loop. On 18 April 2010 he appeared onThe Andrew Marr Show to comment on the week's political issues, including the volcanicash cloud from Iceland andThe First Election Debate.
He appeared onSkins as Professor David Blood, the college director of Roundview College and father of third Generation character Grace Violet. On 4 November 2010 Addison hosted theBBC'sHave I Got News For You, having previously been a guest on the show.
In the summer of 2011 Addison hosted anE4 comedy chat show calledShow and Tell, with each of the 8 episodes featuring three guest stand-up comedians.[9]
Addison has also made an appearance in children's television showHorrible Histories.
In August 2014, it was announced that Addison would make a guest appearance in the two-part series finale ofthe eighth series ofDoctor Who with his formerThe Thick of It co-starPeter Capaldi, who plays theTwelfth Doctor.[10] His character, Seb, first appeared in the mid-series episode "The Caretaker" and then appeared in further episodes including "Dark Water" and "Death in Heaven".
In 2013, he began working as a director onArmando Iannucci'sHBO sitcomVeep.[11] He directed 13 episodes. In 2016, he won theDirectors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series and received a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. Alongside directing, he also served as executive producer in 2015. For this work on Series 3, he and the other producers on the show received a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. They won the award for Series 4 and 5.
In 2020, sitcomBreeders premiered on both US TV channelFX and Britain'sSky One. Breeders was co-created by Addison, main co-starMartin Freeman and comedy writerSimon Blackwell and is based on Freeman's own experience as a parent. It went on for 4 successful series with Sky and Addison directed 15 episodes.
Addison directed the 2019 comedyThe Hustle, starringRebel Wilson andAnne Hathaway, a remake ofDirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), which in turn was a remake ofBedtime Story (1964).[12]
In 2019, Addison was slated to directRalph Fiennes playingGeorge Frederick Handel in a period comedy-drama,Hallelujah.[13]
From 2003 to 2005 Addison wrote a fortnightly finance column forThe Guardian titled "Funny Money". On alternate weeks, when the column was not written by Addison, writing duties passed to fellow stand-upDominic Holland.
Addison has written two books, both published byHodder and Stoughton:Cautionary Tales for Grown Ups in 2006 andIt Wasn't Me: Why Everybody is to Blame and You're Not in 2008.
In 2011 and 2012 he appeared in a range ofDirect Line adverts as a Direct Line representative alongside difficult customers, played by fellow comedic performersAlexander Armstrong,Amelia Bullmore andLorna Watson.[14] On 9 April 2011 he was part of the Comedy Takeover on TV channelDave, where he presented and selected the shows.
In 2011 he took part in three shows of the 16-dateUncaged Monkeys tour along withBrian Cox,Robin Ince,Ben Goldacre,Simon Singh andDara Ó Briain.
In July 2013 he received an honorary degree from theUniversity of Birmingham.[15]
In February 2016 Addison took the speaking role of Smith, an Englishman, in the French operaL'Étoile atThe Royal Opera House, London.[16]
Addison became a Patron ofSocial Enterprise UK in 2017.
Addison currently lives inBromley, South East London, with his wife and two children: a boy and a girl.[17][18]
As of March 2020, he was a member of theLabour Party.[19]
MGS Drama has a long and proud theatrical tradition, as Old Boys including Sir Ben Kingsley, Robert Powell, Sir Nicholas Hytner and Chris Addison can confirm.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
