TV
In which Eddie glows in the corner of your living room.
On the small screen Eddie has acted, written, presented, and been interviewed. Boy, has he been interviewed. But this page isn’t about interviews. It’s about some selected highlights of Eddie’s adventures in television. See below for examples.
2014
Masterclass with Michael Parkinson
Role:
Himself
Channel:
Sky Arts
Outline:
Michael Parkinson talks to Eddie about his career and what drives him in an in-depth interview.
2013
Eddie Izzard’s Mandela Marathons
Role:
Himself
Channel:
Sky 1
Outline:
A two-part documentary focusing on Eddie’s personal journey in homage to Nelson Mandela, during which he planned to run 27 marathons in 27 days in South Africa, to raise money for charity.
Meet the Izzards
Role:
Himself
Channel:
BBC1
Outline:
A two-part documentary in which Eddie uses his own DNA to tell the story of modern humans – and the Izzards.
Hannibal
Role:
Dr. Abel Gideon
Channel:
NBC
Outline:
Based on the famous characters from Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon. Eddie plays Dr. Abel Gideon, a surgeon institutionalized for killing his family and entwined in the investigation into the Chesapeake Ripper.
2012
Mockingbird Lane
Role:
Grandpa
Channel:
NBC
Outline:
A re-imagining of the 1960s sitcom the Munsters, which was planned to become a series in its own right, this was aired as a one-off special for Halloween 2012.
Bullet in the Face
Role:
Johann Tannhäuser
Channel:
IFC
Outline:
Eddie played a secretive, agoraphobic, chess-playing crime lord in this dark comedy.
Treasure Island
Role:
Long John Silver
Channel:
BSkyB / Sky 1
Outline:
A TV movie for Sky based on the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, Eddie played the notorious and lengthy pirate John Silver.
2011
United States of Tara
Role:
Dr Hattarras
Channel:
Showtime
Outline:
Eddie played sceptical psychology professor Dr Hattarras in eight episodes of the third season of this series starring Toni Collette as a suburban housewife and mother coping with dissociative identity disorder.
2010
Eddie Izzard: Marathon Man
Role:
Himself
Channel:
BBC3 / BBC1
Outline:
Originally aired on BBC3 in March 2010 in the run-up to charity event Sport Relief, a one hour edit was later broadcast on BBC1. Marathon Man documented Eddie’s incredible run around Britain, covering 43 marathons in 51 days.
Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story
Role:
Himself
Channel:
BBC2 (and limited theatrical release)
Outline:
Documentary in which cameras followed Eddie on his stressful comeback tour, Sexie. Under extreme pressure to write, he delved into his life for inspiration – culminating in a moment of revelation about the source of his relentless drive.
2007-2008
The Riches
Role:
Wayne Malloy
Channel:
FX Networks
Outline:
Critically acclaimed show about a family of crooks who assume the identity of an upper-middle-class suburban clan in the Deep South. Eddie starred alongside Minnie Driver, co-writing the pilot episode and serving as executive producer.
2007
Kitchen
Role:
Nick Malone
Channel:
Ecosse Films Production for Channel FIVE
Outline:
Two-part comedy drama set in a Glasgow kitchen. Eddie plays head chef Nick, a former cooking hotshot whose star is now on the wane.
2003
Mongrel Nation
Role:
Presenter
Channel:
Discovery Channel
Outline:
A three-part series (2003 being the year of three-part series) about the way that foreign immigration and influence have defined the very basis of Englishness.
40
Role:
Ralph Outen
Channel:
Channel 4/Company Pictures
Outline:
40 was a three-part drama series about the ‘mystical significance’ of turning 40. Eddie played Ralph Outen, the successful, coke-snorting, enfant terrible of the advertising industry.
1999
It’s: The Monty Python Story
Role:
Presenter
Channel:
BBC2
Outline:
As part of ‘Monty Python Night’ celebrating 30 years of Monty Python, Eddie presented this 50 minute documentary on the comedy group, including interviews with the surviving pythons and sketches thought lost from 1971.
1998
Monty Python’s Flying Circus – Live at Aspen
Role:
Performer
Channel:
HBO
Outline:
This was a recording of a live stage event at the Wheeler Opera Theatre in Aspen, part of the US Comedy Arts Festival, which featured the entire Monty Python cast (including Graham Chapman’s ashes) on stage discussing the group’s origins and their sketches and films. Eddie played a Monty Python impostor.
Rex The Runt
Role:
Melting Blob Man (voice) / Easter Island Head (voice)
Channel:
BBC2/ Aardman Animations
Outline:
Animated adventures of four house-sharing dogs, from the company behind Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run.
1997
Channel Izzard
Role:
Writer/presenter
Channel:
Channel 4
Outline:
Channel 4 handed over an evening of programming to Eddie, who chose the shows and films and provided links and bits and bobs of comedy goodness.
Lust for Glorious
Role:
Writer/performer
Channel:
Channel 4
Outline:
A satirical mock documentary which aired on Channel 4 in the UK and can be found on the Glorious DVD.
Cows
Role:
Co-writer
Channel:
Channel 4
Outline:
A pilot for a live action sitcom, co-written with Nick Whitby, which featured cast members dressed in cow suits. Weirdly, Channel 4 didn’t go to series with this one.
1996
Tales from the Crypt – ‘Confessions’
Role:
Warhol Evans
Channel:
HBO
Outline:
Eddie appeared in an episode in the final season of HBO’s horror story anthology show, playing a suspected serial killer opposite interrogator Ciarán Hinds.
1995
Aristophanes: The Gods Are Laughing
Role:
Socrates
Channel:
Channel 4
Outline:
Part of an initiative by Channel 4 and the British Film Institute to encourage television and cinema viewers to see more live theatre, Aristophanes: The Gods Are Laughing was a specially commissioned hour-long comic teleplay about the titular Greek satirist. Eddie played Socrates as a hip Athenian radical.
1993
It’s The Monty Python Story
Role:
Presenter
Channel:
BBC/A&E
Outline:
Eddie linked together rare clips and interviews with the Python members and other comedians about the history of one of the most famous comedy groups of the 20th Century.