Comedy is an art form that essentially revolves around the ability to make people laugh. That's easier said than done in my case, and so to be a successful comedian in my eyes is far more than recycling tired old cliches. This is a list that counts down my ten favorite comedians, not just at stand up, but through acting and TV shows as well.
#10 Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington is a man who has mastered the art of moaning. I'd like to think of myself as an avid moaner, and so for me Pilkington is someone who influences my life on a daily basis. This man's views on his distorted world are hilarious to listen to, and he always has something to pick apart about contemporary society. Pilkington is actually a creation of Ricky Gervais, who shot Karl into the public spotlight after asking listeners of his radio show to make a remix of Karl saying "I could eat a knob at night." Gervais himself is a decent comedian, but on his own radio show he's overshadowed by Pilkington's disdain for everything. Karl's radio appearances paved the way for classic lines such as describing The Great Wall of China as 'The Alright Wall of China', and even sympathising with stick insects over their complicated relationships.
Pilkington was the perfect choice for the show 'An Idiot Abroad', where he essentially travels the globe moaning at things that have been purposely set up to piss him off. In a way Pilkington is the antithesis of what a good comedian should be, but in a way that's what makes him so funny. It's the approach to humour of just an ordinary person, which Karl is, yet there's still a refreshing sense of simplicity to an act that Karl doesn't even need to adapt into. This isn't a fictional character; it's one man moaning about his life, and in doing that has got himself some unwanted fame. I urge you to watch his most recent documentary 'The Moaning of Life', or just read his brilliant titled book 'Happyslapped by a Jellyfish'.
#9 Chris Rock
One of America's most famous comedians, who unlike most of their acts has actually got the same idea of comedy as the rest of the world. Rock shot to fame from the show 'Saturday Night Live', as every comedian seems to in America, but unlike most he's actually become a mainstay of pop culture for a many number of years. Recently he's moved on to film roles including the very entertaining 'Madagascar', and the horrendous 'Grown Ups' that will forever stand out like a pile of horse shit on this man's impressive career. But even after all this show businesses, Rock was always destined to be a solid standup performer, as there are very few people who can own a stage like Chris Rock can. His foulmouthed and imposing antics make him a natural performer, and that's translated into big ticket sales and a host of other achievements.
Rock's material isn't particularly intellectual or relatable, but anything he does write is concise and relatable to a large proportion of the audience. Usually I would hate that, but comedy is an interesting art form, and so I find Rock's simplistic writing style easy to digest, and never feeling forceful. My first memory of seeing the legend that is Chris Rock was when the BBC were forced to cut his live performance at the 'Live Earth' concert when he referred to the crowd as 'motherfuckers', and then swore at them repeatedly during a live broadcast. Rock didn't care about the controversy he caused, and that's the same with his touchy material that heavily borders on being distastefully racist on a number of occasions. Chris Rock helped diffuse the myth that comedians had to be role models, and for that I thank him. His nonchalant attitude has recently seen him take selfies with police officers every time they pull him over. But then controversy equals cash, so fair play to him.
#8 John Oliver
John Oliver is part of the new wave of British Comedians that have ended up major successes in the US, despite being less popular in their native country. It's a shame that Oliver has never been hugely successful in Britain, as I for one believe he has one of the greatest satirical minds in the business, and so surely he deserves success in both the UK and US. His writing style has won Oliver several major awards, and he now performs that material on 'Last Week Tonight', which has become a minor hit across the pond. Oliver performs a very similar role to the also very talented John Stewart, and was even mentored by him during the time when Oliver became Stewart's 'Senior British Correspondent'. His finest work at that role included classic line such as "The following program contains accents you would have heard a lot more if you hadn't thrown our tea into Boston Harbour." It's jokes like that that sum up why I love John Oliver, and that's not all he can do; his standup routines are also impressive. And I've seen him in good form on panel shows such as 'Mock the Week', making him an all round solid comedian.
#7 Greg Davies
A man who I love not just because of his talent as a standup comedian, but also because of his brilliant role as 'Mr. Gilbert' in the hit comedy 'The Inbetweeners', which I genuinely think is the greatest comedy ever written. That accolade is for a variety of reasons, but Davies' role as the intimidating teacher is a character that this man portrays to perfection. His tall build and intimidating acting style make him a great comedic performer of the modern age, and has allowed him to become a successful standup comedian as well as a popular actor in many sitcoms in recent years. Davies just seems like an awesome guy, and so I'm glad he's ended up winning various awards at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and even starring in his own sitcom with the legendary Rik Mayall. However his specialty is on panel shows, where he has instantly excelled at hosting 'Never Mind the Buzzcocks', 'Would I lie to You', and even becoming a guest on 'Mock the Week'. He has become an all round stellar act, and has rightfully become one of the more popular comedians in Britain today.
#6 Louis C.K.
Quite simply the finest American comedian, although that's not exactly saying much. C.K. has been active since the mid 1980's, and in that time has managed to write a script for just about every decent comedy show in America. As a result he's a five time Emmy winner, and has become involved in creating groundbreaking programmes such as 'The Chris Rock Show', that I've already praised earlier. It's fair to say that Louis has become a master of the genre, and the showering of awards is only fair for such an experienced individual. However this man is more than just writing, in fact his standup is also pretty damn good. Over his extensive career Louis has probably told about every joke there is to tell, and is never afraid to go controversial. He even jokes about tragedies such as '9/11', which is a huge issue in American comedy, and as a result only touched upon by the masters. The cynical and relatable view of the world we get from Louis' work is humorous to say the least, and like others with his frame of mind, I love to hear how shit other people's lives have become. In a way he's what I want my blog to be like. It's not designed to be comedy gold, but I want it to be seen as an entertaining experience, with fresh and opinionated material. But in reality I know that I'm miles away from this man's caliber.
#5 Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson is without a doubt the greatest comedy performer of all time. For relatively little complexity, this man's can send audiences worldwide into fits of laughter from very simple characters played incredibly well. That talent in acting is really what separates Rowan from the rest, and over the years this talent has translated itself into iconic roles such as 'Mr. Bean' and 'Johnny English'. It's his role as 'Mr. Bean' that I particularly enjoy though. By using very few words and putting an emphasis on physical comedy, Atkinson is able to create one of the most hilarious sketch shows of all time that can be enjoyed by viewers of any age. Okay his standup isn't world class, and his writing isn't necessarily as good as others on this list, but for a comedy icon he's one of the best in history. Sketch shows such as 'Mr. Bean' and 'Not the Nine o'clock News' are where Atkinson stands out, and even his more recent adventures into film have been great to watch. He even managed to salvage something out of 'Love Actually', which as acting goes is a pretty good achievement.
#4 Jimmy Carr
He may be a tax evading twat, but he's a tax evading twat with some very good jokes that cover some seriously offensive material. As much as I hate various aspects about his personality, and by that I mean mainly that annoying laugh, Carr has the ability to be a top comedian that can easily concoct some brilliant jokes. Some would say that his material tends to suffer when it strays from being offensive, and I would tend to agree, but when he gets into a good routine, Carr can produce comedy gold with every sentence. From simple one liners to complex dark humour Carr can pretty much tell any joke successfully, even if he does end up looking like a bit of a dick. To say he was pretentious might be going too far, but I like how instead of a large ego, he relies on good quality jokes to get the audience's attention.
Jimmy Carr commonly resides on Channel 4, where he runs his own panel show '8 Out of 10 Cats' and 'The Big Fat Quiz of the Year'. Unfortunately the former is actually really bad considering the talent on offer, and for some reason it just doesn't work. It's clear that the poor standard of that panel show is down to the format rather than Carr himself, as he's a solid performer on any other show he decides to partake in. Carr's home will always be with standup comedy, and as you will see from the compilation below of him ruthlessly taking down hecklers, he's a natural in that role. His comedic mind works at an extraordinary pace, and so as a result no comedian can shut down hecklers quite like Carr. He's a true hardworking professional of the industry, and constantly on tour with his shows selling out for months. But that's only because this man is one quality performer.
#3 Lee Mack
The wittiest man on television has become a popular comedian in recent years due to his captaining skills on hit panel show 'Would I Lie to You?', which I rather enjoy. The format of panel shows like 'Would I Lie to You?' enables Mack to show of his fast paced style of humour that fits his erratic personality. Lee Mack actually suffers from ADHD, and when you watch his live performances you can really begin to tell that he uses this potential disadvantage to create a character that sets him apart from other conventional comedians. This hyperactivity that Mack achieves on the stage throughout his performances has helped him to create that style that for me fits his methods of comedy almost perfectly. Mack may not be the most sophisticated of comedians, and as a result tends to be overlooked in the industry, but I think this man is genuinely one of the most underrated talents on the comedy circuit. Mack has recently starred in award winning 'Not Going Out', which is alright when you compare it to the other rubbish that graces my television every evening. Although it will never compare with his work on panel shows that allow him to emphasise his unique charisma.
#2 David Mitchell
If there's an area of comedy that David Mitchell hasn't mastered yet then I would like to know about it; he's just an all round awesome guy. He exploded into the industry through the now popular 'Peep Show', and through that success went onto multiple sketch shows and panel shows. Mitchell excels at every single one of these formats, being the writer to 'That Mitchell & Webb Look' and a team captain on 'Would I Lie to You?', which are two of the funniest shows of all time. His middle class and apathetic attitude towards comedy may be a source of jokes for other comedy performers, but that makes him even more of a greater person in my eyes, and has led to some classic lines. My favorite line of his was the reason why he only owns two CDs thanks to a purchase of a Phil Collins record: "If there's a better reason never to buy another album then I'd like to hear it."
Mitchell's wit and talent have allowed him to form a perfect chemistry with coworkers such as Lee Mack and Robert Webb. Both of those two performers have a very different style to Mitchell, yet he is able to compliment and outperform them with ease. It doesn't matter what format or what style of comedy Mitchell appears in, he always manages to produce brilliant material, and always fits in perfectly to whatever role he decides to play. The best part of his personality though is the rants he goes on. These rants are hilarious to listen to, and are amazingly put together considering that Mitchell just comes up with them on the fly. The intellectual and amusing points this man can muster up on the spot are just incredible, and that's become a key reason as to why this man can turn anything into comedy gold. He is still to this day a fucking legend, and that doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon.
#1 Frankie Boyle
This was a difficult choice to make as there are many talented comedians with unique features that set them apart from their rivals. However I came to this decision due to the unbelievable comedic mind that Boyle possesses. Some of the jokes I've heard come from the brain of this man have just been exceptional, and easily overshadow the other comedians on this list. I do enjoy this man's standup material, but found that it relied to heavily on harsh jokes in order to carry it, and so this decision is based on his flawless work on panel shows such as 'Mock the Week'. On panel shows you can really see Frankie at his best, when he's not just pandering to his audience, and instead coming up with some fresh and thoughtful material. During his eight series tenure on 'Mock the Week' he became a clear fan favorite due to his skill for comedy and his no holds barred approach to satire that I just love to listen to.
Everyone will probably know Frankie Boyle for his pessimistic and dark versions of life that have led him to offend pretty much everyone in Britain at some point, despite the fact that he still doesn't give a single shit. His nonchalant attitude towards offending people is what I love about him, and listening to him getting a lot of backlash for saying Rebecca Adlington appears to be like somebody looking at themselves in a spoon is the sort of material that this man thrives on. That's probably not my favorite though. That would have to be when he said The Queen was so old that her pussy was haunted, or maybe his distasteful comments on Katie Price's disabled child. Boyle's performance was actually cut out of a Comic Relief event for being too distasteful, but even after all this he hasn't changed a bit. Boyle has even taken on his critics in court and won, which is just brilliant to hear. That's what comedy should be about; pushing the boundaries and not caring about political correctness. Comedy can't enter new territory without people like Boyle, and I can't think of a better performer to do just that.
