Chris Morris (satirist)

Chris Morris
Morris in July 2010
Born (1962-06-15) 15 June 1962 (age 62)
Colchester, Essex, England
Occupation(s)Comedian, actor, filmmaker
Years active1986–present
SpouseJo Unwin
Children2
RelativesTom Morris (brother)

Christopher J. Morris (born 15 June 1962) is an English comedian, radio presenter, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his deadpan, dark humour, surrealism, and controversial subject matter, he has been praised by the British Film Institute for his "uncompromising, moralistic drive".[1]

In the early 1990s, Morris teamed up with his radio producer Armando Iannucci to create On the Hour, a satire of news programmes. This was expanded into a television spin off, The Day Today, which launched the career of comedian Steve Coogan and has since been hailed as one of the most important satirical shows of the 1990s.[2][3] Morris further developed the satirical news format with Brass Eye, which lampooned celebrities whilst focusing on themes such as crime and drugs. For many, the apotheosis of Morris' career was a Brass Eye special, which dealt with the moral panic surrounding paedophilia. It quickly became one of the most complained-about programmes in British television history, leading the Daily Mail to describe him as "the most loathed man on TV".[4]

Meanwhile, Morris' postmodern sketch comedy and ambient music radio show Blue Jam, which had seen controversy similar to Brass Eye, helped him to gain a cult following. Blue Jam was adapted into the TV series Jam, which some hailed as "the most radical and original television programme broadcast in years",[5] and he went on to win the BAFTA Award for Best Short Film after expanding a Blue Jam sketch into My Wrongs 8245–8249 & 117, which starred Paddy Considine. This was followed by Nathan Barley, a sitcom written in collaboration with a then little-known Charlie Brooker that satirised hipsters, which had low ratings but found success upon its DVD release. Morris followed this by joining the cast of the sitcom The IT Crowd, his first project in which he did not have writing or producing input.

In 2010, Morris directed his first feature-length film, Four Lions, which satirised Islamic terrorism through a group of inept British Muslims. Reception of the film was largely positive, earning Morris his second BAFTA Film Award, this time for Outstanding Debut. Since 2012, he has directed four episodes of Iannucci's political comedy Veep and appeared onscreen in The Double and Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle also serving as script-editor for the latter. His second feature-length film, The Day Shall Come, was released in 2019.

  1. ^ Greaves, Ian. "Morris, Christopher (1963– )". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  2. ^ Elizabeth Day (4 April 2010). "Disgusting Bliss by Lucian Randall | Book review". The Observer. London: Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 October 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  3. ^ Harrison, Phil (17 January 2019). "'You've lost the news!' How The Day Today changed satire forever". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  4. ^ Brooks, Xan (21 February 2003). "Chris Morris: the movie". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 March 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  5. ^ "The distorted world of Chris Morris 'Jam' | The Independent ®". The Independent. 19 April 2000. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2016. in his latest project, Jam, he has created the most radical and original television programme broadcast in years