| Julian Barratt | |
| Birth Name: | Julian Barratt Pettifer |
| Birth Date: | 1968 5, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Leeds, Yorkshire, England |
| Alma Mater: | University of Reading |
| Years Active: | 1995–present |
| Partner: | Julia Davis |
| Occupation: | Comedian, actor, musician |
| Children: | 2 |
Julian Barratt Pettifer (born 4 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor and musician. As a comedian and comic actor, he is known for his use of surreal humour and black comedy. During the 2000s he was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside comedy partner Noel Fielding.
Born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, Barratt was educated at the University of Reading. With Fielding, he established the Mighty Boosh. Together, they produced a 2001 radio series, The Boosh, for BBC Radio London. This was followed by a television series, The Mighty Boosh, comprising three series for BBC Three from 2004 to 2007. The show generated a cult fan following and won a variety of awards.
Alongside Fielding, he has starred in Unnatural Acts, Nathan Barley and Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. Barratt also co-wrote and starred in the 2017 film Mindhorn. He starred in the Channel 4 black comedy-drama sitcom Flowers.
Barratt was born Julian Barratt Pettifer on 4 May 1968 in Leeds, West Yorkshire.[1] He adopted his middle name as his surname to distinguish himself from reporter Julian Pettifer.[2] He attended the University of Reading.[3]
See main article: The Mighty Boosh. Barratt stars as the character Howard Moon opposite Noel Fielding's Vince Noir in the comedy series The Mighty Boosh. Howard labels himself a "jazz maverick" and claims to be a multitalented intellectual, calling himself a "man of action", but he is actually unsuccessful in his literary and romantic ventures. He is unpopular with many of the characters, including Mrs. Gideon (who always forgets his name), Bob Fossil (who often uses Howard as a puppet for his bizarre schemes), and Bollo (who often says his name wrongly or ignores him completely). Barratt composed all of the music for the series, which includes a variety of genres such as rap, heavy metal, and psychedelic rock.
Barratt has had parts in other dramas, often alongside his Mighty Boosh partner Noel Fielding. He starred as Dan Ashcroft, a frustrated magazine writer, in the Channel 4 media satire Nathan Barley, and appeared in the surrealistic black comedy series Asylum alongside Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson (who wrote and starred in Spaced). The character of Brian Topp in Spaced was written for Barratt, but eventually went to Mark Heap. Barratt played Jackson, a musician, in How Not to Live Your Life. He starred in the "Freelance Scientist" commercial for Metz alcopop.[4] He appeared as The Padre in the spoof horror series Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. He also starred in (and was a writer for) the 1998 sketch show Unnatural Acts, alongside Fielding. Before this, Barratt was one half of an experimental comedy duo called "The Pod" with friend Tim Hope, in which they billed themselves as a "Cyberdance Collective".[5] During this time he also appeared in the 2001 film Lucky Break.
Barratt made his directing début for Warp Films with theatre director Dan Jemmett. Curtains is set in a Norfolk seaside town. It is a dark comedy about a Punch and Judy man. In 2012, Barratt directed his first music video, for the song "All of Me" by Tanlines.[6] He can be heard as the voiceover on many adverts, such as More Th>n Car, House and Pet insurance, and the Directgov advert. He appeared in the music video for Mint Royale's "Blue Song", alongside Noel Fielding, Nick Frost, and Michael Smiley. In 2010, Barratt took part in Sky Comedy's Little Crackers. He wrote and directed a 15-minute film based on his teen band, Satan's Hoof. On 12 March 2011, he made a brief appearance as Heathcliff in Noel Fielding's "Wuthering Heights" dance on the Let's Dance for Comic Relief finale. He also narrated the 2011 documentary Seven Dwarves.
In 2012, Barratt appeared in the miniseries Treasure Island on Sky1, as well as narrating the BBC Two documentary The Tube. He also had a part as an art teacher in the BBC drama White Heat. In 2013, he appeared in the fifth series of Being Human, playing a werewolf named Larry Chrysler. He also narrated the BBC Two documentaries and The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway. In April 2014, he collaborated with Julia Davis and Joe Frank on Frank's radio show "Isolation," which was broadcast as part of KCRW's UnFictional series.
In April 2016, he starred as Maurice Flowers, a children's author battling depression, in the Channel 4 series, Flowers, a 6 part dark comedy mini series which follows the eccentric and dysfunctional members of the Flowers family.[7] He reprised the role for the second series in 2018.
He plays the title character in the film Mindhorn, which he co-wrote with Simon Farnaby. It was released through Netflix on 12 May 2017.
In 2024, Barratt appeared in series 2 of Extraordinary as a special powers counsellor. The lead character had a crush on him and they shared a kiss after having described him as a DILF to her friend Carrie. He also appeared in the miniseries Knuckles as Jack Sinclair.
From 3 June to 9 July 2011, Barratt played the Mayor in a production of Nikolai Gogol's classic comedy The Government Inspector at the Young Vic Theatre. In October 2012, he returned to the stage in Lucy Kirkwood's play NSFW at the Royal Court.[8]
Barratt is an accomplished musician, and played guitar for Little Chief during their European tour.[9] He took an interest in jazz fusion at a young age, and by 17 was attempting to launch a career as a professional jazz guitarist. He was in a band called Groove Solution in the early 1990s with Dave Westlake, and has also played bass with Chris Corner in IAMX.[10]
Barratt is in a relationship with comedian Julia Davis. The couple have twin sons.[11] In 2010, they performed together in a production of Chekhov's The Bear for Sky Arts 2 and in Sally4Ever, which Davis also wrote and directed. Barratt is known to be shy, quiet, and self-deprecating.[12] Unlike his comedy partner Noel Fielding, he prefers not to appear on comedy quiz shows or make similar public appearances, stating that he would rather "stay at home with a good book".[13]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Sweet | Stitch | ||
| 2001 | Lucky Break | Paul Dean | ||
| 2002 | Surrealisimo: The Trial of Salvador Dalí | Rosey | ||
| 2003 | How to Tell when a Relationship is Over | Him | ||
| The Reckoning | Gravedigger | |||
| The Principles of Lust | Phillip | |||
| 2008 | Curtains | Short film; writer, director | ||
| 2009 | Bunny and the Bull | Atilla | ||
| 2013 | The Harry Hill Movie | Conch | ||
| A Field in England | Commander Trower | |||
| 2014 | ABCs of Death 2 | Peter Toland | Segment "B is for Badger"; also writer, director | |
| 2015 | Aaaaaaaah! | Jupiter | ||
| 2016 | Brakes | Ray | ||
| 2017 | Mindhorn | Richard Thorncroft / Mindhorn | Co-writer | |
| 2018 | In Fabric | Stash | ||
| 2021 | The Electrical Life of Louis Wain | Dr. Elphik | ||
| 2022 | Rogue Agent | Phil |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Asylum | Victor / Julian | 6 episodes; also writer |
| 1998 | Unnatural Acts | Various | 6 episodes; also writer and composer |
| 2004 | Garth Marenghi's Darkplace | The Padre | 3 episodes |
| Tony Iscariot | Television special | ||
| 20042007 | The Mighty Boosh | Howard Moon / Various | 20 episodes; also co-creator, composer and writer |
| 2005 | Nathan Barley | Dan Ashcroft | 6 episodes |
| 2009 | How Not to Live Your Life | Jackson | Episode "Don the Singer" |
| 2010 | Little Crackers | Himself | Episode: "Satan's Hoof"; also writer, director |
| Comedy Shorts | Smirnoff | Episode: "The Bear" | |
| 2012 | White Heat | Derek Bowden | 2 episodes |
| Treasure Island | Thomas Redruth | Miniseries | |
| Being Human | Larry Chrysler | Episode: "Pie and Prejudice" | |
| 2013 | Lockheed | Episode: "U-KO'ed" | |
| 2015 | Prison Night | Narrator | |
| 2016 | Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge | Blackbird Goodbrooke | Episode: "Blackbird + Gangster" |
| 2016–2018 | Flowers | Maurice | 12 episodes |
| 2018 | Sally4Ever | Nigel | 7 episodes |
| 2019 | Killing Eve | Julian | Episode: "Nice and Neat" |
| Rufus (voice) | Episode: "Outfoxed" | ||
| Moominvalley | Mr. Brisk (voice) | Episode: "Moomin's Winter Follies" | |
| 2020 | Truth Seekers | Dr. Peter Toynbee | 5 episodes |
| 2021 | Ultra City Smiths | The Most Dangerous Man in the World (voice) | 6 episodes |
| Summer Camp Island | Poppa Woppa McCallister (voice) | 2 episodes | |
| 2021–2022 | Bloods | Lawrence | 16 episodes[14] |
| 2021–2023 | The Great | Dr. Vinodel | 9 episodes |
| 2022 | The Witchfinder | Dennis | 1 episode |
| Dodger | M | 1 episode | |
| 2023 | The Following Events Are Based on a Pack of Lies | Benjy Dhillon | 5 episodes |
| 2024 | Knuckles | Jack Sinclair | 2 episodes |
| Extraordinary | George | 6 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Mighty Boosh | Howard Moon / Various | Edinburgh Fringe Festival | |
| 1999 | Arctic Boosh | Howard Moon / Various | Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Melbourne International Comedy Festival | |
| 2000 | Autoboosh | Howard Moon / Various | Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Melbourne International Comedy Festival | |
| 2006 | The Mighty Boosh | Howard Moon / Various | Tour; 55 shows | |
| 2008–2009 | Howard Moon / Various | Tour; 91 shows | ||
| 2011 | The Government Inspector | The Mayor | Young Vic Theatre | |
| 2012 | NSFW | Aidan | Royal Court |
