Julian Barratt

Julian Barratt Pettifer (born 4 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor, musician, and record producer. As a comedian and comic actor, he is known for his use of surreal humour and black comedy. During the 2000s he was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside comedy partner Noel Fielding.

Julian Barratt
Barratt in February 2006
Born
Julian Barratt Pettifer

(1968-05-04) 4 May 1968
Leeds, England
OccupationComedian, actor, musician, record producer
Years active1995–present
Partner(s)Julia Davis
Children2

Born in Leeds, Barratt was educated at the University of Reading. With Fielding, he established the Mighty Boosh. Together, they produced a 2001 radio series, The Boosh, for BBC Radio London. This was followed by a television series, The Mighty Boosh, comprising three series for BBC 3 from 2004 to 2007. The show generated a cult fan following and won a variety of awards.

Alongside Fielding, he has starred in Unnatural Acts, Nathan Barley and Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. Barrett also co-wrote and starred in the 2017 film Mindhorn. He starred in the Channel 4 black comedy-drama sitcom Flowers.

Early life

Barratt was born Julian Barratt Pettifer on 4 May 1968 in Leeds.[1] He attended the University of Reading.[2] Barratt adopted his middle name as his surname to distinguish himself from reporter Julian Pettifer.[3]

Career

The Mighty Boosh
Main article: The Mighty Boosh

Barratt stars as the character Howard Moon opposite Noel Fielding's Vince Noir in the comedy series The Mighty Boosh. Howard labels himself a "jazz maverick" and claims to be a multitalented intellectual, calling himself a "man of action", but he is actually unsuccessful in his literary and romantic ventures. He is unpopular with many of the characters, including Mrs. Gideon (who always forgets his name), Bob Fossil (who often uses Howard as a puppet for his bizarre schemes), and Bollo (who often says his name wrongly or ignores him completely). Barratt composes all of the music for the series, which includes a variety of genres such as rap, heavy metal, and psychedelic rock.

Other

Barratt has had parts in other dramas, often alongside his Mighty Boosh partner Noel Fielding. He starred as Dan Ashcroft, a frustrated magazine writer, in the Channel 4 media satire Nathan Barley, and appeared in the surrealistic black comedy series Asylum alongside Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson (who wrote and starred in Spaced). The character of Brian Topp in Spaced was written for Barratt, but eventually went to Mark Heap. Barratt played Jackson, a musician, in How Not to Live Your Life. He starred in the "Freelance Scientist" commercial for Metz alcopop.[4] He appeared as The Padre in the spoof horror series Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. He also starred in (and was a writer for) the 1998 sketch show Unnatural Acts, alongside Fielding. Before this, Barratt was one half of an experimental comedy duo called "The Pod" with friend Tim Hope, in which they billed themselves as a "Cyberdance Collective".[5] During this time he also appeared in the 2001 film Lucky Break.

Barratt made his directing début for Warp Films with theatre director Dan Jemmett. Curtains is set in a Norfolk seaside town. It is a dark comedy about a Punch and Judy man. In 2012, Barratt directed his first music video, for the song "All of Me" by Tanlines.[6] He can be heard as the voiceover on many adverts, such as More Th>n Car, House and Pet insurance, and the Directgov advert. He appeared in the music video for Mint Royale's "Blue Song", alongside Noel Fielding, Nick Frost, and Michael Smiley. In 2010, Barratt took part in Sky Comedy's Little Crackers. He wrote and directed a 15-minute film based on his teen band, Satan's Hoof. On 12 March 2011, he made a brief appearance as Heathcliff in Noel Fielding's "Wuthering Heights" dance on the Let's Dance for Comic Relief finale. He also narrated the 2011 documentary Seven Dwarves.

In 2012, Barratt appeared in the miniseries Treasure Island on Sky1, as well as narrating the BBC Two documentary The Tube. He also had a part as an art teacher in the BBC drama White Heat. In 2013, he appeared in the fifth series of Being Human, playing a werewolf named Larry Chrysler. He also narrated the BBC Two documentaries The Route Masters: Running London's Roads and The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway. In April 2014, he collaborated with Julia Davis and Joe Frank on Frank's radio show "Isolation," which was broadcast as part of KCRW's UnFictional series.

In April 2016, he starred as Maurice Flowers, a children's author battling depression, in the Channel 4 series, "Flowers", a 6 part dark comedy mini series which follows the eccentric and dysfunctional members of the Flowers family.[7] He reprised the role for the second series in 2018.

He plays the title character in the film Mindhorn, which he co-wrote with Simon Farnaby. It was released through Netflix on 12 May 2017.

Stage

From 3 June to 9 July 2011, Barratt played the Mayor in a production of Nikolai Gogol's classic comedy The Government Inspector at the Young Vic Theatre. In October 2012, he returned to the stage in Lucy Kirkwood's play NSFW at the Royal Court.[8]

Music

Barratt is an accomplished musician, and played guitar for Little Chief during their European tour.[9] He took an interest in jazz fusion at a young age, and by 17 was attempting to launch a career as a professional jazz guitarist. He was in a band called Groove Solution in the early 1990s with Dave Westlake,[9] and has also played bass with Chris Corner in IAMX.[10]

Personal life

Barratt is in a relationship with comedian Julia Davis. Their twin sons, Arthur and Walter, were born on 25 June 2007.[11] In 2010, they performed together in a production of Chekhov's The Bear for Sky Arts 2. Barratt is known to be shy, quiet, and self-deprecating.[12] Unlike his comedy partner Noel Fielding, he prefers not to appear on comedy quiz shows or make similar public appearances, stating that he would rather "stay at home with a good book".[13]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Sweet Stitch
2001 Lucky Break Paul Dean
2002 Surrealisimo: The Trial of Salvador Dalí Rosey
2003 How to Tell when a Relationship is Over Him
2003 The Reckoning Gravedigger
2003 The Principles of Lust Phillip
2008 Curtains Short film; Writer, director
2009 Bunny and the Bull Atilla
2013 The Harry Hill Movie Conch
2013 A Field in England Commander Trower
2014 ABCs of Death 2 Peter Toland Segment "B is for Badger"; also writer, director
2015 Aaaaaaaah! Jupiter
2017 Mindhorn Richard Thorncroft / Mindhorn also co-writer
2018 In Fabric Stash
TBA Louis Wain Post-production

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1996 Asylum Victor / Julian 6 episodes; also writer
1998 Unnatural Acts Various 6 episodes; also writer and composer
2004 Garth Marenghi's Darkplace The Padre 3 episodes
2004 AD/BC: A Rock Opera Tony Iscariot Television special
2004–2007 The Mighty Boosh Howard Moon / Various 20 episodes; also co-creator, composer and writer
2005 Nathan Barley Dan Ashcroft 6 episodes
2009 How Not to Live Your Life Jackson Episode "Don the Singer"
2010 Little Crackers Himself Episode: "Satan's Hoof"; also writer, director
2010 Comedy Shorts Smirnoff Episode: "The Bear"
2012 White Heat Derek Bowden 2 episodes
2012 Treasure Island Thomas Redruth Miniseries
2012 Being Human Larry Chrysler Episode: "Pie and Prejudice"
2013 NTSF:SD:SUV:: Lockheed Episode: "U-KO'ed"
2015 Prison Night Narrator
2016–2018 Flowers Maurice 12 episodes
2018 Sally4Ever Nigel 7 episodes
2019 Killing Eve Julian Episode: "Nice and Neat"
2019 Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart Rufus (voice) Episode: "Outfoxed"
2019 Moominvalley Mr. Brisk (voice) Episode: "Moomin's Winter Follies"
2020–present Truth Seekers Dr. Peter Toynbee TV series, 5 episodes

Stage
Year Title Role Notes
1998 The Mighty Boosh Howard Moon / Various Edinburgh Fringe Festival
1999 Arctic Boosh Howard Moon / Various Edinburgh Fringe Festival

and Melbourne International Comedy Festival

2000 Autoboosh Howard Moon / Various Edinburgh Fringe Festival

and Melbourne International Comedy Festival

2006 The Mighty Boosh Howard Moon / Various Tour; 55 shows
2008-2009 The Mighty Boosh Live: Future Sailors Tour Howard Moon / Various Tour; 91 shows
2011 The Government Inspector The Mayor Young Vic Theatre
2012 NSFW Aidan Royal Court

Awards

References
  1. "Julian Barratt". static.guim.co.uk.com. EggMonday, Inc. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  2. "Julian Barratt". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  3. "Julian Barratt". TV.com. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  4. York, Peter (5 September 1999). "PETER YORK ON ADS: No 289: METZ". The Independent. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  5. "Surreal? I should lobster". 21 August 1998. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  6. tanlinestheband (21 March 2012). "Tanlines - All Of Me" – via YouTube.
  7. Arnold, Ben (25 April 2016). "Flowers: Olivia Colman and Julian Barratt come together to fall apart". the Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  8. Billington, Michael (1 November 2012). "NSFW – review". the Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  9. "Mighty Boosh: Mightier by the minute". The Independent. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  10. Ohanesian, Liz (22 July 2009). "TV's the Mighty Boosh". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  11. Freeman, Hadley (24 April 2016). "Julian Barratt: 'I have trouble keeping a lid on the self-hatred'". the Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  12. "Julian Barratt". BBC. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  13. Rampton, James (12 September 2008). "Mighty Boosh: Mightier by the minute". The Independent. Retrieved 2 March 2020. Unlike Fielding, an enthusiastic guest captain on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Barratt eschews TV panel shows, saying he would he rather stay at home with a good book.

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