Eric Idle
Speaking of renaissance men. He’s not really a film actor, as such, he’s a very funny member of probably the greatest comedy troupe of all time, a troupe which managed to produce a hilarious TV series along with a couple of the funniest films of all time. But the very nature of what he and his Python cohorts did well (rapidfire gags and non-sequitars and multiple characters, often requiring cast members to play two or more parts in the same scene) seems antithetical to the sort of complex character-building necessary to play the lead in films.
And dear God, has he been in some bad ones, as his best 10 will reveal. It’s no great criticism that he doesn’t score very highly on this list, because he’s been such a comedic success in other areas.
Ten best roles
10) Dudley Do-Right 9) Nuns On the Run 8) Missing Pieces 7) Casper 6) And Now For Something Completely Different 5) Splitting Heirs 4) Mr Toad’s Wild Ride 3) Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life 2) The Adventures of Baron Munchausen 1) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Percentile score
74.69
June 6th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Don’t forget, he played the butler in the big screen version of “The Nanny”