Chris Morris (satirist)
Encyclopedia
Christopher Morris is an English satirist, writer, director
and actor. A former radio DJ, he is best known for anchoring the spoof news and current affairs television programmes The Day Today
and Brass Eye
, as well as his frequent engagement with controversial subject matter.
In 2010 Morris directed his first feature-length film Four Lions
about a group of inept British terrorists. Reception of the film was largely positive and received a respectable box office. Outside his central work, Morris tends to stay out of the public eye and has become one of the more enigmatic figures in British comedy.
. He was educated at Stonyhurst College
, a Jesuit
boarding school in Lancashire
, and studied zoology
at the University of Bristol
. He is the brother of theatre director and producer Tom Morris
.
, where he took advantage of access to editing and recording equipment to create elaborate spoofs
and parodies
. He also spent time in early 1987 hosting a 2–4pm afternoon show and finally ended up presenting Saturday morning show I.T.. In July 1987, he moved on to BBC Radio Bristol
to present his own show "No Known Cure", and later joined, from its launch, Greater London Radio
(GLR).
Until 1990, he was presenting Friday night and Saturday morning shows on Radio Bristol and a Sunday morning show on GLR.
In 1991, Morris reduced his work as a mainstream disc jockey and devoted himself to comedy with his new radio project On the Hour
. Working with Armando Iannucci
, Patrick Marber
, Richard Herring
, Stewart Lee
, Steve Coogan
and others, he created the spoof news show on BBC Radio 4
. In 1994, Morris began a weekly evening show, the Chris Morris Music Show, on BBC Radio 1
alongside Peter Baynham
and 'man with a mobile phone' Paul Garner
. In the shows, Morris perfected the spoof interview style that would become a central component of his Brass Eye
programme. The show's pranks left BBC bosses nonplussed, and a profanity-laden mid-afternoon show on Boxing Day was his last.
In the same year, Morris teamed up with Peter Cook
, as Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling
, in a series of improvised conversations for BBC Radio 3
, entitled Why Bother?
. Morris followed this with Blue Jam
, a late-night ambient music
and sketch show on Radio 1, which was later reworked for television as Channel 4
's Jam
.
television series based on On the Hour was broadcast under the name The Day Today
. The Day Today made a star of Morris, and helped to launch the careers of Patrick Marber
and Steve Coogan
.
The black humour
which had featured in On the Hour and The Day Today became more prominent in Brass Eye
, another spoof current affairs television documentary, shown on Channel 4
. Brass Eye became known for tricking celebrities and politicians into throwing support behind public awareness campaigns for made-up issues that were often absurd or surreal (such as a drug called cake and an elephant
with its trunk stuck up its anus
). In 2001, a reprise of Brass Eye on the moral panic
that surrounds paedophilia
led to a record-breaking number of complaints – it still remains the third highest on UK television after Celebrity Big Brother 2007
and Jerry Springer: The Opera
– as well as heated discussion in the press. Many complainants, some of whom later admitted to not having seen the programme (notably Beverley Hughes
, a government minister), felt the satire was directed at the victims of paedophilia, which Morris denies. Channel 4 defended the show, insisting the target was the media and its hysterical treatment of paedophilia, and not victims of crime.
Morris also wrote and directed Jam
, a television reworking of his radio show Blue Jam
. Darker and more unsettling than his previous work, the show explored such taboo
s as infant mortality, incest
, anal sex
, rape
, suicide
and sadomasochism through a series of unsettling, dreamlike sketches with a soundtrack of ambient music. This was followed by a 'remix' version, Jaaaaam.
In 2002, Morris ventured into film
, directing the short My Wrongs #8245–8249 & 117, adapted from a Blue Jam monologue about a man led astray by a sinister talking dog. It was the first film project of Warp Films
, a branch of Warp Records
. In 2002 this won the BAFTA
for best short film. In 2005 Morris worked on a sitcom entitled Nathan Barley
, based on the character created by Charlie Brooker
for his website TVGoHome
. Co-written by Brooker and Morris, the series was broadcast on Channel 4
in early 2005.
, a Channel 4
sitcom
focusing on the information technology
department of the fictional company Reynholm Industries. The series is written and directed by Graham Linehan
(writer of Father Ted
and Black Books
, with whom Morris collaborated on The Day Today, Brass Eye and Jam) and produced by Ash Atalla
(The Office
). Morris played Denholm Reynholm, the eccentric managing director of the company. This marked the first time Morris has acted in a substantial role in a project which he has not developed himself and is more mainstream than his earlier work. Morris's character appeared to leave the series during episode two of the second series. His character made a brief return in the first episode of the third series.
In November 2007, Morris wrote an article for The Observer
in response to Ronan Bennett
's article published six days earlier in The Guardian
. Bennett's article, "Shame on us'", accused the novelist Martin Amis
of racism
. Morris's response, "The absurd world of Martin Amis", was also highly critical of Amis; although he didn't accede to Bennett's accusation of racism, Morris likened Amis to the Muslim cleric Abu Hamza
(who was jailed for inciting racial hatred
in 2006), suggesting that both men employ "mock erudition, vitriol and decontextualised quotes from the Qu'ran" to incite hatred.
Morris served as script editor for the 2009 series Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle
, working with former colleagues Stewart Lee
, the actor Kevin Eldon and Armando Iannucci
.
Morris completed his debut feature film Four Lions
in late 2009, a satire based on a group of Islamist terrorists in Sheffield.
It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival
in January 2010 and was short-listed for the festival's World Cinema Narrative prize. The film (working title Boilerhouse) was picked up by Film Four. Morris told The Sunday Times
that the film, will seek to do for Islamic terrorism what Dad's Army
, the classic BBC comedy, did for the Nazis by showing them as "scary but also ridiculous".
's 1993 single "You're in a Bad Way
" (the sketch 'Spongbake' appears at the end of the 4th track on the CD single).
In 2000, he collaborated by mail with Amon Tobin
to create the track "Bad Sex", which was released as a B-side on the Tobin single "Slowly".
British band Stereolab
's song "Nothing to Do with Me" from their 2001 album Sound-Dust
featured various lines from Chris Morris sketches as lyrics. He has also been sampled by The Orb.
as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2005, Channel 4
aired a show called The Comedian's Comedian in which foremost writers and performers of comedy ranked their 50 favourite acts. Morris was at number eleven. Morris won the BAFTA for outstanding debut with his film Four Lions. Adeel Akhtar and Nigel Lindsay collected the award in his absence. Lindsay stated that Morris had sent him a text
before they collected the award reading, 'Dowsed in petrol, Zippo
at the ready'.
, with literary agent Jo Unwin, and has two sons, both of whom were born in Lambeth
, London: Charles Peter (born 1996) and Frederick Rudolf (born 1999). He has given very few interviews and little is known about Morris's personal life.
Morris can be heard as himself in a podcast for CERN
.
His brothers are National Theatre
associate director Tom Morris and television director Ben Morris.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and actor. A former radio DJ, he is best known for anchoring the spoof news and current affairs television programmes The Day Today
The Day Today
The Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs programmes, broadcast in 1994, and created by the comedians Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992...
and Brass Eye
Brass Eye
Brass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A series of six aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001....
, as well as his frequent engagement with controversial subject matter.
In 2010 Morris directed his first feature-length film Four Lions
Four Lions
Four Lions is a 2010 British satirical comedy film. It is the debut feature from director Chris Morris, written by Morris, Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong. The film is a jihad satire following a group of homegrown Islamist terrorist jihadis from Sheffield, England.-Plot:A group of young Muslim men...
about a group of inept British terrorists. Reception of the film was largely positive and received a respectable box office. Outside his central work, Morris tends to stay out of the public eye and has become one of the more enigmatic figures in British comedy.
Early life
Morris grew up in CambridgeshireCambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
. He was educated at Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...
, a Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
boarding school in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, and studied zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
at the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
. He is the brother of theatre director and producer Tom Morris
Tom Morris (director)
Tom Morris is a British theatre director, writer and producer. He was the Associate Director at the National Theatre in London, before taking over as Artistic Director of the Bristol Old Vic theatre in 2009.-Early life:...
.
Radio career
On graduating, Morris took up a traineeship with BBC Radio CambridgeshireBBC Radio Cambridgeshire
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Cambridgeshire. It originally broadcast from studios on Hills Road close to the train station in Cambridge - which have now moved to a new multi-million pound centre at the Cambridge Business Park on Cowley Road - ...
, where he took advantage of access to editing and recording equipment to create elaborate spoofs
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
and parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
. He also spent time in early 1987 hosting a 2–4pm afternoon show and finally ended up presenting Saturday morning show I.T.. In July 1987, he moved on to BBC Radio Bristol
BBC Radio Bristol
BBC Radio Bristol is the BBC Local Radio service for the English city of Bristol and the surrounding former Avon area. Launched in September 1970, it broadcasts from Broadcasting House in Bristol on FM frequencies 94.9 MHz , 104.6 MHz , 103.6 MHz , on AM 1548 kHz and on DAB.The...
to present his own show "No Known Cure", and later joined, from its launch, Greater London Radio
BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Channel 0152 and also online...
(GLR).
Until 1990, he was presenting Friday night and Saturday morning shows on Radio Bristol and a Sunday morning show on GLR.
In 1991, Morris reduced his work as a mainstream disc jockey and devoted himself to comedy with his new radio project On the Hour
On the Hour
On the Hour was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992.Written by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring and David Quantick, it starred Morris as the overzealous and...
. Working with Armando Iannucci
Armando Iannucci
Armando Giovanni Iannucci is a Scottish comedian, satirist, writer, director, performer and radio producer. Born in Glasgow, he studied at Oxford University and left graduate work on a PhD about John Milton to pursue a career in comedy....
, Patrick Marber
Patrick Marber
Patrick Albert Crispin Marber is an English comedian, playwright, director, puppeteer, actor and screenwriter.-Early life and education:...
, Richard Herring
Richard Herring
Richard Keith Herring is a British comedian and writer, whose early work includes his involvement in the double-act, Lee and Herring...
, Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera...
, Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Stephen 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...
and others, he created the spoof news show on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
. In 1994, Morris began a weekly evening show, the Chris Morris Music Show, on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
alongside Peter Baynham
Peter Baynham
Peter Baynham is a screenwriter and a British comedian, writer, and performer. He often collaborates with Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris and has worked with Stewart Lee and Richard Herring. He is first heard on Morris' early radio DJ slots, often going out to places...
and 'man with a mobile phone' Paul Garner
Paul Garner (comedian)
Paul Garner is a is an English comedian, writer, producer and director.- Radio :Paul started out in radio working with Jo Bunting and Chris Morris at BBC Radio Cambridgeshire....
. In the shows, Morris perfected the spoof interview style that would become a central component of his Brass Eye
Brass Eye
Brass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A series of six aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001....
programme. The show's pranks left BBC bosses nonplussed, and a profanity-laden mid-afternoon show on Boxing Day was his last.
In the same year, Morris teamed up with Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
, as Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling
Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling
Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling was a fictional character played by British comedian Peter Cook throughout his career. Streeb-Greebling was a stereotype of the upper class English duffer. He was usually presented in the form of interviews with various comedians acting as the interviewer...
, in a series of improvised conversations for BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
, entitled Why Bother?
Why Bother?
Why Bother? was a Talkback production for BBC Radio 3, consisting of five 10-minute long radio interviews between Chris Morris and Peter Cook's character Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling, recorded in late 1993 and originally broadcast from 10 January – 14 January 1994...
. Morris followed this with Blue Jam
Blue Jam
Blue Jam was an ambient radio comedy programme created and directed by Chris Morris. It aired on BBC Radio 1 in the early hours of the morning from 1997 to 1999....
, a late-night ambient music
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
and sketch show on Radio 1, which was later reworked for television as Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's Jam
Jam (TV series)
Jam was a postmodern British dark comedy series created, written and directed by Chris Morris, and broadcast on Channel 4 during March and April 2000...
.
Move into television and film
In 1994, a BBC 2BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
television series based on On the Hour was broadcast under the name The Day Today
The Day Today
The Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs programmes, broadcast in 1994, and created by the comedians Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992...
. The Day Today made a star of Morris, and helped to launch the careers of Patrick Marber
Patrick Marber
Patrick Albert Crispin Marber is an English comedian, playwright, director, puppeteer, actor and screenwriter.-Early life and education:...
and Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Stephen 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...
.
The black humour
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
which had featured in On the Hour and The Day Today became more prominent in Brass Eye
Brass Eye
Brass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A series of six aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001....
, another spoof current affairs television documentary, shown on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
. Brass Eye became known for tricking celebrities and politicians into throwing support behind public awareness campaigns for made-up issues that were often absurd or surreal (such as a drug called cake and an elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
with its trunk stuck up its anus
Anus
The anus is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, unwanted semi-solid matter produced during digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, may be one or more of: matter which the animal cannot digest,...
). In 2001, a reprise of Brass Eye on the moral panic
Moral panic
A moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. According to Stanley Cohen, author of Folk Devils and Moral Panics and credited creator of the term, a moral panic occurs when "[a] condition, episode, person or group of...
that surrounds paedophilia
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
led to a record-breaking number of complaints – it still remains the third highest on UK television after Celebrity Big Brother 2007
Celebrity Big Brother 2007 (UK)
Celebrity Big Brother 2007 was the highly controversial fifth series of the United Kingdom reality television series Celebrity Big Brother, a spin-off of Big Brother. The series was broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK , and involved a number of celebrities referred to as 'housemates', who live in the...
and Jerry Springer: The Opera
Jerry Springer: The Opera
Jerry Springer: The Opera is a British musical written by Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee, based on the television show The Jerry Springer Show. The musical is notable for its profanity, its irreverent treatment of Judeo-Christian themes, and surreal images such as a troupe of tap-dancing Ku Klux...
– as well as heated discussion in the press. Many complainants, some of whom later admitted to not having seen the programme (notably Beverley Hughes
Beverley Hughes
Beverley June Hughes, Baroness Hughes of Stretford is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Stretford and Urmston from 1997 to 2010. In 2004, she was appointed to the Privy Council...
, a government minister), felt the satire was directed at the victims of paedophilia, which Morris denies. Channel 4 defended the show, insisting the target was the media and its hysterical treatment of paedophilia, and not victims of crime.
Morris also wrote and directed Jam
Jam (TV series)
Jam was a postmodern British dark comedy series created, written and directed by Chris Morris, and broadcast on Channel 4 during March and April 2000...
, a television reworking of his radio show Blue Jam
Blue Jam
Blue Jam was an ambient radio comedy programme created and directed by Chris Morris. It aired on BBC Radio 1 in the early hours of the morning from 1997 to 1999....
. Darker and more unsettling than his previous work, the show explored such taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
s as infant mortality, incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, anal sex
Anal sex
Anal sex is the sex act in which the penis is inserted into the anus of a sexual partner. The term can also include other sexual acts involving the anus, including pegging, anilingus , fingering, and object insertion.Common misconception describes anal sex as practiced almost exclusively by gay men...
, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
and sadomasochism through a series of unsettling, dreamlike sketches with a soundtrack of ambient music. This was followed by a 'remix' version, Jaaaaam.
In 2002, Morris ventured into film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, directing the short My Wrongs #8245–8249 & 117, adapted from a Blue Jam monologue about a man led astray by a sinister talking dog. It was the first film project of Warp Films
Warp Films
Warp is one of the foremost and most respected creative independent companies, now composed of Warp Records, Warp Films and Warp Music Videos & Commercials. It is based in London, England and Sheffield, with a further office now in Melbourne, Australia...
, a branch of Warp Records
Warp Records
Warp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent British record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists in electronic music....
. In 2002 this won the BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
for best short film. In 2005 Morris worked on a sitcom entitled Nathan Barley
Nathan Barley
Nathan Barley is a Channel 4 sitcom written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, starring Nicholas Burns, Julian Barratt and Claire Keelan. The series of six weekly episodes began broadcasting on 11 February 2005 on Channel 4...
, based on the character created by Charlie Brooker
Charlie Brooker
Charlton "Charlie" Brooker is a British journalist, comic writer and broadcaster. His style of humour is savage and profane, with surreal elements and a consistent satirical pessimism...
for his website TVGoHome
TVGoHome
TVGoHome was a website which parodied the television listings style of the British magazine Radio Times. It was produced fortnightly from 1999 to 2001, and sporadically until 2003, by Charlie Brooker. The site now exists only in archive form...
. Co-written by Brooker and Morris, the series was broadcast on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in early 2005.
Recent work
Morris was a cast member in The IT CrowdThe IT Crowd
The IT Crowd is a British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson and Matt Berry...
, a Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
focusing on the information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
department of the fictional company Reynholm Industries. The series is written and directed by Graham Linehan
Graham Linehan
Graham Linehan is an Irish television writer, actor, comedian and director who, often in partnership with Arthur Mathews, has written or co-written a number of popular television comedies...
(writer of Father Ted
Father Ted
Father Ted is a comedy series set in Ireland that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May...
and Black Books
Black Books
Black Books is a British sitcom television series created by Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan and produced by Nira Park, first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2000 to 2004...
, with whom Morris collaborated on The Day Today, Brass Eye and Jam) and produced by Ash Atalla
Ash Atalla
Ash Atalla is an Egyptian-born television producer responsible for producing several British TV series such as The IT Crowd , The Office and Man Stroke Woman. He has also made cameo appearances in productions such as Ricky Gervais' Politics...
(The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
). Morris played Denholm Reynholm, the eccentric managing director of the company. This marked the first time Morris has acted in a substantial role in a project which he has not developed himself and is more mainstream than his earlier work. Morris's character appeared to leave the series during episode two of the second series. His character made a brief return in the first episode of the third series.
In November 2007, Morris wrote an article for The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
in response to Ronan Bennett
Ronan Bennett
Ronan Bennett is a Northern Irish novelist and screenwriter. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family headed by William H. and Geraldine Bennett at 420 Merville Garden Village in the Whitehouse area of Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. Since its development in the late-1940s, Merville has...
's article published six days earlier in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
. Bennett's article, "Shame on us'", accused the novelist Martin Amis
Martin Amis
Martin Louis Amis is a British novelist, the author of many novels including Money and London Fields . He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, but will step down at the end of the 2010/11 academic year...
of racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
. Morris's response, "The absurd world of Martin Amis", was also highly critical of Amis; although he didn't accede to Bennett's accusation of racism, Morris likened Amis to the Muslim cleric Abu Hamza
Abu Hamza al-Masri
Abu Hamza al-Masri is an Egyptian Sunni activist known for his preaching of a violent and politicised interpretation of Islam, also known as militant Islamism or jihadism...
(who was jailed for inciting racial hatred
Inciting racial hatred
Incitement to racial or ethnic hatred is a crime under the laws of a number of countries.-United Kingdom:Under the Law of the United Kingdom, "incitement to racial hatred" was established as an offence by the provisions of §§ 17-29 of the Public Order Act 1986. It was first established as a...
in 2006), suggesting that both men employ "mock erudition, vitriol and decontextualised quotes from the Qu'ran" to incite hatred.
Morris served as script editor for the 2009 series Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle
Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle
Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle is a comedy series created by Stewart Lee.The BBC Two series debuted on 16 March 2009, and featured stand-up routines and sketches performed by Simon Munnery, Kevin Eldon and Paul Putner amongst others. Peter Serafinowicz recorded voice-over parts. The series is...
, working with former colleagues Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera...
, the actor Kevin Eldon and Armando Iannucci
Armando Iannucci
Armando Giovanni Iannucci is a Scottish comedian, satirist, writer, director, performer and radio producer. Born in Glasgow, he studied at Oxford University and left graduate work on a PhD about John Milton to pursue a career in comedy....
.
Morris completed his debut feature film Four Lions
Four Lions
Four Lions is a 2010 British satirical comedy film. It is the debut feature from director Chris Morris, written by Morris, Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong. The film is a jihad satire following a group of homegrown Islamist terrorist jihadis from Sheffield, England.-Plot:A group of young Muslim men...
in late 2009, a satire based on a group of Islamist terrorists in Sheffield.
It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
in January 2010 and was short-listed for the festival's World Cinema Narrative prize. The film (working title Boilerhouse) was picked up by Film Four. Morris told The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
that the film, will seek to do for Islamic terrorism what Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
, the classic BBC comedy, did for the Nazis by showing them as "scary but also ridiculous".
Music
Morris often co-writes and performs incidental music for his television shows, notably with Jam and the 'extended remix' version, Jaaaaam. Morris supplied sketches for British band Saint EtienneSaint Etienne (band)
Saint Etienne are an English Pop group comprising Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. They are named after the French football team AS Saint-Étienne.-History:Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs were childhood friends and former music journalists...
's 1993 single "You're in a Bad Way
You're in a Bad Way
"You're in a Bad Way" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne. It appears on their 1992 album So Tough and was released as a single in 1993.The song is a deliberately old-fashioned throwback to 1960s pop music...
" (the sketch 'Spongbake' appears at the end of the 4th track on the CD single).
In 2000, he collaborated by mail with Amon Tobin
Amon Tobin
Amon Adonai Santos de Araújo Tobin , known as Amon Tobin, is a Brazilian musician, composer and producer of electronic music. He is described as a virtuoso sound designer and is considered to be one of the most influential electronic music artists in the world...
to create the track "Bad Sex", which was released as a B-side on the Tobin single "Slowly".
British band Stereolab
Stereolab
Stereolab are an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes...
's song "Nothing to Do with Me" from their 2001 album Sound-Dust
Sound-Dust
Sound-Dust is an album by the band Stereolab, released in late 2001. It was recorded with producer Jim O'Rourke and John McEntire.'Nothing To Do With Me' features lyrics derived from sketches by English satirist Chris Morris....
featured various lines from Chris Morris sketches as lyrics. He has also been sampled by The Orb.
Recognition
In 2003, Morris was listed in The ObserverThe Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2005, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
aired a show called The Comedian's Comedian in which foremost writers and performers of comedy ranked their 50 favourite acts. Morris was at number eleven. Morris won the BAFTA for outstanding debut with his film Four Lions. Adeel Akhtar and Nigel Lindsay collected the award in his absence. Lindsay stated that Morris had sent him a text
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
before they collected the award reading, 'Dowsed in petrol, Zippo
Zippo
A Zippo lighter is a refillable, metal lighter manufactured by Zippo Manufacturing Company of Bradford, Pennsylvania, U.S. Thousands of different styles and designs have been made in the seven decades since their introduction including military ones for specific regiments.-Establishment:George G...
at the ready'.
Personal life
Morris lives in BrixtonBrixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
, with literary agent Jo Unwin, and has two sons, both of whom were born in Lambeth
London Borough of Lambeth
The London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in south London, England and forms part of Inner London. The local authority is Lambeth London Borough Council.-Origins:...
, London: Charles Peter (born 1996) and Frederick Rudolf (born 1999). He has given very few interviews and little is known about Morris's personal life.
Morris can be heard as himself in a podcast for CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
.
His brothers are National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
associate director Tom Morris and television director Ben Morris.
Works
- Various works at BBC Radio CambridgeshireBBC Radio CambridgeshireBBC Radio Cambridgeshire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Cambridgeshire. It originally broadcast from studios on Hills Road close to the train station in Cambridge - which have now moved to a new multi-million pound centre at the Cambridge Business Park on Cowley Road - ...
(1986–1987) (presenter)
- No Known Cure (July 1987 – March 1990, BBC Radio BristolBBC Radio BristolBBC Radio Bristol is the BBC Local Radio service for the English city of Bristol and the surrounding former Avon area. Launched in September 1970, it broadcasts from Broadcasting House in Bristol on FM frequencies 94.9 MHz , 104.6 MHz , 103.6 MHz , on AM 1548 kHz and on DAB.The...
) (presenter) - Chris Morris (1988–1993, BBC GLRBBC London 94.9BBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Channel 0152 and also online...
) (presenter) - Loose EndsLoose Ends (radio)Loose Ends is a British radio programme originally broadcast on Saturday mornings, and then transmitted early Saturday evenings from 1998 by BBC Radio 4. It was hosted by Ned Sherrin until he became ill in late 2006 with a reported throat infection, and later throat cancer...
(1989, BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
) - Up Yer News (1990, BSBBritish Sky BroadcastingBritish Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
) - The Chris Morris Christmas Show (25 December 1990, BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
) - On The HourOn the HourOn the Hour was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992.Written by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring and David Quantick, it starred Morris as the overzealous and...
(1991–1992, BBC Radio 4) (co-writer, performer) - It's Only TV (September 1992, LWT) (unbroadcast pilotTelevision pilotA "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
) - Why Bother?Why Bother?Why Bother? was a Talkback production for BBC Radio 3, consisting of five 10-minute long radio interviews between Chris Morris and Peter Cook's character Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling, recorded in late 1993 and originally broadcast from 10 January – 14 January 1994...
(1994, BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
) (performer, editor) - The Day TodayThe Day TodayThe Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs programmes, broadcast in 1994, and created by the comedians Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992...
(1994, BBC 2BBC TwoBBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
) (co-writer, performer) - The Chris Morris Music Show (1994, BBC Radio 1) (presenter)
- Brass EyeBrass EyeBrass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A series of six aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001....
(1997, Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
) (writer, performer) - I'm Alan PartridgeI'm Alan PartridgeI'm Alan Partridge is a BBC situation comedy starring Steve Coogan, of which two series of six episodes each were produced — the first in 1997 and the second in 2002...
(1997, BBC 2) (performer, 1 episode) - Blue JamBlue JamBlue Jam was an ambient radio comedy programme created and directed by Chris Morris. It aired on BBC Radio 1 in the early hours of the morning from 1997 to 1999....
(1997–1999, BBC Radio 1) (writer, director, performer, editor) - Big TrainBig TrainBig Train is a surreal British television comedy sketch show created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, writers of the successful sitcom Father Ted...
(1999, BBC 2) various sketches. (additional director, voice actor (1 sketch)) - Second Class Male/Time To GoSecond Class Male/Time To Go"Second Class Male" and "Time To Go" were a series of 12 spoof newspaper columns written by Chris Morris and Robert Katz under the pseudonym Richard Geefe in The Observer in 1999....
(1999, newspaper column for The ObserverThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
) - JamJam (TV series)Jam was a postmodern British dark comedy series created, written and directed by Chris Morris, and broadcast on Channel 4 during March and April 2000...
/JaaaaamJam (TV series)Jam was a postmodern British dark comedy series created, written and directed by Chris Morris, and broadcast on Channel 4 during March and April 2000...
(2000, Channel 4) (main writer, director, performer) - Brass Eye Special (2001, Channel 4) (writer, performer)
- The Smokehammer (2002, website)
- Absolute Atrocity Special (2002, newspaper pullout for The ObserverThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
) - BushwhackedBushwhacked MP3The "Bushwhacked" MP3 files are satirical speeches created from parts of United States president George W. Bush's orations. The recordings were created by UK comedian Chris Morris, who has used similar techniques in the past, most notably in his edited version of the eulogy at the funeral of Diana,...
(2002) - My Wrongs #8245–8249 & 117 (2002, short film) (writer, director, voice of Rothko)
- Nathan BarleyNathan BarleyNathan Barley is a Channel 4 sitcom written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, starring Nicholas Burns, Julian Barratt and Claire Keelan. The series of six weekly episodes began broadcasting on 11 February 2005 on Channel 4...
(2005, Channel 4) (writer, director) - The IT CrowdThe IT CrowdThe IT Crowd is a British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson and Matt Berry...
(2006–2008, Channel 4) (performer) - Stewart Lee's Comedy VehicleStewart Lee's Comedy VehicleStewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle is a comedy series created by Stewart Lee.The BBC Two series debuted on 16 March 2009, and featured stand-up routines and sketches performed by Simon Munnery, Kevin Eldon and Paul Putner amongst others. Peter Serafinowicz recorded voice-over parts. The series is...
(2009-, BBC 2) (script editor) - Four LionsFour LionsFour Lions is a 2010 British satirical comedy film. It is the debut feature from director Chris Morris, written by Morris, Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong. The film is a jihad satire following a group of homegrown Islamist terrorist jihadis from Sheffield, England.-Plot:A group of young Muslim men...
(2009, film) (writer, director) - VeepVeepVeep can refer to:*The village of St Veep in Cornwall.*Saint Veep, after whom the village is named.* A colloquialism for vice president.*Veep, a forthcoming TV pilot for HBO set in the office of the U.S. Vice President....
(2012, Television Series) (Director)
External links
- The Smokehammer, a site by Chris Morris
- Chris Morris: Brass Neck BBC Profile of Morris
- Podcast interview with Chris Morris about Four Lions (daily.greencine.com)
- Eye For Film: Chris Morris Q&A at Sundance premiere of Four Lions
- Independent review of "Disgusting Bliss: the Brass Eye of Chris Morris" by Lucian Randall
- Metro review of "Disgusting Bliss"
- New Statesman review of "Disgusting Bliss"
- Telegraph review of "Disgusting Bliss"