June 15 - Chris Morris

Happy 58th Birthday, Chris Morris! Born today in 1962 as Christopher J Morris, this English satirist, comedian, voice actor, actor, writer, producer and director is known for his black humour,, surrealism, and controversial subject matters. 

Morris has also been hailed for his "uncompromising, moralistic drive" by the British Film Institute. 

 
In the early 1990s, Morris teamed up with Scottish satirist, writer, director, and radio producer Armando Iannucci (also his radio producer), to create the British radio programme On the Hour, a satire of other news programmes.  

 
This was later expanded into a television spin off. This was the British comedy parody television show The Day Today (1991–1992). 

This launched the career of English actor, voice artist, comedian, screenwriter and producer Steve Coogan. The show has since been hailed as one of the most important satirical shows of the 1990s.  

 
Morris further developed the satirical news format with the British television comedy series Brass Eye (1997–2001), 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. 

The series quickly became one of the most complained about programmes in British television history, leading the British daily middle-market newspaper Daily Mail to describe him as "the most loathed man on TV". 

 
Meanwhile, Morris' British ambient, surreal dark comedy and horror radio programme Blue Jam, which had seen controversy similar to Brass Eye, had helped him to gain a cult following.  

 
Blue Jam was later adapted into the British experimental black comedy sketch television series Jam, which some hailed as "the most radical and original television programme broadcast in years". The series ran for one month in 2000, from March to April. 

 
Three years later, Morris directed his first film. It was an expansion of a Blue Jam sketch. This was the twelve-minute 2002 British comedy fantasy horror short film 'My Wrongs 8245-8249 & 117'. 

The short featured English actor, director, screenwriter, and musician Paddy Considine as Him and Morris as the voice of Rothko. 

 
The following year, Morris went on to win a BAFTA Film Award for Best Short Film. This occurred at the 56th British Academy Film Awards in late February 2003. 

 
This was followed by the British Channel 4 television sitcom Nathan Barley, written in collaboration with English television presenter, author, screenwriter, producer, satirist and social critic Charlton "Charlie" Brocker, who was then little-known.  

 
The series satirised hipsters, which garnered low ratings but found success upon its DVD release. It ran for one month in 2005 from February to March. 

 
Morris followed this by joining the cast of the British sitcom The IT Crowd (2006–2013). This was his first project in which he did not have writing or producing input. 

 
During the time between doing the sitcom, Morris co-wrote and directed his first full-length feature. This was the 2010 British/French satirical drama comedy/drama film 'Four Lions'. The film parodied Islamic terrorism through a group of inept British Pakistanis.

 

The film tells of a group of young Muslim men living in Sheffield who decide to wage jihad. They eventually hatch an inept plan to become suicide bombers.  

 
Omar (Riz Ahmed) and Waj (Kayvan Novak) have a brief, disastrous run at a Pakistan training camp, while Faisal (Adeel Akhtar) works on an unlikely scheme to train crows to carry bombs.  

 
However, their ill-conceived plan culminates at the London Marathon with their bumbling attempts to disrupt the event while dressed in outlandish costumes. 

Morris is the commentator on the end credits, but went uncredited.

 
Reception of 'Four Lions' was largely positive, earning Morris his second BAFTA Film Award. This was for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. The event occurred at the 64th British Academy Film Awards in mid-February 2011.

On the DVD cover, a crow is seen with a bomb strapped to its body. Above the bird, fifteen critics had all stated that the film was "FUNNY".

 
Since 2012, Morris has directed four episodes of Iannucci's American HBO political satire comedy television series Veep (2012–2019). 

Morris has also appeared onscreen in the 2013 British black comedy/drama thriller film 'The Double' and the British comedy series Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle (2009–2016). 

 
Morris has been active from 1986–present. 

 
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