Shaun of the Dead Crew - Dylan Moran

Dylan Moran was born in 1971 in County Meath, Navan, Ireland. At 16, he dropped out of school and essentially spent the next four years doing not much of anything (although he did work as a florist for a week).After watching comedians such as Ardal O’Hanlon perform at Dublin’s The Comedy Cellar, Dylan decided to try his hand at comedy. In 1992, he performed there and was hooked by the profession’s lack of qualifications.In 1993, Dylan won the Channel 4 So You Think You’re Funny award at the Edinburgh Festival (narrowly defeating future Black Books co-star Bill Bailey). In 1996, he won again in Edinburgh, becoming the youngest person to ever win the Perrier Award. He would later call the award “a load of media rubbish.“

Between 1995 and 1996, Dylan was also writing a weekly column for The Irish Times.

His first major one-man show was entitled Gurgling for Money, and Dylan performed it at the Montreal Comedy Festival, Vancouver Comedy Festival, Kilkenny Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Festival, as well as many others.He met his future wife, Elaine, at the Gilded Ballroom in Edinburgh (where she was working, and he was performing). They married on September 6th, 1997, the same day as Princess Diana’s funeral. They currently have 2 children.

He won his first major television role in 1998, appearing on the BBC 2 sitcom How Do You Want Me? with Charlotte Coleman. That role was followed up by a bit part in the 1999 Julia Roberts/Hugh Grant film Notting Hill.Dylan really broke out in 2000, when his sitcom Black Books (which he co-wrote about an unsociable book store owner named Bernard Black) began airing on BBC’s Channel 4. That same year, he took his new one-man show Ready, Steady, Cough on a tour of the UK.

The second series of Black Books aired in 2002, and series 3 was shown in 2004 and met with critical and popular acclaim, even winning a BAFTA award in the process.

In 2003, Dylan was named by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest performers in British comedy. That same year, he also co-starred with Michael Caine in the feature film entitled The Actors.

In 2004, Dylan co-starred in the smash movie hit Shaun of the Dead, acting alongside the likes of Simon Pegg, Bill Nighy, and Kate Ashfield. He was personally recommended for the part by producer Nira Park, although Dylan originally thought he wasn’t right for the role and suggested that they cast comedian David Walliams instead.

He launched a global tour in 2004 with his new stand-up show entitled Monster II. Performances ranged from New York to Milan and culminated at the Hay Festival in the UK. A live DVD of the tour was released, making it Dylan’s first live stand-up DVD.

In 2005, he made his U.S. television debut on The Late Show with David Letterman.

In 2006, he portrayed Dr. Slop in the film A Cock and Bull Story, and he also launched his latest stand-up tour, entitled Like, Totally.Now living with his family in Edinburgh, Dylan enjoys reading, watching television, and listening to music. Some of his favorite authors are Don DeLillo, S.J. Perelman, and J.B. Morton. Musical influences include PJ Harvey and The Velvet Underground, while favorite television shows include Frasier and The Office.