Creator / Dylan Moran

Dylan Moran (born December 3, 1971 in Navan, Ireland) is an Irish stand up comedian and occasional comic actor, best known for being the co-creator, writer and star of Black Books, as well as his supporting role in Shaun of the Dead.

As a stand up comic, Moran is known for his incredibly cynical and, at times, aggressive stage presence. His routines are usually observational and/or political.

His claim to fame is Black Books, a British sitcom where he plays Bernard Black, a drunken Irish misanthrope who does a very poor job of running a London bookshop. He also co-created the series, and was its main writer, either writing episodes by himself or in tandem with other writers. Ever since, Moran has been type cast into similar roles, and is known for playing the Jerkass, and often The Alcoholic as well.

In 2010, he was voted 14th in Channel4's 100 Greatest Stand Ups list.

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Tropes associated with Dylan Moran

• Deadpan Snarker: Both the characters he plays and the man himself. He's known for deflecting questions about his private life, his response to a question about why he lived in Edinburgh was "Because my wife lives there."
• Gay Euphemism: In his show Monster, Moran jokes that he didn't know about gay people while growing up because his family employed unusual and baffling euphemisms including "still picking up twigs in the springtime", "one of Yul Brynner's hairdressers", and "likes his toast done on three sides".
• Incurable Cough of Death: Seems to be a Running Gag of his to claim that he has one.
  • For example, from his 2004 live show, Monster
    Moran: *coughs* ...and then you cough and die.
  • And from Like, Totally
    Moran: I have... something. It'll clear up. Might take me with it, but we'll see.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Though his demeanour is grumpy and his wit acerbic, he seems mortified if anyone ever seems hurt by a remark and according to his co-stars is very generous and thoughtful.
• Large Ham: His earlier routines tended to be this, but he seems to have mellowed out a little over the years.
• Self-Deprecation: He likes insulting himself almost as much as he likes insulting everyone else.
• Typecasting: He's usually cast as morally questionable people.