Adrian Edmondson

Birthday: 24 January 1957, Bradford, Yorkshire, England, UK

Birth Name: Adrian Charles Edmondson

Height: 178 cm

Adrian Edmondson was born in Bradford, Yorkshire. He went to Manchester University to study drama. Whilst he was there he met Rik Mayall, and the pair began performing as 20th Century Coyote. The act continued after university when Adrian & Rik moved to London, and they became two of the leading lights in the new 'alternative comedy' scene, performing at the newly established Comedy Store, and setting up their own club, The Comic Strip, with Peter Richardson, Nigel Planer, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, and Alexei Sayle. This spawned two 1980s TV series: 'The Young Ones', and 'The Comic Strip Presents...' In the 1990's Ade & Rik continued their partnership with a new series called 'Bottom', which ran for three seasons and became a major success on the live circuit. It was basically a live sitcom, liberally sprinkled with slapstick humour, and the pair did 5 long tours between 1993 and 2003. Simultaneously, Adrian established himself as an actor, doing to improvised TV films under the Screen One and Screen Two umbrella, with director Les Blair: 'Honest Decent & True' in 1986, and 'Newshounds' in 1990 (winner of the BAFTA for best single drama). He was a regular in the hospital drama 'Holby City' from 2005 - 2008. He took the lead in a drama documentary about the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster in the series 'Surviving Disaster' (2006), and appeared as Henry Austen in the TV movie 'Miss Austen Regrets' (2008), the film 'Blood' (2012), and the drama series 'Prey' (2014). But his most notable dramatic role to date is that of Count Rostov in the BBC series 'War & Peace' (2016). He has been married to Jennifer Saunders since 1985, and they have three children together. Show less «

Do you think going to Oxford and Cambridge is necessarily a good thing? I have to say, a lot of the ...Show more »

Do you think going to Oxford and Cambridge is necessarily a good thing? I have to say, a lot of the people I know who went to Oxford and Cambridge seem rather damaged. Show less «

We have never been strictly political, only strictly funny.

[on Nick Cave] I wanted to be him for a very long time and I still do. He's kind of a god, up there ...Show more »

[on Nick Cave] I wanted to be him for a very long time and I still do. He's kind of a god, up there with David Bowie. Show less «

[on "Never Mind the Bollocks" by The Sex Pistols] I was 19 when the album came out, at university an...Show more »

[on "Never Mind the Bollocks" by The Sex Pistols] I was 19 when the album came out, at university and far too middle class to be a punk, but I watched it all with a slight academic eye. It was just so exciting. It's still a fantastic voice and it still excites me. Show less «

I met Mick Jagger once and found that he was a bit ordinary so he sort of fell off his perch. If you...Show more »

I met Mick Jagger once and found that he was a bit ordinary so he sort of fell off his perch. If you see your heroes keep them at arms length. Once I was sitting in a pub in Notting Hill and Nick Cave was in there but I managed to stay away. Show less «

I remember once having to stop performing when I thought an elderly man a few rows back from the fro...Show more »

I remember once having to stop performing when I thought an elderly man a few rows back from the front was actually going to die because he was laughing so hard. Show less «

People expect us to be different, but we're not. We're very similar people, and it's because we're s...Show more »

People expect us to be different, but we're not. We're very similar people, and it's because we're so similar and close to each other that we make each other laugh - in fact we make each other laugh more than we make anyone else laugh. Show less «

It only works because we still amuse each other. After we have been working with other people, it is...Show more »

It only works because we still amuse each other. After we have been working with other people, it is so refreshing to laugh unreservedly when we are back together again. Show less «

There is a lot of rubbish written about toilet humor - people saying it is childish and pretending i...Show more »

There is a lot of rubbish written about toilet humor - people saying it is childish and pretending it is beneath them - but there is no doubting the effectiveness of a really good willy gag. Show less «

Performers like Tommy Cooper, who are always getting things wrong, are much more endearing than come...Show more »

Performers like Tommy Cooper, who are always getting things wrong, are much more endearing than comedians who are sassy and smart. Show less «

Richie and Eddie couldn't exist without each other. They're two halves of the same person.

[on the death of his comedy partner Rik Mayall] There were times when Rik and I were writing togethe...Show more »

[on the death of his comedy partner Rik Mayall] There were times when Rik and I were writing together when we almost died laughing. They were some of the most carefree stupid days I ever had, and I feel privileged to have shared them with him. And now he's died for real. Without me. Selfish bastard. Show less «

It's definitely time to stop. We're getting too old. We both realised that the show wasn't as engagi...Show more »

It's definitely time to stop. We're getting too old. We both realised that the show wasn't as engaging as it used to be. We were starting to look a bit ridiculous. Show less «

PJ Harvey's "Let England Shake" is great. It sounds like it's half way between punk and folk and I a...Show more »

PJ Harvey's "Let England Shake" is great. It sounds like it's half way between punk and folk and I admire anyone who plays an autoharp. Show less «

From the stage I've seen people of all ages absolutely roaring at really good toilet humour.

On stage, we just want to generate hysteria. We don't care about looking cool or posing.

I find stand up comedy the most boring comedy in the world. It drives me to tedium. I can stand 10 m...Show more »

I find stand up comedy the most boring comedy in the world. It drives me to tedium. I can stand 10 minutes of it. There are some really funny people, but they should be in a variety act. There should be something more dynamic than one bloke talking at you for two hours no matter how funny he is. Show less «

The most fun I ever have is sitting in with Rik writing, and we laugh at our own jokes.

A lot of people are obsessed with looking cool. They feel they have to look after their image.

I like to listen to a medley of ska songs like The Ethiopians, stuff like that, because it makes you...Show more »

I like to listen to a medley of ska songs like The Ethiopians, stuff like that, because it makes you feel like you're going to have a party. Show less «

We only have one agenda, which is to make 'em laugh their pants off. Unless they are girls, of cours...Show more »

We only have one agenda, which is to make 'em laugh their pants off. Unless they are girls, of course, when it is to make them laugh their bras off so we can get a quick look. Show less «

[on "Loaded" by The Velvet Underground] Pretty mellow and wistful, like you've got a slight hangover...Show more »

[on "Loaded" by The Velvet Underground] Pretty mellow and wistful, like you've got a slight hangover and you're about to have some cereal. Show less «

Even though we work in the same field, we have an intense private life away from our professional li...Show more »

Even though we work in the same field, we have an intense private life away from our professional lives. Show less «

Adrian Edmondson

Adrian Edmondson's FILMOGRAPHY

Adrian Edmondson'S roles

Feedback about this page?