Adrian Edmondson

Acting • Born 1957-01-24

Acting2Bradford, Yorkshire, England, UK

Biography

Adrian Edmondson was born in Bradford, Yorkshire. He went to Manchester University to study drama. Whilst he was there he met Rik Mayall, and the pair began performing as 20th Century Coyote. The act continued after university when Adrian & Rik moved to London, and they became two of the leading lights in the new 'alternative comedy' scene, performing at the newly established Comedy Store, and setting up their own club, The Comic Strip, with 'Peter Richardson', Nigel Planer, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, and Alexei Sayle. This spawned two 1980s TV series: The Young Ones (1982), and The Comic Strip Presents... (1982) In the 1990's Ade & Rik continued their partnership with a new series called Bottom (1991), which ran for three seasons and became a major success on the live circuit. It was basically a live sitcom, liberally sprinkled with slapstick humour, and the pair did 5 long tours between 1993 and 2003. Simultaneously, Adrian established himself as an actor, doing two improvised TV films under the Screen One and Screen Two umbrella, with director Les Blair: Screen Two: Honest, Decent and True (1986), and Screen One: News Hounds (1990) (winner of the BAFTA for best single drama). He was a regular in the hospital drama Holby City (1999) from 2005 - 2008. He took the lead in a drama documentary about the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster in the series Surviving Disaster (2006), and appeared as Henry Austen in the TV movie Miss Austen Regrets (2008), the film Blood (2012), and the drama series Prey (2014). But his most notable dramatic role to date is that of Count Rostov in the BBC series War & Peace (2016).

Filmography

178 credits

Guest House Paradiso

Movie • 1999

Eddie Elizabeth Ndingombaba

Mr Jolly Lives Next Door

Movie • 1988

Dreamy Time Escort

Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island

Movie • 1997

Eddie Hitler

Bottom Live 2003: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour

Movie • 2003

Edward Hitler

Bottom Live 2001: An Arse Oddity

Movie • 2001

Eddie

Bottom Mindless Violence

Movie • 2004

Vyvyan / Eddie Catflap / Sir Adrian Dangerous / Dreamy Time Escort / Eddie Hitler / Eddie Ndingombaba (archive footage)

Bottom Live 2: The Big Number 2 Tour

Movie • 1995

Eddie

Miss Austen Regrets

Movie • 2008

Henry Austen

Bottom Live: The Stage Show

Movie • 1993

Eddie

The Dangerous Brothers - Dangervision

Movie • 2008

Sir Adrian Dangerous

The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball

Movie • 1989

Self

The Supergrass

Movie • 1985

Dennis Carter

Dangerous Brothers Present: World of Danger

Movie • 1986

Sir Adrian Dangerous

An Audience With Victoria Wood

Movie • 1988

Self

Blood

Movie • 2012

Tom Tiernan

The Best of French & Saunders

Movie • 2002

Various

The Yob

Movie • 1988

Michael

The Trick

Movie • 2021

Edward Acton

Dead on Time

Movie • 1983

Fool

Les Dogs

Movie • 1990

Best Man

Demonella

Movie • 1993

Sid Vicious

Summer School

Movie • 1983

Peter

Five Go Mad in Dorset

Movie • 1982

Dick

Four Men in a Car

Movie • 1998

Ian

Eddie Monsoon - a Life?

Movie • 1984

Eddie Moonson

War

Movie • 1983

Various Roles

Four Men in a Plane

Movie • 2000

Ian Crisp

The Beat Generation

Movie • 1983

Desmond

Five Go Mad on Mescalin

Movie • 1983

Dick

Dirty Movie

Movie • 1984

Bean

Susie

Movie • 1984

Martin

Gino: Full Story and Pics

Movie • 1984

Gordon/Bill

Slags

Movie • 1984

Ace

Consuela (or, The New Mrs Saunders)

Movie • 1986

John

Private Enterprise

Movie • 1986

Brian

South Atlantic Raiders: Part 1

Movie • 1990

Billy

South Atlantic Raiders: Part 2 Argie Bargie!

Movie • 1990

Billy

Oxford

Movie • 1990

2nd MI5 Man / Fan

Red Nose of Courage

Movie • 1992

John Major/Coco the Clown

Gregory: Diary of a Nutcase

Movie • 1993

Gregory Dawson

Space Virgins from Planet Sex

Movie • 1993

'K' / Air Traffic Controller

Five Go to Rehab

Movie • 2012

Dick

imagine... French & Saunders: Pointed, Bitchy, Bitter

Movie • 2023

Self

The Pope Must Die

Movie • 1991

Father Rookie

News Hounds

Movie • 1990

Phil Burke

The Comic Strip - A Retrospective

Movie • 2005

Self

Just Like That!

Movie • 1989

Self

Honest Decent & True

Movie • 1986

Alun Pickersgill

Eat the Rich

Movie • 1987

Charles

Bottom: Exposed

Movie • 2024

Himself

If It Ain't Stiff: The Stiff Records Story

Movie • 2007

Self (Narrator)

Kevin Turvey: The Man Behind the Green Door

Movie • 1982

Keith Marshall

The Comic Strip

Movie • 1981

Rocky Horror Tribute Show

Movie • 2008

Brad

Rocky Horror Show Live

Movie • 2015

Narrator

The Rizen

Movie • 2017

Interviewer

The Strike

Movie • 1988

Adrian/Slim/Policeman

Interlude In Prague

Movie • 2017

Herr Luptak

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Movie • 2017

Captain Peavey

The Making of 'Guest House Paradiso'

Movie • 1999

Self

RSC Live: Twelfth Night

Movie • 2018

Malvolio

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Treasure of the Peacock's Eye

Movie • 1995

Zyke

More Bad News

Movie • 1988

Vim Fuego

Bad News

Movie • 1983

Vim Fuego/Alan Metcalfe

The Rizen: Possession

Movie • 2019

The Interviewer

GLC: The Carnage Continues

Movie • 1990

Billy/Prince Charles/Giles Cricket Bat Portland

Completely Bad News

Movie • 2019

Vim Fuego

Bottom Fluff

Movie • 1996

Big Bottom Live - The Best of Bottom Live

Movie • 1999

How The Young Ones Changed Comedy

Movie • 2018

The Comic Relief Utterly Utterly Rude Video Live

Movie • 1986

Self

Jack and the Beanstalk: The ITV Pantomime

Movie • 1998

Dame Dolly

King Rocker

Movie • 2020

Self (archive footage)

Blackadder's Most Cunning Moments

Movie • 2008

Baron von Richthoven/Self

Letters Live from the Archive: Union Chapel

Movie • 2021

Self

A Fistful of Travellers' Cheques

Movie • 1984

Billy

The Making of 'The Young Ones'

Movie • 2007

Self (Archived Footage)

Filthy Rich & Catflap

Movie • 1987

Edward Catflap

The Man

Movie • 1999

Ash

Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - 40th Anniversary Celebration

Movie • 2006

Self

Britain Beware!

Movie • 2012

Self (Presenter)

The Best Birthday Ever

Movie • 2022

Granny (voice)

Alien: Earth - On Set Dispatches

Movie • 2025

Self

Holy - Bottom: Christmas Special

Movie • 1992

Edward Elizabeth Hitler

Happy Families

Movie • 1985

Guy Fuddle / Grandpa Harold Fuddle

Codes

Movie

Head of MI6

French and Saunders' Christmas Carol

Movie • 1994

Tim Goodchance

This Morning

TV • 1988

Self

Captain Star

TV • 1997

Comic Relief Does Fame Academy

TV • 2003

The One Show

TV • 2006

Self - Guest

Jonathan Creek

TV • 1997

Brendan Baxter

Death in Paradise

TV • 2011

Charles Crabtree

The Secret Policeman's Ball

TV • 1976

Self

Bottom

TV • 1991

Edward Elizabeth Hitler

The Young Ones

TV • 1982

Vyvyan

Absolutely Fabulous

TV • 1992

Hamish

If You See God, Tell Him

TV • 1993

Gordon Spry

Teenage Kicks

TV • 2008

Happy Families

TV • 1985

Guy Fuddle

School's Out

TV • 2006

Self

The Alan Titchmarsh Show

TV • 2007

Self

Celebrity Mastermind

TV • 2003

Pebble Mill

TV • 1991

Self

Doctors and Nurses

TV • 2004

Dr. Roy Glover

Natural World

TV • 1983

Narrator

The Pact

TV • 2021

Richard

Ade in Britain

TV • 2011

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled

TV • 2014

Self

Britain's Got More Talent

TV • 2007

Self

Monte Carlo or Bust

TV • 2010

Midsomer Murders

TV • 1997

Hugo Welles

The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff

TV • 2012

Headmaster Wackville

Spine Chillers

TV • 2003

Prey

TV • 2014

DCI Warner

TV • 1990

Bancroft

TV • 2017

Superintendent Cliff Walker

Alien: Earth

TV • 2025

Atom Eins

Boom Boom... Out Go the Lights

TV • 1980

Urban Myths

TV • 2017

Leslie Conn

Gadget Man

TV • 2012

Surviving Disaster

TV • 2006

Going Live!

TV • 1987

Self

Great British Menu

TV • 2006

Self - Guest Judge

Richard Osman's House of Games

TV • 2017

Self - Contestant

Would I Lie to You?

TV • 2007

Self

The Great Sport Relief Bake Off

TV • 2012

Self - Contestant

Let's Dance for Comic Relief

TV • 2009

Self - Contestant

Snakes and Ladders

TV • 1989

Giles Tewkesbury

Save Me

TV • 2018

Gideon Charles

Cheat

TV • 2019

William Vaughan

3 Body Problem

TV • 2024

Denys Porlock

Genius

TV • 2017

David Hilbert

Upstart Crow

TV • 2016

Dogberry

Ready, Steady, Cook

TV • 1994

Self - Guest

The Dangerous Brothers

TV • 1986

Sir Adrian Dangerous

Filthy Rich & Catflap

TV • 1987

Edward Catflap

Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story

TV • 2024

Phil

Catchphrase

TV • 2013

French & Saunders

TV • 1987

John

Between the Covers

TV • 2020

Self

Out of Her Mind

TV • 2020

Lewis

The Comic Strip Presents...

TV • 1982

Celebrity Catchphrase

TV • 2018

Self - Contestant

Toad & Friends

TV • 2023

Toad

Twisted Tales

TV • 2005

Ed Barnes

Look at the State We're In!

TV • 1995

Dewhurst

Holby City

TV • 1999

Percy "Abra" Durant

Hardwicke House

TV • 1987

Tiny