Character comedy
Encyclopedia
Character comedy is a method/genre used by some comedians. In character comedy the comedian performs as though he was a character created by him/her. A good deal of comedians have enjoyed fame from character comedy.
Famous comedians who use character comedy
- Jim CarreyJim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
– In many of his films he portrays a hyper-animated maniac. - Andy KaufmanAndy KaufmanAndrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one...
– Various characters. - George CarlinGeorge CarlinGeorge Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
– Played the character of Al Sleet the "hippy-dippy weatherman" in his stand-up routine. - Rowan AtkinsonRowan AtkinsonRowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
– Plays Mr. BeanMr. BeanMr. Bean is a British comedy television programme series of 14 half-hour episodes written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character. Different episodes were also written by Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and one by Ben Elton. The pilot episode was broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990,...
. - Tim AllenTim AllenTim Allen is an American comedian, actor, voice-over artist, and entertainer, known for his role in the sitcom Home Improvement...
– Plays a "handyman" in Home Improvement and his stand up routines. - Stephen ColbertStephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
– Plays Stephen ColbertStephen Colbert (character)The Reverend / Sir / Dr. / Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A., brain-child of Google, is the persona of political satirist Stephen Colbert, as portrayed on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. Described as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed high-status idiot", the character is a self-obsessed right-wing...
in The Colbert Report. - Sacha Baron CohenSacha Baron CohenSacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
- Plays Ali GAli GAli G is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally appearing on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock show, Ali G is the title character of Channel 4's Da Ali G Show, original episodes of which aired in 2000 and on HBO in 2003–2004, and is the...
, Borat Sagdiyev, and BrünoBruno (character)Brüno Gehard , sometimes written as Bruno and Brueno, is a fictional character portrayed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. The character, a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion reporter, first appeared during short sketches on The Paramount Comedy Channel in 1998, before reappearing on Da Ali G...
in Da Ali G ShowDa Ali G ShowDa Ali G Show is the name of two related satirical TV series created by and starring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and featuring the character Ali G....
and the subsequent film follow-ups: Ali G IndahouseAli G IndahouseAli G Indahouse is a British comedy film directed by Mark Mylod and starring the fictional character Ali G, who is performed by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen...
, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, often referred to simply as Borat, is a 2006 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and distributed by 20th Century Fox...
, and BrünoBrunoBruno is a male given name. It is derived from the Germanic word brun meaning "brown". It is also one of the most frequent Italian surnames. It also occurs very frequently in continental Europe and parts of Brazil as a given name for men and boys...
. - Steve CooganSteve CooganStephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
famously created several characters in his act spinning one of them, Alan PartridgeAlan PartridgeAlan Gordon Partridge is a fictional radio and television presenter portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan and invented by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring for the BBC Radio 4 programme On The Hour...
into TV shows - Sam LloydSam LloydSam Lloyd may refer to:*Samuel T. Lloyd III, dean of Washington National Cathedral*Sam Lloyd, recurring guest character on several television shows including Scrubs and Desperate Housewives-See also:...
- Various Characters - Will FerrellWill FerrellJohn William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
- Most famous for his time on SNL, and his various hit movies, such as "ElfElfAn elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
", "Old SchoolOld schoolIn slang, old school can refer to anything that is from an earlier era. Old school refers to something that is fairly old and not very recent. Depending on the context and intent, the term can imply a high regard or respect, or be a pejorative...
", and "Anchorman".