| Chris Lilley | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Christopher Lilley |
| Born | 10 November 1974 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Notable works and roles | Big Bite We Can Be Heroes Summer Heights High Angry Boys |
Christopher Lilley (born 10 November 1974, Sydney, Australia) is an Australian comedian, television producer, actor and writer. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of several characters in the mockumentary television series We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year, Summer Heights High, and Angry Boys.[1][2]
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Lilley was raised in Turramurra, New South Wales and attended Pymble Public School. He later studied at Barker College, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Music) and a Bachelor of Education (Primary) combined degree from Macquarie University, when he graduated in 1997. He began his career performing stand-up comedy. He currently resides in Melbourne, Victoria. Chris is a vegetarian.
In 2003, Lilley made his debut in Big Bite, a Seven Network comedy programme, in which he portrayed extreme sports enthusiast Extreme Darren and the high-school drama teacher Mr G, a character that he continued in Summer Heights High. Big Bite was nominated for Best Television Comedy Series at the 2003 Australian Film Institute Awards, marking the first time a comedy programme from a commercial television network had ever been nominated at the Australian Film Institute Awards. It did not win. The producers co-credited Lilley however the show lasted only one series before being spun off into a comedy/variety programme. Lilley was a recurring guest on the programme, but it was cancelled after only a few episodes. He is known for playing a variety of different characters in each of his shows.
Lilley has been nominated for but never won an award, but has been acknowledged for "[his] awareness and expression of controversial issues and not exploiting them for laughs."[3][4]
Lilley appeared in the film satire, Ned based on Ned Kelly. He appeared as the "Louis McGuire" in a series of television advertisements and Cinema for MSN. He has also appeared on the Hamish & Andy radio show.
After the cancellation of Big Bite, Lilley created We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year, a six-part series on ABC Television, in which he portrayed various characters nominated for the Australian of the Year Award.[5]
Lilley portrayed several characters in the series: a self-obsessed police officer, a Chinese Australian Physics student from Melbourne, a 47-year-old housewife with a dream to roll on her side from Perth to Uluru, a teenage boy called Daniel who donates his eardrum to his deaf twin brother Nathan, who both feature in "Angry Boys", and Ja'mie King, an arrogant Sydney private high school girl who went on to feature in Summer Heights High.
Lilley was nominated for Best Comedy Series and Best Lead Actor in Television at the 2006 Australian Film Institute Awards, and won the Best New Talent and Most Outstanding Comedy Program awards at the Logie Awards of 2006. He also received a Rose d'Or award in Switzerland for Best Male Comedy Performance. Following the series' success, it was sold to other countries under the new name, The Nominees.
Lilley achieved overwhelming success for his second mockumentary series, Summer Heights High,[6] which aired on ABC TV in 2007.
In the series, Lilley played the series' three main characters at a public school (depicted in the series as inferior to private schools). In March 2008, Lilley released a single, Naughty Girl, based on the series and performed in character as the Summer Heights High drama teacher, Mr G.[7]
At the 2008 Logie Awards he was nominated for four awards including Most Outstanding Actor and Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Television,[8] and won the Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor[9] and the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Comedy Program.[10]
The series was sold to the United States and the United Kingdom. Lilley embarked on a promotional tour of the United States in October 2008 to promote the US broadcast of the series, which began to air on HBO on 9 November 2008.[11] The BBC began showing the programme on BBC Three in June 2008.[12]
When asked about whether there would be a second series, Lilley stated, "I never thought about it in the beginning because it was always a one-off thing. I'm not into just cashing in and rolling off into a second series that is not as good. I really enjoyed making the show, so the thought of writing and going back there again is really fun and exciting, but I haven't made a decision on what to do next."[12]
Lilley plays multiple new characters in his third mockmentary series Angry Boys, which premièred on 11 May 2011 at 9:00 pm on ABC1. The show introduces: S.mouse!, an African-American rapper; Jen Okazaki, a manipulative Japanese mother; Blake Oakfield, a champion surfer; Ruth "Gran" Sims, a guard at a juvenile detention facility; and her grandchildren, South Australian twins Daniel and Nathan Sims who also featured in We Can Be Heroes.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Logie Awards | ||
| Preceded by No previous award in this category |
Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding New Talent 2006 for We Can Be Heroes |
Succeeded by Tammy Clarkson for The Circuit |
| Preceded by The Chaser for The Chaser Decides |
Most Outstanding Comedy Program 2006 for We Can Be Heroes (with Laura Waters) |
Succeeded by Working Dog Productions for Thank God You're Here |
| Preceded by Aaron Jeffery for McLeod's Daughters |
Most Popular Actor 2008 for Summer Heights High |
Succeeded by Todd Lasance for Home and Away |
| Preceded by Working Dog Productions for Thank God You're Here |
Most Outstanding Comedy Program 2008 for Summer Heights High (with Laura Waters) |
Succeeded by Working Dog Productions for The Hollowmen |
| Rose d'Or | ||
| Preceded by David Walliams with Matt Lucas for Little Britain |
Best Male Comedy Performance 2006 for We Can Be Heroes |
Succeeded by Tiger Aspect Productions for The Vicar of Dibley |
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