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 | |
Movie | Bottom: Exposed | Himself | 2024-04-18 |
Series | Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story | 2024-08-14 | |
Movie | imagine... French & Saunders: Pointed, Bitchy, Bitter | Self | 2023-12-27 |
Series | A Spy Among Friends | Sir Roger Hollis | 2022-12-08 |
Movie | The Trick | Edward Acton | 2021-10-18 |
Movie | King Rocker | Self (archive footage) | 2020-10-31 |
Series | Out of Her Mind | Lewis | 2020-10-20 |
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 | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Captain Peavey | 2017-12-13 |
Series | Urban Myths | Leslie Conn | 2017-01-19 |
Movie | Interlude In Prague | Herr Luptak | 2017-05-25 |
Series | Bancroft | Superintendent Cliff Walker | 2017-12-11 |
Movie | The Rizen | Interviewer | 2017-05-06 |
Series | One of Us | Peter Elliot | 2016-08-23 |
Series | War and Peace | Ilya Rostov | 2016-01-03 |
Movie | Rocky Horror Show Live | Narrator | 2015-11-17 |
Series | Prey | DCI Warner | 2014-04-28 |
Series | Ronja the Robber's Daughter | Noodle Pete (voice, English version) | 2014-10-11 |
Series | The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff | Headmaster Wackville | 2012-02-20 |
Movie | Blood | Tom Tiernan | 2012-10-09 |
Movie | Five Go to Rehab | Dick | 2012-11-07 |
Series | Gadget Man | Unknown | 2012-11-19 |
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 |
Movie | Rocky Horror Tribute Show | Brad | 2008-10-14 |
Series | Teenage Kicks | 2008-03-28 | |
Series | The Alan Titchmarsh Show | Unknown | 2007-09-03 |
Movie | If It Ain't Stiff: The Stiff Records Story | Self - Narrator | 2007-12-14 |
Series | Surviving Disaster | Unknown | 2006-01-10 |
Series | The One Show | Unknown | 2006-08-14 |
Series | School's Out | Unknown | 2006-04-19 |
Series | Twisted Tales | Unknown | 2005-01-16 |
Movie | Bottom Mindless Violence | Eddie | 2004-11-22 |
Series | Doctors and Nurses | 2004-01-13 | |
Series | Comic Relief Does Fame Academy | 2003-03-07 | |
Movie | Bottom Live 2003: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour | Edward Hitler | 2003-11-24 |
Series | Celebrity Mastermind | Unknown | 2003-12-26 |
Movie | Bottom Live 2001 An Arse Oddity | Eddie | 2001-10-19 |
Movie | Guest House Paradiso | Eddie | 1999-12-03 |
Movie | The Making of 'Guest House Paradiso' | Himself | 1999-11-15 |
Series | Jonathan Creek | Unknown | 1997-05-09 |
Series | Captain Star | 1997-07-08 | |
Movie | Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island | Eddie Hitler | 1997-10-27 |
Movie | The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Treasure of the Peacock's Eye | Zyke | 1995-01-15 |
Movie | Bottom Live The Big Number 2 Tour | Eddie | 1995-11-06 |
Series | Anna Lee | Unknown | 1994-02-27 |
Movie | Space Virgins from Planet Sex | 'K' / Air Traffic Controller | 1993-04-29 |
Movie | Bottom Live The Stage Show | Eddie | 1993-09-27 |
Series | If You See God, Tell Him | Gordon Spry | 1993-11-11 |
Movie | Red Nose of Courage | John Major/Coco the Clown | 1992-04-09 |
Series | Absolutely Fabulous | Unknown | 1992-11-12 |
Series | Pebble Mill | Unknown | 1991-10-14 |
Movie | The Pope Must Diet | Father Rookie | 1991-06-21 |
Series | Bottom | Edward Elizabeth Hitler | 1991-09-17 |
Movie | South Atlantic Raiders: Part 2 Argie Bargie! | Billy | 1990-02-08 |
Movie | GLC: The Carnage Continues | Billy/Prince Charles/Giles Cricket Bat Portland | 1990-02-05 |
Movie | News Hounds | Phil Burke | 1990-09-02 |
Series | Rita Rudner | Unknown | 1990-09-18 |
Movie | Just Like That! | Self | 1989-01-01 |
Movie | The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball | Self | 1989-01-01 |
Series | Snakes and Ladders | Giles Tewkesbury | 1989-10-17 |
Series | Happy Families | 1989-08-17 | |
Series | Press Gang | Simon Knowles | 1989-01-16 |
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 | Mr Jolly Lives Next Door | Dreamy Time Escort | 1988-03-05 |
Movie | Eat the Rich | Charles | 1987-10-23 |
Series | Filthy Rich & Catflap | Edward Catflap | 1987-01-07 |
Movie | Consuela (or, The New Mrs Saunders) | John | 1986-01-01 |
Movie | Dangerous Brothers Present: World of Danger | Sir Adrian Dangerous | 1986-01-01 |
Movie | Private Enterprise | Brian | 1986-01-02 |
Movie | Honest Decent & True | Alun Pickersgill | 1986-02-09 |
Movie | The Comic Relief Utterly Utterly Rude Video Live | 1986-04-25 | |
Series | Happy Families | 1985-10-17 | |
Movie | The Supergrass | Dennis Carter | 1985-11-08 |
Movie | Slags | Ace | 1984-02-11 |
Movie | Dirty Movie | Bean | 1984-01-07 |
Movie | Gino: Full Story and Pics | Gordon/Bill | 1984-01-28 |
Movie | Susie | Martin | 1984-01-14 |
Movie | Dead on Time | Fool | 1983-01-01 |
Movie | Bad News | Vim Fuego/Alan Metcalfe | 1983-01-24 |
Movie | Five Go Mad on Mescalin | Dick | 1983-11-02 |
Series | Blackadder | Baron von Richtoven | 1983-06-15 |
Series | Natural World | Narrator | 1983-10-30 |
Movie | Five Go Mad in Dorset | Dick | 1982-11-02 |
Movie | Kevin Turvey: The Man Behind the Green Door | Keith Marshall | 1982-03-13 |
Series | The Young Ones | Vyvyan | 1982-11-09 |
Series | The Comic Strip Presents... | 1982-11-02 | |
Movie | The Comic Strip | 1981-01-01 | |
Series | Boom Boom... Out Go the Lights | 1980-10-14 | |
Series | An Audience with... | Himself | 1978-01-08 |