Charles McKeown ( ; born 1946) is a British actor and writer, perhaps best known for his collaborations with

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...

. The two met while shooting '' Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979), and further collaborated with the Monty Python team in '' Ripping Yarns'' (1977), ''

Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional ...

'' (1979), ''

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'' (1981), '' The Missionary'' (1982), '' A Private Function'' (1984), ''

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

'' (1985), '' East of Ipswich'' (1987), '' The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' (1988), '' The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'' (1989), '' Erik the Viking'' (1989), and '' American Friends'' (1991). Other credits include '' Yes Minister'' (1980), ''

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'' (1981), '' Prick Up Your Ears'' (1987), and ''

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' (sometimes referred to as ''Young Indy'') is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" ...

'' (1992).

Early life and career

Charles McKeown studied acting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Acting

McKeown has had a number of appearances in films and television series associated with the

Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

comedy group. He started off his career with minor roles on '' Ripping Yarns'' (1977), which starred Michael Palin and Terry Jones, and ''

'' (1979), which starred

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...

. Around the same time, he played some minor roles in ''Life of Brian'', where he met Gilliam. Since then, he has had acting roles in a number of the films he helped to write with Gilliam, including an appearance as Harvey Lime in ''Brazil'' and as Adolphus and Rupert in ''The Adventures of Baron Munchausen''. In addition, he had roles in other Python-associated films such as ''

'' (1981), '' The Missionary'' (1982), '' A Private Function'' (1984), '' East of Ipswich'' (1987), '' Erik the Viking'' (1989), and '' American Friends'' (1991). McKeown has also made some film appearances not associated with the Monty Python troupe such as his minor role as Jerry Hadley in '' Spies Like Us'' (1985), (although

also had a small role in that film) (1985), and Mr. Cunliffe in '' Prick Up Your Ears'' (1987). McKeown has also appeared on numerous television series including: '' Yes Minister'' (1980), ''

'' (1981), '' Pinkerton's Progress'' (1983 which he also wrote for) and ''

'' (1992).

Screenwriting

McKeown co-wrote the screenplay for ''

'' (1985) with Gilliam and Tom Stoppard, for which they were collectively nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

. McKeown also co-wrote the screenplay for '' The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' (1988) with Gilliam. After nearly twenty years apart, the two collaborated again on the screenplay for '' The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'' (2009). Additionally, McKeown wrote the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

sitcom, '' Hold the Sunset''. He went uncredited for his work on ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' (1989), but other notable screenwriting credits include '' Plunkett & Macleane'' (1999), and '' Ripley's Game'' (2002),

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKeown, Charles 1946 births Living people British comedy writers British male film actors British male screenwriters British male television actors British male television writers People educated at Old Swinford Hospital