Martin Clunes
Encyclopedia
Alexander Martin Clunes (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor and comedian
. Clunes is perhaps best known for his roles as Gary Strang in Men Behaving Badly
, Doctor Martin Ellingham in Doc Martin
and the title character in Reggie Perrin.
actor Alec Clunes
, who died of lung cancer
when Clunes was eight and a half years old. He has an older sister, Amanda. His mother Daphne, later a board member of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
, once worked for Orson Welles
. Clunes was educated at two independent secondary schools, the Royal Russell School
in Croydon
and The Arts Educational Schools
, in Chiswick
, London.
, Colchester
, and his first television appearance came in the 1980s Doctor Who
story Snakedance
as the spoiled Lon. But a sporadic career led to his supplementing his income as a photo model for Gilbert and George
, and he can be seen in their 1983 work World.
He got his first regular television role as one of the sons in the BBC
sitcom No Place Like Home, and then starred in two series of the sitcom All at No 20
.
While Clunes was appearing on stage at the Hampstead Theatre
, Harry Enfield
came to see him; the acquaintanceship developed into a friendship where Clunes played characters in Enfield's sketch shows. Enfield then recommended Clunes for the role of Gary in the sitcom Men Behaving Badly
, written for Enfield by Simon Nye
, bringing Clunes his best-known role to date and for which he won a BAFTA television award in 1996. He played the part of Group Captain Barker in the 2-part TV mini-series Over Here
that same year.
He has since appeared in films and television shows such as An Evening With Gary Lineker, Staggered (starred and directed), Hunting Venus
, The Booze Cruise
, Saving Grace
, and Jeeves and Wooster
. In 1998, he was featured in Sweet Revenge
and appeared as Richard Burbage
in the Oscar-winning film Shakespeare in Love
. Clunes has also acted frequently for the radio, including a guest appearance in the BBC Radio 4
series Baldi
.
In 2001, he played Captain Stickles in the BBC adaptation
of R. D. Blackmore's Lorna Doone
.
In 2002, he played serial killer
John George Haigh
in A Is for Acid, and took the lead in ITV's production of Goodbye Mr Chips.
Clunes was one of the eponymous leads in the 2004 ITV romantic comedy-drama William and Mary
, which ran for three series, with Julie Graham
. Clunes had worked with Julie Graham previously on Dirty Tricks (2000).
His leading role in the ITV
comedy drama series Doc Martin
from 2004 marked a successful change of direction for Clunes. In 2005, his portrayal of the ornery vascular
surgeon turned cranky general practitioner
won him a nomination for Most Popular Actor in the National Television Awards
. The show is produced for ITV
by Buffalo Pictures Ltd. the production company he runs in partnership with his wife, Philippa Braithwaite. At the media
launch for the third series of Doc Martin
in September 2007, Clunes announced that as ITV
had not yet commissioned a fourth series, that he planned to take a year's break from work to relax and rediscover his passion for acting, move to the far side of the camera and plans to grow his hair again as he "misses his locks.". The final episode of Series 3 succeeded in attracting nearly 10 million viewers or 40% of audience share. There was, however, mixed reaction from fans to Series 3's dénouement. In an interview in November 2007 on ITV
's GMTV
, he promised that there would be a fourth series but not for another year (2009). The fourth series of Doc Martin was broadcast in 2009 and a fifth series commenced broadcasting in September 2011.
In August 2007 he starred in ITV's The Man Who Lost His Head
.
Clunes is a regular voice over artist and is the voice of Kipper in the animated children's series Kipper the Dog
.
A sponsor of numerous charities, he has made a short online film with Stephen Fry
about HIV
discrimination for the Terrence Higgins Trust
. He is also a patron of the Born Free Foundation
and has filmed several adverts for the wildlife charity. He has been involved in Comic Relief which funds Survival International
and African Initiatives, two organisations working with the Maasai
on indigenous land rights issues.
Clunes also appeared in a television dramatisation of Fungus the Bogeyman
playing Jessica White's father.
On 9 November 2007 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Bournemouth University
.
In January 2008, ITV
announced its forthcoming sponsorship opportunities for Autumn 2008, which included Martin Clunes: a man and his dogs, a documentary that sees Martin Clunes charting the family tree of his dogs. There will be a book to accompany this programme, for which Clunes hopes to take the photographs.
From 24 April 2009, Clunes starred on BBC One television in the title role of Reggie Perrin, a re-make of classic 1970s British situation comedy
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
. In the same year he appeared in a 3 part ITV
series Islands of Britain
in which he travelled around several of the country's lesser known islands.
Clunes guest-hosted the comedy
panel game
show Have I Got News for You
in 2010.
In 2011, Clunes voiced the mischievous dog Dudley in the short film Me or the Dog
, starring Edward Hogg
and directed by Abner Pastoll
. The short is about a man who thinks that his dog is talking to him, only to realise that he in fact has schizophrenia
.
Philippa Braithwaite that same year. In 1999, Braithwaite gave birth to their daughter, Emily. Clunes lives with his family in Beaminster
, Dorset
. In 2010, Clunes was named president of the Royal International Horse Show, held annually at the All England Jumping Course, Hickstead. He was also named President of the British Horse Society
from 1 June 2011.
Clunes is one of the Patrons of Honour for Dorset-based Children's Hospice, Julia's House
. Clunes also supports Weldmar Hospicecare Trust in Dorset. In January 2011, Clunes also became Patron of Animal Care in Egypt - a charity veterinary hospital for working animals in Luxor, Egypt.
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
. Clunes is perhaps best known for his roles as Gary Strang in Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
, Doctor Martin Ellingham in Doc Martin
Doc Martin
Doc Martin is a British television comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes in the title role. It was created by Mark Crowdy, Craig Ferguson and Dominic Minghella. The show is filmed on location in the fishing village of Port Isaac, Cornwall, United Kingdom, with filming of most interior scenes...
and the title character in Reggie Perrin.
Early life
Clunes is the son of the classicalClassicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
actor Alec Clunes
Alec Clunes
Alexander "Alec" Demoro Sherriff Clunes was an English actor and stage manager.Among the plays he presented were Christopher Fry's famous play The Lady's Not For Burning. He gave the actor and dramatist Sir Peter Ustinov his first break with his production The House of Regrets. His film career was...
, who died of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
when Clunes was eight and a half years old. He has an older sister, Amanda. His mother Daphne, later a board member of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art is a leading British drama school in west London. LAMDA's president is Timothy West and its new principal is Joanna Read, who recently succeeded Peter James...
, once worked for Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
. Clunes was educated at two independent secondary schools, the Royal Russell School
Royal Russell School
Royal Russell School is an independent school in Coombe Lane, Croydon, south London. The Royal Russell School is a co-educational day and boarding school. The motto of the school is "Non sibi sed omnibus" meaning "Not for self but for all". The School is a member of the Headmasters' and...
in Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
and The Arts Educational Schools
The Arts Educational Schools
Arts Educational Schools, London is an independent co-educational school specialising in the performing arts and based in Chiswick, London in the United Kingdom...
, in Chiswick
Chiswick
Chiswick is a large suburb of west London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located on a meander of the River Thames, west of Charing Cross and is one of 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with...
, London.
Career
Clunes served his first role in rep at the Mercury TheatreMercury Theatre, Colchester
The Mercury Theatre is a theatre in Colchester, built in 1972. It originated with the Colchester Repertory Company, formed in 1937. After considerable campaigning and fundraising a theatre, designed by Norman Downie was constructed...
, Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, and his first television appearance came in the 1980s Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
story Snakedance
Snakedance
*In post-production, episode four of this story overran very badly. As a result, it had to be completely restructured. Originally the door for a third Mara adventure was to be left open, with closing scenes discussing the ultimate fate of the Great Crystal. Furthermore, a sequence in which the...
as the spoiled Lon. But a sporadic career led to his supplementing his income as a photo model for Gilbert and George
Gilbert and George
Gilbert & George are two artists who work together as a collaborative duo. Gilbert Proesch and George Passmore have become famous for their distinctive, highly formal appearance and manner and their brightly coloured graphic-style photo-based artworks.-Early life:Gilbert Proesch was...
, and he can be seen in their 1983 work World.
He got his first regular television role as one of the sons in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom No Place Like Home, and then starred in two series of the sitcom All at No 20
All at No 20
All at No 20 is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1986 to 1987. Starring Maureen Lipman, it was written by Richard Ommanney, Ian Davidson, Peter Vincent and Alex Shearer. It was made for the ITV network by Thames Television and ran for two series...
.
While Clunes was appearing on stage at the Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...
, Harry Enfield
Harry Enfield
Henry Richard "Harry" Enfield is a BAFTA-winning English comedian, actor, writer and director.-Early life:...
came to see him; the acquaintanceship developed into a friendship where Clunes played characters in Enfield's sketch shows. Enfield then recommended Clunes for the role of Gary in the sitcom Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
, written for Enfield by Simon Nye
Simon Nye
Simon Nye is an English comic television writer, best known for creating the hit sitcom Men Behaving Badly, writing all of the four ITV Panto, co-writing the 2006 film Flushed Away, co-writing Reggie Perrin and creating the latest adaption of William Brown in the Just William CBBC...
, bringing Clunes his best-known role to date and for which he won a BAFTA television award in 1996. He played the part of Group Captain Barker in the 2-part TV mini-series Over Here
Over Here
Over Here is a 2-part television miniseries made in 1996 by the BBC chronicling the lives of US Army Air Corps B-17 Flying Fortress bomber crews on a Royal Air Force Spitfire base during World War II...
that same year.
He has since appeared in films and television shows such as An Evening With Gary Lineker, Staggered (starred and directed), Hunting Venus
Hunting Venus
Hunting Venus is a British television comedy-drama starring Martin Clunes and Neil Morrisey as former members of a 1980s pop group. The one-off drama was broadcast on ITV on 31 March 1999, and was produced by Buffalo Pictures for Yorkshire Television....
, The Booze Cruise
The Booze Cruise
The Booze Cruise is a feature length comedy drama written for British television on the channel ITV, shown in 2003 and written by Paul Minett & Brian Leveson....
, Saving Grace
Saving Grace (2000 film)
Track Listing# "Introduction" – 1:02# "Grace's Theme" – 2:42# "Take a Picture" – 5:55# "Make Me Smile " – 4:07# "Spirit in the Sky" – 3:56...
, and Jeeves and Wooster
Jeeves and Wooster
-External links:*—An episode guide to the series, including information about which episodes were adapted from which Wodehouse stories.*—Episode guides, screenshots and quotes from the four series....
. In 1998, he was featured in Sweet Revenge
Sweet Revenge (1998 film)
Sweet Revenge is a 1998 British comedy film written and directed by Malcolm Mowbray. The screenplay is based on the epic two-part play The Revengers' Comedies by Alan Ayckbourn....
and appeared as Richard Burbage
Richard Burbage
Richard Burbage was an English actor and theatre owner. He was the younger brother of Cuthbert Burbage. They were both actors in drama....
in the Oscar-winning film Shakespeare in Love
Shakespeare in Love
Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 British-American comedy film directed by John Madden and written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard....
. Clunes has also acted frequently for the radio, including a guest appearance in the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
series Baldi
Baldi (radio)
Baldi is a BBC Radio 4 murder mystery series whose central character is Paolo Baldi , a Franciscan priest on sabbatical, lecturing on semiotics at a university in contemporary Dublin. After helping the police as a translator for an Italian witness, he turns sleuth...
.
In 2001, he played Captain Stickles in the BBC adaptation
Lorna Doone (2001 film)
Lorna Doone is a 2001 romance/drama television movie version of Richard Doddridge Blackmore's novel of the same name. The film won the Royal Television Society's Television Award for Best Visual Effects by Colin Gorry.- External links :*...
of R. D. Blackmore's Lorna Doone
Lorna Doone
Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly around the East Lyn Valley area of Exmoor....
.
In 2002, he played serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
John George Haigh
John George Haigh
John George Haigh , commonly known as the "Acid Bath Murderer" , was an English serial killer during the 1940s. He was convicted of the murders of six people, although he claimed to have killed nine...
in A Is for Acid, and took the lead in ITV's production of Goodbye Mr Chips.
Clunes was one of the eponymous leads in the 2004 ITV romantic comedy-drama William and Mary
William and Mary (TV series)
William and Mary is an ITV Scotland-based romantic comedy drama, starring Martin Clunes as William Shawcross, an undertaker, and Julie Graham as Mary Gilcrest, a midwife. Its title refers to its two principal characters and is a cultural reference to the reign of the English monarchs William and...
, which ran for three series, with Julie Graham
Julie Graham
Julie Graham is a Scottish television and film actress.-Career:Graham's television roles have included The Houseman's Tale BBC TV Series , Alison McGrellis in Casualty ; Alice in Harry ; Alison McIntyre in Life Support ; Lisa Kennedy in The Bill ; Megan Hartnoll in...
. Clunes had worked with Julie Graham previously on Dirty Tricks (2000).
His leading role in the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
comedy drama series Doc Martin
Doc Martin
Doc Martin is a British television comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes in the title role. It was created by Mark Crowdy, Craig Ferguson and Dominic Minghella. The show is filmed on location in the fishing village of Port Isaac, Cornwall, United Kingdom, with filming of most interior scenes...
from 2004 marked a successful change of direction for Clunes. In 2005, his portrayal of the ornery vascular
Vascular
Vascular in zoology and medicine means "related to blood vessels", which are part of the circulatory system. An organ or tissue that is vascularized is heavily endowed with blood vessels and thus richly supplied with blood....
surgeon turned cranky general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
won him a nomination for Most Popular Actor in the National Television Awards
National Television Awards
The National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
. The show is produced for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
by Buffalo Pictures Ltd. the production company he runs in partnership with his wife, Philippa Braithwaite. At the media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
launch for the third series of Doc Martin
Doc Martin
Doc Martin is a British television comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes in the title role. It was created by Mark Crowdy, Craig Ferguson and Dominic Minghella. The show is filmed on location in the fishing village of Port Isaac, Cornwall, United Kingdom, with filming of most interior scenes...
in September 2007, Clunes announced that as ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
had not yet commissioned a fourth series, that he planned to take a year's break from work to relax and rediscover his passion for acting, move to the far side of the camera and plans to grow his hair again as he "misses his locks.". The final episode of Series 3 succeeded in attracting nearly 10 million viewers or 40% of audience share. There was, however, mixed reaction from fans to Series 3's dénouement. In an interview in November 2007 on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
, he promised that there would be a fourth series but not for another year (2009). The fourth series of Doc Martin was broadcast in 2009 and a fifth series commenced broadcasting in September 2011.
In August 2007 he starred in ITV's The Man Who Lost His Head
The Man Who Lost His Head
Written by Mark Wallington, The Man Who Lost His Head is a 2-hour, comedy drama starring Martin Clunes, on the theme of cultural repatriation. It was a joint production for TVNZ in New Zealand and ITV in Great Britain...
.
Clunes is a regular voice over artist and is the voice of Kipper in the animated children's series Kipper the Dog
Kipper the Dog
Kipper the Dog is a character in a series of books for preschool age children by a British writer, Mick Inkpen. The books consist of 34 titles which have sold over 8 million copies and have been translated into over 20 languages. The books have also won many awards.Kipper is also the name of a...
.
A sponsor of numerous charities, he has made a short online film with Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
about HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
discrimination for the Terrence Higgins Trust
Terrence Higgins Trust
Terrence Higgins Trust is a British charity that campaigns on various issues related to AIDS and HIV. In particular, the charity aims to reduce the spread of HIV and promote good sexual health ; to provide services on a national and local level to people with, affected by, or at risk of...
. He is also a patron of the Born Free Foundation
Born Free Foundation
The Born Free Foundation is a conservation and animal rescue organization in the United Kingdom. It originated in 1984 as the "Zoo Check Campaign" by actors Virginia McKenna and her husband Bill Travers along with their son Will Travers and four associates....
and has filmed several adverts for the wildlife charity. He has been involved in Comic Relief which funds Survival International
Survival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969 that campaigns for the rights of indigenous tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples, seeking to help them to determine their own future. Their campaigns generally focus on tribal peoples' fight to keep their ancestral lands,...
and African Initiatives, two organisations working with the Maasai
Maasai
The Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are among the best known of African ethnic groups, due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa...
on indigenous land rights issues.
Clunes also appeared in a television dramatisation of Fungus the Bogeyman
Fungus the Bogeyman
Fungus the Bogeyman is a children's graphic novel by British artist Raymond Briggs. It follows one day in the life of the titular character, a working class Bogeyman with the mundane job of scaring human beings.-Plot:...
playing Jessica White's father.
On 9 November 2007 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University is a university in and around the large south coast town of Bournemouth, UK...
.
In January 2008, ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
announced its forthcoming sponsorship opportunities for Autumn 2008, which included Martin Clunes: a man and his dogs, a documentary that sees Martin Clunes charting the family tree of his dogs. There will be a book to accompany this programme, for which Clunes hopes to take the photographs.
From 24 April 2009, Clunes starred on BBC One television in the title role of Reggie Perrin, a re-make of classic 1970s British situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin is a series of novels which developed into a British sitcom starring Leonard Rossiter in the title role...
. In the same year he appeared in a 3 part ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
series Islands of Britain
Islands of Britain (TV series)
Islands of Britain was a 2009 documentary , hosted by Martin Clunes, that visited a number of the islands that lie off the coast of Great Britain.-Episode 1: The North:...
in which he travelled around several of the country's lesser known islands.
Clunes guest-hosted the comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
panel game
Panel game
A panel game or panel show is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Panelists may compete with each other, such as on The News Quiz; facilitate play by guest contestants, such as on Match Game/Blankety Blank; or do both, such as on Wait Wait.....
show Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
in 2010.
In 2011, Clunes voiced the mischievous dog Dudley in the short film Me or the Dog
Me or the Dog
Me or the Dog is a 2011 short film directed by Abner Pastoll, produced by Junyoung Jang and starring Edward Hogg, about a man who believes that his dog Dudley is talking to him...
, starring Edward Hogg
Edward Hogg
Edward Hogg is an English actor, known for portraying Jesco White in White Lightnin and Stephen Turnbull in Bunny and the Bull.-Background:...
and directed by Abner Pastoll
Abner Pastoll
Abner Pastoll is a British film director and screenwriter based in London. His credits include the feature film Shooting Shona , and the short films The Secret Wish , Homicide: Division B , A Great Mistake and Me or the Dog , starring Edward Hogg and featuring the voice of Martin Clunes.-External...
. The short is about a man who thinks that his dog is talking to him, only to realise that he in fact has schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
.
Personal life
Clunes' first marriage was to the actress Lucy Aston. They divorced in 1997 and Clunes married television producerTelevision producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
Philippa Braithwaite that same year. In 1999, Braithwaite gave birth to their daughter, Emily. Clunes lives with his family in Beaminster
Beaminster
Beaminster is a small town and civil parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset in South West England, at the head of the valley of the River Brit. Beaminster is south of Bristol, west of Bournemouth, east of Exeter and northwest of the county town of Dorchester...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. In 2010, Clunes was named president of the Royal International Horse Show, held annually at the All England Jumping Course, Hickstead. He was also named President of the British Horse Society
British Horse Society
The British Horse Society is a membership-based equine charity, with a stated vision of "a society which provides a strong voice for horses and people and which spreads awareness through support, training and education"...
from 1 June 2011.
Clunes is one of the Patrons of Honour for Dorset-based Children's Hospice, Julia's House
Julia's House
Julia's House is a children's hospice located in Corfe Mullen, Dorset, England. It is the first and only hospice in Dorset for children with life-limiting conditions. The majority of the children who are cared for by Julia's House are unlikely to live beyond the age of 18. The hospice costs £1.9...
. Clunes also supports Weldmar Hospicecare Trust in Dorset. In January 2011, Clunes also became Patron of Animal Care in Egypt - a charity veterinary hospital for working animals in Luxor, Egypt.
Awards
- 1995 – British Comedy AwardsBritish Comedy AwardsThe British Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year.-History:...
, Top TV Comedy Actor : Men Behaving BadlyMen Behaving BadlyMen Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
– Gary Strang - 1996 – BAFTA Awards, Best Comedy Performance : Men Behaving BadlyMen Behaving BadlyMen Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
– Gary Strang - 1999 – Screen Actors Guild AwardsScreen Actors Guild AwardsA Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...
, Outstanding Performance by a Cast : Shakespeare in LoveShakespeare in LoveShakespeare in Love is a 1998 British-American comedy film directed by John Madden and written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard....
– Richard BurbageRichard BurbageRichard Burbage was an English actor and theatre owner. He was the younger brother of Cuthbert Burbage. They were both actors in drama.... - 2007 - Honorary Doctorate from Bournemouth UniversityBournemouth UniversityBournemouth University is a university in and around the large south coast town of Bournemouth, UK...