Adrian Edmondson was born in Bradford, Yorkshire. He went to Manchester University to study drama. Whilst he was there he met Rik Mayall, and the pair began performing as 20th Century Coyote. The act continued after university when Adrian & Rik moved to London, and they became two of the leading lights in the new 'alternative comedy' scene, performing at the newly established Comedy Store, and setting up their own club, The Comic Strip, with 'Peter Richardson', Nigel Planer, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, and Alexei Sayle. This spawned two 1980s TV series: The Young Ones (1982), and The Comic Strip Presents... (1982) In the 1990's Ade & Rik continued their partnership with a new series called Bottom (1991), which ran for three seasons and became a major success on the live circuit. It was basically a live sitcom, liberally sprinkled with slapstick humour, and the pair did 5 long tours between 1993 and 2003. Simultaneously, Adrian established himself as an actor, doing two improvised TV films under the Screen One and Screen Two umbrella, with director Les Blair: Screen Two: Honest, Decent and True (1986), and Screen One: News Hounds (1990) (winner of the BAFTA for best single drama). He was a regular in the hospital drama Holby City (1999) from 2005 - 2008. He took the lead in a drama documentary about the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster in the series Surviving Disaster (2006), and appeared as Henry Austen in the TV movie Miss Austen Regrets (2008), the film Blood (2012), and the drama series Prey (2014). But his most notable dramatic role to date is that of Count Rostov in the BBC series War & Peace (2016).
Series | Alien: Earth | 2025 | |
Series | The Pact | Richard | 2021-05-17 |
Movie | Letters Live from the Archive: Union Chapel | Self | 2021-03-22 |
Movie | King Rocker | Self (archive footage) | 2020-10-31 |
Series | Cheat | William Vaughan | 2019-03-11 |
Movie | The Rizen: Possession | The Interviewer | 2019-05-22 |
Movie | Completely Bad News | Vim Fuego | 2019-11-29 |
Movie | RSC Live: Twelfth Night | Malvolio | 2018-02-14 |
Movie | How The Young Ones Changed Comedy | 2018-05-26 | |
Movie | The Rizen | Interviewer | 2017-05-06 |
Movie | Interlude In Prague | Herr Luptak | 2017-05-25 |
Series | Bancroft | Superintendent Cliff Walker | 2017-12-11 |
Movie | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Captain Peavey | 2017-12-13 |
Series | War and Peace | Ilya Rostov | 2016-01-03 |
Series | One of Us | Peter Elliot | 2016-08-23 |
Movie | Rocky Horror Show Live | Narrator | 2015-11-17 |
Series | Ronja the Robber's Daughter | Noodle Pete (voice, English version) | 2014-10-11 |
Series | Prey | DCI Warner | 2014-04-28 |
Series | The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff | Headmaster Wackville | 2012-02-20 |
Movie | Blood | Tom Tiernan | 2012-10-09 |
Series | Ade in Britain | 2011-11-07 | |
Series | Monte Carlo or Bust | 2010-10-28 | |
Series | Let's Dance for Comic Relief | Unknown | 2009-02-21 |
Movie | Miss Austen Regrets | Henry Austen | 2008-02-03 |
Series | Teenage Kicks | 2008-03-28 | |
Movie | Rocky Horror Tribute Show | Brad | 2008-10-14 |
Movie | Blackadder's Most Cunning Moments | Baron von Richthoven/Self | 2008-10-16 |
Movie | If It Ain't Stiff: The Stiff Records Story | Self - Narrator | 2007-12-14 |
Series | The Alan Titchmarsh Show | Unknown | 2007-09-03 |
Series | School's Out | Unknown | 2006-04-19 |
Series | The One Show | Unknown | 2006-08-14 |
Series | Twisted Tales | Unknown | 2005-01-16 |
Movie | Bottom Mindless Violence | Eddie | 2004-11-22 |
Series | Doctors and Nurses | 2004-01-13 | |
Series | Celebrity Mastermind | Unknown | 2003-12-26 |
Series | Comic Relief Does Fame Academy | 2003-03-07 | |
Movie | Bottom Live 2003: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour | Edward Hitler | 2003-11-24 |
Movie | Bottom Live 2001 An Arse Oddity | Eddie | 2001-10-19 |
Movie | Guest House Paradiso | Eddie | 1999-12-03 |
Movie | Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island | Eddie Hitler | 1997-10-27 |
Series | Jonathan Creek | Unknown | 1997-05-09 |
Series | Captain Star | 1997-07-08 | |
Movie | Bottom Live The Big Number 2 Tour | Eddie | 1995-11-06 |
Movie | The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Treasure of the Peacock's Eye | Zyke | 1995-01-15 |
Series | Anna Lee | Unknown | 1994-02-27 |
Movie | Bottom Live The Stage Show | Eddie | 1993-09-27 |
Series | If You See God, Tell Him | Gordon Spry | 1993-11-11 |
Series | Absolutely Fabulous | Unknown | 1992-11-12 |
Movie | The Pope Must Diet | Father Rookie | 1991-06-21 |
Series | Pebble Mill | Unknown | 1991-10-14 |
Series | Bottom | Edward Elizabeth Hitler | 1991-09-17 |
Movie | GLC: The Carnage Continues | Billy/Prince Charles/Giles Cricket Bat Portland | 1990-02-05 |
Movie | South Atlantic Raiders: Part 1 | Billy | 1990-02-08 |
Movie | South Atlantic Raiders: Part 2 Argie Bargie! | Billy | 1990-02-08 |
Movie | News Hounds | Phil Burke | 1990-09-02 |
Movie | The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball | Self | 1989-01-01 |
Series | Press Gang | Simon Knowles | 1989-01-16 |
Series | Happy Families | 1989-08-17 | |
Series | Snakes and Ladders | Giles Tewkesbury | 1989-10-17 |
Movie | Mr Jolly Lives Next Door | Dreamy Time Escort | 1988-03-05 |
Movie | The Strike | Adrian/Slim/Policeman | 1988-02-20 |
Movie | More Bad News | Vim Fuego | 1988-02-27 |
Movie | An Audience With Victoria Wood | Self | 1988-12-10 |
Series | This Morning | Unknown | 1988-10-03 |
Movie | The Yob | Michael | 1988-03-12 |
Movie | Eat the Rich | Charles | 1987-10-23 |
Series | Filthy Rich & Catflap | Edward Catflap | 1987-01-07 |
Movie | Dangerous Brothers Present: World of Danger | Sir Adrian Dangerous | 1986-01-01 |
Movie | Honest Decent & True | Alun Pickersgill | 1986-02-09 |
Movie | Private Enterprise | Brian | 1986-01-02 |
Movie | The Comic Relief Utterly Utterly Rude Video Live | 1986-04-25 | |
Movie | The Supergrass | Dennis Carter | 1985-11-08 |
Series | Happy Families | 1985-10-17 | |
Movie | Gino: Full Story and Pics | Gordon/Bill | 1984-01-28 |
Series | Natural World | Narrator | 1983-10-30 |
Movie | Bad News | Vim Fuego/Alan Metcalfe | 1983-01-24 |
Series | Blackadder | Baron von Richtoven | 1983-06-15 |
Movie | Kevin Turvey: The Man Behind the Green Door | Keith Marshall | 1982-03-13 |
Movie | Five Go Mad in Dorset | Dick | 1982-11-02 |
Series | The Comic Strip Presents... | 1982-11-02 | |
Series | The Young Ones | Vyvyan | 1982-11-09 |
Movie | The Comic Strip | 1981-01-01 | |
Series | An Audience with... | Himself | 1978-01-08 |