Dylan Moran facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dylan Moran
Moran performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala in April 2006
Birth name	Dylan William Moran
Born	3 November 1971 (Age 53) Navan, County Meath, Ireland
Medium	Stand-up film television
Genres	Observational comedy black comedy deadpan satire surreal humour
Spouse	Elaine Moran ​ ​ (m. 1997; div. 2022)​
Children	2

Dylan William Moran (pronounced MOR-ən; born on November 3, 1971) is an Irish comedian, writer, actor, and artist. He is famous for his unique style of comedy, where he observes everyday life. He is also well-known for the comedy TV series Black Books, which he helped write and starred in. You might also recognize him from movies like Shaun of the Dead and Run Fatboy Run, where he worked with Simon Pegg. He also played a main character in the Irish comedy film A Film with Me in It.

Dylan Moran often performs at big comedy events around the world. These include the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival, and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. In 2010, he was ranked as the 14th greatest stand-up comedian by Channel 4.

Early Life and First Steps

Growing Up in Ireland

Dylan William Moran was born in 1971 in Navan, County Meath, Ireland. He went to St Patrick's Classical School. While there, he started trying out stand-up comedy with friends who also became comedians, like Tommy Tiernan. He finished school at age 16. After school, he spent some time writing poetry. He also worked briefly as a florist, but he did not enjoy it.

Discovering Comedy

Moran found his passion for comedy when he was 20 years old. He watched comedians like Ardal O'Hanlon perform at a small comedy club in Dublin called the Comedy Cellar. He started performing there himself in 1992 and was well-received by the audience.

Comedy Career Highlights

Early Awards and Tours

In 1993, Dylan Moran won the "So You Think You're Funny" award at the Edinburgh Festival. Three years later, in 1996, he became one of the youngest people to win the Perrier Comedy Award at the same festival. His first big stand-up tour in the UK was called Gurgling For Money in 1997. He then performed at many other festivals, including the Hay Festival and the Vancouver Comedy Festival. From 1995 to 1997, he also wrote a weekly column for The Irish Times newspaper.

Television and Film Roles

In 1998, Moran got his first major TV role in the BBC 2 sitcom How Do You Want Me?. He also had a small part in the 1999 movie Notting Hill.

His most famous TV show, Black Books, started on Channel 4 in 2000. This sitcom is about a grumpy bookshop owner named Bernard Black. Dylan Moran helped create and write the show, and he played Bernard. The show was very popular and ran for three series, ending in 2004. In the same year, he played a main role as David in the horror comedy film Shaun of the Dead.

Stand-Up Tours and DVDs

Dylan Moran continued to tour with his stand-up shows. His tours Monster I and Monster II in 2004 included performances in New York City and Milan, as well as across Britain and Ireland. A live DVD of the Monster II tour was released that year.

His third major tour, Like, Totally, began in 2005. For this tour, he also showed cartoons that he had drawn himself. A DVD of Like, Totally was released in December 2005.

In 2007, Moran appeared in the comedy film Run Fatboy Run as Gordon, the best friend of the main character played by Simon Pegg. He had previously played an opposing character to Pegg in Shaun of the Dead.

In 2008, Moran performed with Ardal O'Hanlon and Tommy Tiernan in a special event called 'The Three Fellas' in Liverpool. He then started a new UK tour called What It Is, which was later released on DVD. A collection of highlights from his earlier shows, called Dylan Moran: Aim Low, was released in 2010.

His tour Yeah, Yeah started in 2011 and included shows in Scandinavia, the Baltic states, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the UK. In 2012, he performed in Russia, which was believed to be the first time an Irish stand-up comedian performed live there.

In 2014, Moran appeared in the film Calvary. The following year, he took his stand-up show Off the Hook to South Africa for the first time.

His latest stand-up show, Dr Cosmos, toured the UK, Europe, and Australia in 2018 and 2019. The DVD for this show was released in 2021.

In 2019, Moran began working on a new TV series for the BBC called Stuck. This show, which he starred in with Morgana Robinson, featured shorter, fifteen-minute episodes. It aired on BBC Two in 2022.

Moran started touring his most recent stand-up show, We Got This, in November 2021. He toured Ireland and the UK in 2022, and Europe, Australia, and New Zealand in 2023.

Awards and Recognition

Dylan Moran has received several awards for his comedy. At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, he won the 'So You Think You're Funny?' Award in 1993 and the Perrier Award in 1996.

He was also voted the 14th greatest stand-up comedian in a poll by Channel 4. In 2007, a French newspaper, Le Monde, called him "the greatest comedian, living or dead." He has also won two BAFTA TV Awards for Best Situation Comedy for his show Black Books.

Personal Life

Dylan Moran married Elaine in 1997. They lived in Edinburgh and had two children. They divorced in 2022.

Filmography

Film Appearances

Television Roles

Stand-up DVDs

Images for kids

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  Moran performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala in April 2006

See also

In Spanish: Dylan Moran para niños