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Chris Langham is a Actor and Scriptwriter British born on 14 april 1949 at London (United-kingdom)

Chris Langham

Chris Langham
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Birth name Christopher Langham
Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 14 april 1949 (74 years) at London (United-kingdom)
Awards Emmy Award, Writers Guild of America Award

Christopher "Chris" Langham (born 14 April 1949) is an English writer, actor, and comedian. He is known for playing the cabinet minister Hugh Abbot in the BBC Four sitcom The Thick of It, and as presenter Roy Mallard in People Like Us, first on BBC Radio 4 and later on its transfer to television on BBC Two, where Mallard is almost entirely an unseen character. He subsequently created several spoof adverts in the same vein. He also played similar unseen interviewers in an episode of the television series Happy Families and in the film The Big Tease. He is also known for his roles in the TV series Not the Nine O'Clock News, Help, Kiss Me Kate, and as the gatehouse guard in Chelmsford 123. In 2006, he won BAFTA awards for The Thick of It and Help.

On 2 August 2007, Langham was found guilty of 15 charges of downloading and possessing level 5 child pornography and was jailed for ten months, reduced to six on appeal.

Biography

The son of theatre director Michael Langham and actress Helen Burns, Langham read English and Drama at Bristol University before dropping out.


Career
Langham began performing comedy and writing for Spike Milligan.

One of his earliest breaks was as the sole British writer for The Muppet Show. He also appeared as the "special guest star" in the nineteenth episode of the final season, when the scheduled guest, Richard Pryor, was unable to make it to the recording; a script was hastily written in which "Chris the Delivery Boy" stood in for an absent celebrity. He received two awards from the Writers Guild of America for his work on The Muppet Show.

Langham was part of the original cast for the pilot for Not the Nine O'Clock News in 1979, written by Richard Curtis. The show was positioned as a comedy series which was neither Monty Python's Flying Circus nor The Two Ronnies. Even after the original pilot was pulled from the schedules, Langham was retained for the first full series, billed equally with the then-unknown Mel Smith, Pamela Stephenson, and Rowan Atkinson. The first series did not rate as well as hoped, however, and it was felt that Langham was "too independent a spirit." Langham took a part in Monty Python's Life of Brian as a centurion, against the reaction of which Curtis had written a skit of the debate between John Cleese and Malcolm Muggeridge. Langham was upset at the inclusion of the sketch, which gave the team and producer John Lloyd the excuse for his replacement by support player Griff Rhys Jones. Langham did not learn of the switch until the last day of filming when he heard the crew discussing the second series. The show only achieved cult status during its later series and, in subsequent compilation repeats, most of Langham's contributions have been cut, giving the impression that he was never a main cast member.

Langham went on to appear on Smith and Jones' own programme, Alas Smith and Jones, playing an ineffectual panel show host. This character apparently inspired John Morton to create the character of Roy Mallard, who was later to feature in his show People Like Us; Mallard was played both on radio and (offscreen) on television by Langham. Langham also played a fly-on-the-wall documentary interviewer very similar to Roy Mallard in Happy Families in 1985.

Also in 1979, Langham played Arthur Dent in the first professional stage version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, directed by Ken Campbell. He later returned to Hitchhiker's, appearing as Prak in Above The Title Productions' Tertiary Phase radio series in 2004.

Langham narrated the 1984 radio series The History of Rock with Chris Langham, in which Langham gave a comedic and somewhat fictitious account of the history of rock music. On 14 November 1985, Langham appeared as the narrator/reporter in "Roxanne", episode five of the BBC situation comedy Happy Families, written by Ben Elton. In 1992, he appeared in the film Carry On Columbus.

In addition to several one-man shows, Langham counts among his stage credits Les Misérables, in which he played Thénardier in 1996; Crazy for You, for which he received an Olivier nomination; The Way of the World, The Nerd, Blondel and The Pirates of Penzance.

Langham wrote the BBC One sitcom Kiss Me Kate, in which he appeared alongside Caroline Quentin and Amanda Holden. In 2002 he wrote and starred in Bradford in My Dreams, an adaptation of a short story by Lawrence Block for the BBC. On Radio 4 he narrated the series The Rapid Eye Movement, which starred Martin Freeman as Chester Bennington, in whose head the entire series took place. In 2003 he directed the BBC TV comedy series Posh Nosh.

In 2003 and 2005, respectively, he portrayed the authors George Orwell and John Wyndham in the BBC docudrama George Orwell - A Life In Pictures and the BBC Four documentary John Wyndham: the Invisible Man of Science Fiction. He also appeared in the radio magazine satire The Sunday Format.

He starred alongside co-writer Paul Whitehouse in Help on BBC Two in 2005, where he also appeared in the Armando Iannucci comedy The Thick of It in the same year. Langham was named Best Comedy Actor in the 2005 British Comedy Awards and won the 2006 BAFTA Best Comedy Performance award for his role in The Thick Of It. In November 2005 Langham wrote and starred in ITV pilot Seven Second Delay.

He was a frequent guest on The Heaven and Earth Show and part of Bremner, Bird and Fortune writing team. In this series he has occasionally appeared as a civil servant discussing things with Bremner's Tony Blair. On radio, Langham has appeared as a panellist on the Radio 4 show Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive.

Langham starred in a feature-length comedy drama Black Pond, his first screen appearance since his release from prison.


Personal life
Langham's first marriage, to actress/singer Sue Jones-Davies, produced three children, but broke up on his own admission due to his alcoholism. Langham had two children by his second wife, director Christine Cartwright.

Langham sought counselling for alcohol and cocaine addiction, and was still undergoing therapy once a week as of 2006. He used his experiences to co-write the BBC2 series Help, in which he portrayed a psychotherapist, with friend Paul Whitehouse; and played a counsellor in sitcom Kiss Me Kate.

Best films

Life of Brian (1979)
(Actor)

Usually with

Will Sharpe
Will Sharpe
(1 films)
Tom Kingsley
Tom Kingsley
(1 films)
Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
(1 films)
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
(1 films)
Terry Jones
Terry Jones
(1 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Chris Langham (8 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Black Pond
Black Pond (2011)
, 1h23
Directed by Tom Kingsley, Will Sharpe
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy, Comedy-drama
Actors Chris Langham, Simon Amstell, Will Sharpe, Sophia Di Martino
Roles Tom Thompson
Rating58% 2.903822.903822.903822.903822.90382
La famille Thompson est accusée de meurtre lorsqu'un étranger meurt à leur table. Six mois plus tard, un ami de la famille, Tim, rend visite au thérapeute indépendant, le Dr Eric Sacks, et l'histoire se retrouve dans la presse. Les faits sont déformés et les détails filés alors que les Thompsons deviennent connus du public sous le nom de "La famille des tueurs".
My Family and Other Animals, 1h30
Directed by Sheree Folkson
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy
Actors Eugene Simon, Imelda Staunton, Chris Langham, Matthew Goode, Omid Djalili, Russell Tovey
Roles Theodore Stephanides
Rating72% 3.640933.640933.640933.640933.64093
My Family and Other Animals tells the story of the Durrell family, Lawrence Durrell, Leslie Durrell, Margaret Durrell and Gerald Durrell, as well as their mother Louisa Durrell, as they spend five years (1935–1939) on the Greek island of Corfu. The family reside in a series of villas, and spend their time indulging in their varying interests. Gerald develops his passion for wildlife, his mother spends her time cooking and worrying about everyone else; Larry writes and annoys the entire family with high-brow guests and unhelpful suggestions; Leslie develops his passion for ballistics and sailing, whilst Margo sunbathes and enchants the local young men.
The Emperor's New Clothes, 1h47
Directed by Alan Taylor
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romance
Themes Histoire de France, Napoleonic Wars films
Actors Ian Holm, Iben Hjejle, Tim McInnerny, Nigel Terry, Hugh Bonneville, Trevor Cooper
Roles Maurice
Rating68% 3.4461353.4461353.4461353.4461353.446135
In 1821, Napoleon Bonaparte (Holm), after six years in exile on the isle of St. Helena, has a plan to escape. Switching places with lowly French deckhand Eugene Lenormand (Holm again), Napoleon will make his way to Paris, at which time Eugene will announce the switch, allowing Napoleon to reclaim his throne.
The Big Tease, 1h26
Directed by Kevin Allen
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Documentary
Actors Frances Fisher, Craig Ferguson, Mary McCormack, David Rasche, Sara Gilbert, Donal Logue
Roles BBC Interviewer
Rating61% 3.098943.098943.098943.098943.09894
Ferguson plays Crawford Mackenzie, a Scottish hairdresser who, while being filmed as part of a fly-on-the-wall BBC documentary, is invited to the World Hairdresser International Federation annual contest. The documentary team (with Chris Langham playing the interviewer) follows Crawford to L.A., where he discovers that his invitation is to be a member of the audience rather than a competitor. He eventually weasels his way into the contest and produces the greatest creation of his career.
Life of Brian, 1h32
Directed by Terry Jones
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy, Fantasy
Themes Films set in Africa, Films about religion, Films based on the Bible, Portrayals of Jesus in film
Actors Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Chris Langham, Eric Idle, Terry Jones
Roles Alfonso / Giggling Guard
Rating79% 3.9989753.9989753.9989753.9989753.998975
Brian Cohen is born in a stable next door to the one in which Jesus is born, which initially confuses the three wise men who come to praise the future King of the Jews. Brian grows up an idealistic young man who resents the continuing Roman occupation of Judea. While attending Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Brian becomes infatuated with an attractive young rebel, Judith. His desire for her and hatred for the Romans lead him to join the People's Front of Judea, one of many fractious and bickering independence movements, who spend more time fighting each other than the Romans.
The Pink Panther Strikes Again, 1h43
Directed by Blake Edwards
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy, Comedy thriller, Crime
Themes Heist films, Gangster films, Escroquerie
Actors Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Lesley-Anne Down, Burt Kwouk, Leonard Rossiter, Colin Blakely
Roles Police Driver
Rating70% 3.5474353.5474353.5474353.5474353.547435
At a psychiatric hospital, former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) is largely recovered from his obsession to kill the new Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) and is about to be released when Clouseau, arriving to speak on Dreyfus' behalf, drives Dreyfus insane again. Dreyfus promptly escapes from the asylum and once again tries to kill Clouseau by planting a bomb while the Inspector (by periodic arrangement) duels with his manservant Cato (Burt Kwouk). The bomb destroys Clouseau's apartment and injures Cato, but Clouseau himself is unharmed, being lifted from the room by an inflatable disguise. Determining a more elaborate plan is needed, Dreyfus enlists an army of criminals to his cause and kidnaps nuclear physicist Professor Hugo Fassbender (Richard Vernon) and the Professor's daughter Margo (Briony McRoberts), forcing the professor to build a "doomsday weapon" in return for his daughter's freedom.

Scriptwriter

Call from Space
Directed by Richard Fleischer
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Action, Adventure
Themes Time travel films
Actors James Coburn, Billy Campbell, Sherrié Austin, Charlton Heston, Ferdy Mayne, Marjorie Stapp
Rating58% 2.9182652.9182652.9182652.9182652.918265
Call from Space est l'histoire d'une expérimentation scientifique qui tourne mal et envoie une jeune fille dans un voyage dans le temps.