Darren Boyd
Encyclopedia
Darren Boyd is an English
actor well known for his roles in Smack the Pony
, Green Wing
, Whites
and most recently for playing the role of John Cleese
in Holy Flying Circus
. He is a classically trained singer, and played a jazz musician in NBC’s Watching Ellie
. He is 6'4" tall, likes performing his own stunts and exploring the use of physical comedy in his characters.
(1999).
In 2001, Boyd collaborated with Victoria Pile
on new comedy Los Dos Bros
, a quirky, off-beat sitcom exploring physical comedy and the relationship between Boyd and Cavan Clerkin
as the titular (half-)brothers. Boyd was co-creator and co-writer. During this time Boyd was cast in NBC
comedy Watching Ellie
a vehicle for former Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus
, as Ben Radfield. Other cast included Steve Carell
and Peter Stormare
.
Boyd returned to the UK in 2005 and took on notable comedy characters including Dr. Jake Leaf in the second series of Green Wing
(2006) and neighbour Jonathan in Steve Coogan
's Saxondale
.
In 2009, Boyd took a turn towards more serious leading roles with two-part adaptation "May Contain Nuts", based on John O'Farrell
's best-selling novel, "Personal Affairs" for BBC3 and "Royal Wedding" (2010), a 1980s period drama written by BAFTA winner Abi Morgan
, starring Jodie Whittaker
.
Recent roles include the well received chef sitcom Whites
and the television adaptation of Douglas Adams
' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency in October 2010, in which he played Richard Macduff.
In April 2011, Boyd co-starred Olivia Williams
in crime drama Case Sensitive, a two-part drama adaptation of Sophie Hannah
's novel Point of Rescue for ITV. It was reported that Case Sensitive has been recommissioned for an additional two episodes to be filmed by the end of 2011.
The BBC announced in June 2011 that Boyd would play the role of John Cleese
in Holy Flying Circus
, a 90-minute dramatisation of the controversy that arose when Monty Python
's Life of Brian was released in 1979.
Boyd also plays the lead in Sky 1
's half-hour sitcom SPY. He plays Tim, a single father who is accidentally recruited by MI5
.
Memorable cameos include playing an evangelical vicar in Rev.
and cringeworthy ex-athlete Dave Wellbeck in BBC's olympic mocumentary Twenty Twelve.
(2002), Imagine Me & You
(2005), Spoon
(2006), Magicians (2007) and Chris Morris
' Four Lions
(2010).
comedy series ElvenQuest
(as Vidar the Elf Lord) and Safety Catch
.
in 2002.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor well known for his roles in Smack the Pony
Smack the Pony
Smack the Pony is a British sketch comedy show that ran from 1999 until 2003 on Channel 4. Its title was intended to sound like a euphemism for female masturbation; the working title was Spot the Pony. The main performers and writers on the show were Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips...
, Green Wing
Green Wing
Green Wing is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show Smack the Pony, led by Victoria Pile, and stars Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt....
, Whites
Whites (TV series)
Whites is a BBC sitcom, written by Oliver Lansley and Matt King, and starring Alan Davies as the executive chef at a country house hotel. BBC Two gave the go ahead for the show to go into production in August 2009 with the first episode airing in September 2010. Whites aired for six episodes in...
and most recently for playing the role of John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
in Holy Flying Circus
Holy Flying Circus
Holy Flying Circus is a 90-minute BBC television comedy film from 2011, about the 1979 television debate about the film Monty Python's Life of Brian...
. He is a classically trained singer, and played a jazz musician in NBC’s Watching Ellie
Watching Ellie
Watching Ellie is an American sitcom that starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus and was created by her husband, Brad Hall. It aired on NBC from February 2002 to May 2003, though only sixteen episodes were broadcast before it was canceled due to low ratings....
. He is 6'4" tall, likes performing his own stunts and exploring the use of physical comedy in his characters.
Television
Boyd co-starred in the BBC comedy sitcom Kiss Me Kate (1998), which ran for three years and established him as new comedy talent in the UK. This led to starring roles in popular British comedies such as Hippies (1999) and Smack the PonySmack the Pony
Smack the Pony is a British sketch comedy show that ran from 1999 until 2003 on Channel 4. Its title was intended to sound like a euphemism for female masturbation; the working title was Spot the Pony. The main performers and writers on the show were Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips...
(1999).
In 2001, Boyd collaborated with Victoria Pile
Victoria Pile
Victoria Pile, also known as Vicky Pile, is a British comedy writer, director and producer, most noted as the creator of two Channel 4 comedy programmes, the sketch show Smack the Pony and the sitcom Green Wing.- Writer :...
on new comedy Los Dos Bros
Los Dos Bros
Los Dos Bros is a British television comedy about two half-brothers who find themselves in a series of strange situations. They discuss their experiences back to a psychiatrist ....
, a quirky, off-beat sitcom exploring physical comedy and the relationship between Boyd and Cavan Clerkin
Cavan Clerkin
Cavan Clerkin is a television actor and writer. He has appeared mainly in comedy shows such as Pulling, The Inbetweeners, Smack the Pony, The IT Crowd, and Look Around You. He also appeared in the films Gangster No 1, Spivs and Pierepoint...
as the titular (half-)brothers. Boyd was co-creator and co-writer. During this time Boyd was cast in NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
comedy Watching Ellie
Watching Ellie
Watching Ellie is an American sitcom that starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus and was created by her husband, Brad Hall. It aired on NBC from February 2002 to May 2003, though only sixteen episodes were broadcast before it was canceled due to low ratings....
a vehicle for former Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
, as Ben Radfield. Other cast included Steve Carell
Steve Carell
Steven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
and Peter Stormare
Peter Stormare
is a Swedish film, stage, voice and television actor as well as a theatrical director, playwright and musician.- Early life :...
.
Boyd returned to the UK in 2005 and took on notable comedy characters including Dr. Jake Leaf in the second series of Green Wing
Green Wing
Green Wing is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show Smack the Pony, led by Victoria Pile, and stars Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt....
(2006) and neighbour Jonathan in 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...
's Saxondale
Saxondale
Saxondale is a British television situation comedy programme, starring Steve Coogan and co-written by Steve Coogan and Neil Maclennan. The series is directed by Matt Lipsey and produced by Ted Dowd. Coogan and Henry Normal served as executive producers...
.
In 2009, Boyd took a turn towards more serious leading roles with two-part adaptation "May Contain Nuts", based on John O'Farrell
John O'Farrell
John O'Farrell is a British author, broadcaster and comedy scriptwriter.-Early life:O’Farrell grew up in Maidenhead, Berkshire the youngest of three children, attending Courthouse Primary School and then Desborough Comprehensive...
's best-selling novel, "Personal Affairs" for BBC3 and "Royal Wedding" (2010), a 1980s period drama written by BAFTA winner Abi Morgan
Abi Morgan
Abi Morgan is a British playwright and screenwriter known for her works for television, such as Sex Traffic and The Hour, and the film Brick Lane...
, starring Jodie Whittaker
Jodie Whittaker
Jodie Auckland Whittaker is an English actress, perhaps best known for her work in the film Venus . She also starred in the ITV1 series Marchlands playing the young Ruth who had lost her daughter Alice.-Career:...
.
Recent roles include the well received chef sitcom Whites
Whites (TV series)
Whites is a BBC sitcom, written by Oliver Lansley and Matt King, and starring Alan Davies as the executive chef at a country house hotel. BBC Two gave the go ahead for the show to go into production in August 2009 with the first episode airing in September 2010. Whites aired for six episodes in...
and the television adaptation of Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency in October 2010, in which he played Richard Macduff.
In April 2011, Boyd co-starred Olivia Williams
Olivia Williams
Olivia Haigh Williams is an English film, stage and television actress who has appeared in British and American films and television series.-Early life:Williams was born in Camden Town, London, England...
in crime drama Case Sensitive, a two-part drama adaptation of Sophie Hannah
Sophie Hannah
Sophie Hannah is an English-born poet and novelist. From 1997 to 1999 she was Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, Cambridge, and between 1999 and 2001 she was a junior research fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford...
's novel Point of Rescue for ITV. It was reported that Case Sensitive has been recommissioned for an additional two episodes to be filmed by the end of 2011.
The BBC announced in June 2011 that Boyd would play the role of John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
in Holy Flying Circus
Holy Flying Circus
Holy Flying Circus is a 90-minute BBC television comedy film from 2011, about the 1979 television debate about the film Monty Python's Life of Brian...
, a 90-minute dramatisation of the controversy that arose when Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
's Life of Brian was released in 1979.
Boyd also plays the lead in Sky 1
SKY 1
The Box is an entertainment channel in New Zealand available on SKY Network Television.The channel shows are a variety of the most recent shows such as from the United States, for example CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Simpsons, Family Guy, World Wrestling Entertainments hit shows, and...
's half-hour sitcom SPY. He plays Tim, a single father who is accidentally recruited by MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
.
Memorable cameos include playing an evangelical vicar in Rev.
Rev. (TV series)
Rev. is a British television sitcom produced by Big Talk Productions. The show premiered on BBC Two on 28 June 2010. The show's working titles were The City Vicar and Handle With Prayer...
and cringeworthy ex-athlete Dave Wellbeck in BBC's olympic mocumentary Twenty Twelve.
Film
Feature films Boyd has appeared in include High Heels and Low LifesHigh Heels and Low Lifes
High Heels and Low Lifes is a 2001 action comedy-drama film starring Minnie Driver, Mary McCormack, Kevin McNally, Mark Williams, Danny Dyer and Michael Gambon. It was directed by Mel Smith and written by Kim Fuller and Georgia Pritchett...
(2002), Imagine Me & You
Imagine Me & You
Imagine Me & You is a 2005 British-American comedy-romance film written and directed by Ol Parker. It centres on the relationship between Rachel, played by Piper Perabo and Luce, played by Lena Headey, who meet on Rachel's wedding day. The movie takes its title from a line in the song "Happy...
(2005), Spoon
Spoon
A spoon is a utensil consisting of a small shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery , especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for serving. Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients...
(2006), Magicians (2007) and Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Chris Morris may refer to:* Chris Morris , gay rights activist* Chris Morris , American football player for the Detroit Lions...
' 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...
(2010).
Radio
Boyd currently stars in the BBC Radio 4BBC 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...
comedy series ElvenQuest
ElvenQuest
ElvenQuest is a comic fantasy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 by Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto, and starring Stephen Mangan, Alistair McGowan, Darren Boyd, Kevin Eldon, Sophie Winkleman and Dave Lamb. The series takes place in the world of Lower Earth, a parody of Middle-earth from The Lord of the Rings by...
(as Vidar the Elf Lord) and Safety Catch
Safety Catch
Safety Catch is a sitcom on BBC Radio 4 created by Laurence Howarth and written by Howarth and John Finnemore. The series was first broadcast in 2007. It is about Simon McGrath , a man who works in a job that he does not like - the arms trade. The show mocks issues of morality, although Howarth...
.
Awards and Recognition
Los Dos Bros was winner of a Silver Rose for Best Sitcom at the Montreux FestivalMontreux Festival
Montreux Festival is a Blues album by Albert King, Chico Hamilton andLittle Milton, recorded live on July 1, 1973 at the Montreux Jazz Festival.-Track listing:#"In View" – 12:20#"Let Me Down Easy" – 6:35...
in 2002.