Edward John Izzard (Eddie Izzard) - one of the famous British comedians. In addition to stand-up performances, he is actively involved in charity work, plays in the theater and cinema.
Eddie Izzard was born in 1962. This event took place in Yemen, where his father Harold, a representative of British Petroleum, was working at that time. Mother - Dorothy - was a nurse and a nurse. She died when Eddie was barely six. He has a brother, Mark, who is two years older.
Almost all of his childhood passed in moving. He managed to live in Ireland, change several Scottish and English addresses. He attended many different schools. Considers himself an atheist and an open transvestite. He has been nominated for an Emmy repeatedly.
Carier start
The dream to become an actor was first visited by Eddie at the age of 7 years. The first serious attempt at stage performances occurred in the early university years, when he and his classmate Robert Bellard spoke at one of the events. This brought them sufficient success so that they decided to exchange classical education for the world of stand-up.
First success
In the following months, they performed in London, mainly in the famous Covent Garden area, where they also received a standing ovation from passers-by and casual spectators. Their joint journey was not very long. Already in the early 80s, Eddie Izzard went into free swimming. He successfully acts as a street comedian in Europe and America.
He begins his journey to fame on the stage of a comedy club in Soho. Then there is a rethinking of all the material of speeches. The end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s brought him the first significant victories, they began to recognize him, and appearances, including in his own club, Raging Bull, began to attract more and more attention.
Work in the theater and on television
The debut of Eddie Izzard in the theater took place in 1994 at the London Comedy Theater. It was a West End production of "Cryptogram" staged by David Alan Mamet. In 1995, he plays a major role in the historical play Edward II, which is a classic work of the Renaissance.
1995 was remembered for his first film role in the film "The Approaching Storm" by Luthor Keaton. During his career, Edward has played in more than 30 television projects. As one of his last successful roles, the role of Dr. Abel Gideon in the psychological series Hannibal can be noted.
Performance Style
Great influence on the work of Eddie had a surreal British comedy group "Monty Python". He even repeatedly performed at their live concerts and the television program "Evening Python", dedicated to the 30th anniversary of stage activity.
The main tricks that Eddie uses in his performances are pantomime and parody. He often voices his characters with the voices of famous personalities, portrays animals, mechanisms and processes.
Another distinguishing feature of his speeches is "author's observation". During the performance, he periodically pretends to make notes in his notebook, interrupts his monologues with joke ideas for future performances, and monitors the audience’s reaction.
Eddie can't run the script. He is often interrupted to answer cues flying from the audience, he asks the public questions and tries to engage her in active participation during the performance. All this makes Eddie's concerts more vibrant and lively.
This approach earned him third place in the list of 100 Greatest British National Comedians in 2007. In 2010, he lost 2 positions and was on the 5th line.
Charity
In 2009, Eddie took part in a 7-week marathon organized by Comic Relief. In the past, he had no runner experience, and training took only 5 weeks. He ran the route London - Cardiff - Belfast - Edinburgh - London. In each country he carried a national flag.
Participants had only 1 day off per week - Sunday. The total length of the route was more than 1700 kilometers. The money raised went to vaccinate children, build and equip schools and help people living with dementia and other psychological illnesses.
A year later, Eddie also took part in another charity event to raise money for Sport Relief.
Eddie Izzard: personal life
Thanks to his bright and extraordinary appearance, he always attracted close attention to himself. Being the target of camera flashes is what Eddie Izzard lives on. Photos in magazines and newspapers, criticisms and praise - he is either loved or hated. There is no third.
Eddie Izzard is an open transvestite. He first announced this at a 1992 speech. Earlier it seemed that dressing in women's clothing was only part of his stage image. In later interviews, he himself says that he felt extraordinary as early as the age of 4, having begun to become interested in clothes for girls, and later in cosmetics, makeup and manicure.
The comedian tries to keep his personal life secret, so as not to make a target for the paparazzi from his halves. Eddie has been dating Sarah Townsen for a long time.
Eddie Izzard: "Killing clothes"
His most striking performance was the 1998 concert at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco, California, which was also recorded on video for further distribution. It was one of the most numerous and commercially successful performances in a comedian career.
A sarcastic and brilliant monologue criticizing the fundamentalism of the Church of England was the birth of the comic brand Eddie Izzard. The killer outfit in which he performed added some more pepper to the concert, and his replica "Death or cookies?" became so famous in comic circles, how famous is Shakespeare's "To be or not to be?".