Age: 79
Birthday: 5th May
Michael Palin is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries.
Palin wrote most of his comedic material with fellow Python member Terry Jones. Before Monty Python, they had worked on other shows including the Ken Dodd Show, The Frost Report, and Do Not Adjust Your Set. Palin appeared in some of the most famous Python sketches, including "Argument Clinic", "Dead Parrot sketch", "The Lumberjack Song", "The Spanish Inquisition", "Bicycle Repair Man" and "The Fish-Slapping Dance". He also regularly played a Gumby.
Palin continued to work with Jones away from Python, co-writing Ripping Yarns. He has also appeared in several films directed by fellow Python Terry Gilliam and made notable appearances in other films such as A Fish Called Wanda (1988), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He also began a new career as a travel writer and travel documentarian in programmes broadcast on the BBC. His journeys have taken him across the world, including the North and South Poles, the Sahara, the Himalayas, Eastern Europe, and Brazil; in 2018, he visited North Korea, documenting his visit to the isolated country in a series broadcast on Channel 5.
BAFTA AWARD NOMINATIONS: 3 WINS: 1
1992 - Best TV Actor - G.B.H.
1989 - WINNER: Best Supporting Actor - A FISH CALLED WANDA
1984 - Best Original Song - THE MEANING OF LIFE
How do you rate Michael Palin's films?
WATCH MICHAEL PALIN THIS WEEK
ON TV:
Michael Palin: Into Iraq
Tuesday 20th September, Channel 5, 9:00pm
Palin embarks on an epic, revelatory journey through Iraq, one of the most dangerous and complex countries in the world. Following the Tigris river for more than 1,000 miles, from its source in eastern Turkey to the Persian Gulf, Michael wants to discover what life is like for the 40 million people who live in Iraq. It's one of the very few parts of the world he hasn't visited, but he's been fascinated by it since he was a child.
ON NETFLIX...
FILM: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Palin ppears in plenty of Monty Python's back catalogue on Netflix - including this massively popular cult comedy.
ON AMAZON PRIME...
FILM: The Witches (1990)
Did you know this? Palin has a cameo in this Roald Dahl adaptation - in drag, as a witch at the conference!
What's your favourite Michael Palin performance?
Make sure you are booked in for this week's DRAMA CLASSES
Mix Up Theatre provide drama classes Online for anyone aged 12-18 (can be based anywhere!)
and in-person drama classes for ages 3-18 throughout Scotland.
