Julia Davis

For other uses, see Julia Davis (disambiguation).
Julia Davis
Born Julia Charlotte L Davis
(1966-08-25) 25 August 1966
Lambeth, London, England
Occupation Comedian, actress, writer, director, producer, musician
Years active 1994–present
Spouse(s) Julian Barratt
Children 2

Julia Charlotte L Davis (born 25 August 1966) is an English comedian, actress, writer, director, producer, and musician. She is known for writing and starring in the BBC Three comedy Nighty Night (2004–2005) and the sitcoms Hunderby (2012), for which she won a BAFTA TV Award for best comedy writing, and Camping (2016). She also appeared as Dawn Sutcliffe in Gavin & Stacey (2007–2009). Her film roles include Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002), Confetti (2006) and Four Lions (2010).

Early life

Born in Lambeth,[1] Davis grew up in Guildford before moving at the age of 14 with her family to Bath, Somerset.[2] After studying a degree in English and Drama at the College of Ripon and York St John, she returned to Bath and formed a double act with Jane Roth at a local theatre group. They then formed an improvisation troupe along with Rob Brydon and Ruth Jones.

Television

Davis' first break into television was as a regular cast member of Big Train. Her career was given a further boost in 1998 after she sent a tape of various characters to Steve Coogan, who invited to her to write and tour with him later that year. Davis has starred in many comedy television shows in the UK including I'm Alan Partridge, Big Train, Coming Soon, Brass Eye, Jam, Human Remains, Gavin & Stacey, I Am Not An Animal, Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible, Ideal, and Nathan Barley.

In 2004, Davis wrote and starred in the highly acclaimed dark comedy Nighty Night, which returned for a second series in 2005. In more serious roles Davis has starred in productions such as the BBC's For the Love of God, The Alan Clark Diaries, Fear of Fanny, in which she played the original celebrity chef Fanny Cradock, and Persuasion, an adaptation of the Jane Austen novel.[3]

In 2009 Davis appeared, in the guise of Steve Coogan's personal assistant Debbie Bidwoden, in the TV Movie Steve Coogan – The Inside Story.[4]

In the last episode of The Office, she is heard on the phone as the voice of a woman from a dating agency in conversation with David Brent.[5] In 2008, she appeared on Little Britain Abroad as a Russian mail-order bride called Ivanka. In 2010, she co-wrote and co-starred in Lizzie and Sarah with Jessica Hynes. The pilot was aired in the UK on 20 March 2010 on BBC2. It was made by Baby Cow, and was noted as being even darker than Davis' previous work;[6] when the BBC did not commission the remaining episodes of the series, there were online protests.[7]

In December 2011, Davis appeared in the second episode of the drama series Black Mirror, "15 Million Merits", as Judge Charity on the fictional talent show Hot Shot.[8] On 22 December 2011, she appeared as Anne Yeaman in the Christmas special and finale of the BBC Three comedy How Not to Live Your Life.[9] Davis appeared in the pilot episode of Bad Sugar, shown on Channel 4 on 26 August 2012. A full series was set to air in 2013, but was cancelled. Hunderby, created, written, and starring Davis, aired on Sky Atlantic. In 2014, she starred in the short film The Bird.

Personal life

Davis is in a relationship with comedian Julian Barratt.[7][10] They are the parents of twins Arthur and Walter.[11]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
2001 The Parole Officer Insinuating Wife
2002 Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself Moira
2003 Love Actually Nancy
2004 AD/BC: A Rock Opera Ruth
2004 Sex Lives of the Potato Men Shelley
2006 Confetti Counselor
2007 Persuasion Elizabeth Elliot
2010 Come On Eileen Dee
2010 Cemetery Junction Mrs Taylor
2010 Four Lions Alice
2014 The Bird (Short Film) Mother

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2004–2005 Nighty Night Jill Tyrell Creator, writer
British Comedy Awards for Best New Comedy
Nominated – British Academy Television Award for Best Comedy Performance
Nominated – British Academy Television Award for Best Situation Comedy
Nominated – British Comedy Award for Best Female Actress
2006 Fear of Fanny Fanny Cradock TV Movie
2007–2009 Gavin & Stacey Dawn Sutcliffe 7 episodes
2011 Black Mirror Judge Hope Episode "Fifteen Million Merits"
2012- Hunderby Dorothy Creator, writer
British Academy Television Craft Award for Best Comedy Writing
British Comedy Awards for Best New Comedy Programme
British Comedy Award for Best Sitcom
Nominated – British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance
Nominated – British Academy Television Award for Best Situation Comedy
2014 Inside No. 9 Felicity Episode "The Understudy"
2014 Psychobitches Sylvia Plath Episode 1
2016 Camping Fay Creator, writer, director

References

  1. ↑ "Results for Julia C Davis, 1966 quarter 3". Find my past co.uk.
  2. ↑ Gilbert, Gerard (25 August 2012). "Julia Davis: 'I don't want to offend anyone'". The Independent.
  3. ↑ Boyle, Laura (18 July 2011). "Almost Persuaded: ITV’s Persuasion". Jane Austen Centre.
  4. ↑ "Steve Coogan - The Inside Story - BBC2 Factual - British Comedy Guide". Comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  5. ↑ Harvey, Chris (27 August 2012). "Julia Davis on Hunderby, Sky Atlantic: 'My horror of cruelty is why I write about it.'". The Telegraph.
  6. ↑ Nicholson, Rebecca (18 March 2010). "Lizzie and Sarah: has the BBC lost its nerve over this dark comedy?". The Guardian.
  7. 1 2 Morgan, Eleanor (10 April 2010). "Dark star: Julia Davis". The Guardian.
  8. ↑ "Black Mirror Episode 2 - 15 Million Merits". Channel 4. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Its a Don-derful Life". BBC. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  10. ↑ Walker, Tim (5 November 2010). "Julia Davis: TV executives crush comedy". The Telegraph.
  11. ↑ Dickens, Andrew. "Interview: Julia Davis". Stylist. Retrieved 14 November 2014.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 23, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.