Armando Iannucci

Non-comedy TV and film credits may be found here:
Armando Iannucci on IMDb

Born

Thursday 28th November 1963 (60 years-old)

Full name

Armando Giovanni Iannucci

Nationality

Scottish

Armando Iannucci was born in Glasgow in [y]1963[y], and after studying at St. Aloysius' College, Glasgow and the University of Glasgow, he secured a place at University College, Oxford, where he studied English Literature. He thought quite seriously about becoming a Roman Catholic priest, and even began a DPhil on 17th-century religious language, with particular reference to John Milton, but abandoned this in order to pursue a career in comedy.

Iannucci's earliest work saw him making shows such as No' The Archie McPherson Show and Armando Iannucci for BBC Radio 1, in which he collaborated with many other comedians who would feature alongside him throughout his later career, including Rebecca Front, Steve Coogan, and David Schneider.

Soon he collaborated with British satirist Chris Morris on the radio series On The Hour, which was later transferred to television as The Day Today. This was where the character of the bumbling, vulnerable, yet charming Alan Partridge, a radio presenter for Radio Norwich, was born. Here Iannucci also brought together comics such as Stewart Lee and Richard Herring. His comic creation Alan Partridge would soon feature in a number of Iannucci's own television and radio programmes, including Knowing Me Knowing You With Alan Partridge and I'm Alan Partridge.

Next, Iannucci continued his success by fronting the satirical Armistice review shows and creating his most personal work to date, The Armando Iannucci Shows, broadcast on Channel 4 and written with Andy Riley and Kevin Cecil.

After singing the praises of Yes, Minister during the BBC's television documentary Britain's Best Sitcom, Iannucci came up with the idea of a mockumentary-style, political sitcom of his own, loosely based on the parliamentary machinations of the day. This became The Thick Of It, a faux cinéma-vérité exploration of the inner workings of government in which an incompetent cabinet minister, Hugh Abbott (Chris Langham, is exploited and manipulated by his cynical Press Officer, Malcolm Tucker (/p]Peter Capaldi]). It premiered on BBC Four in 2005, but was awarded two hour-long specials, with an extended cast, to coincide with Christmas and Gordon Brown's appointment as prime minister in 2007. Its third series, released in 2009, was broadcast on BBC Two, and a fourth series followed in 2012. The sitcom is renowned for the foul-mouthed volleys of abuse hurled by Malcolm Tucker at those in his immediate vicinity, with certain words and phrases such as 'omnishambles' entering mainstream political discourse.

Once The Thick Of It had come to an end, Iannucci began work on his spoof documentary series Time Trumpet, a satirical comedy set in the year 2031 that retrospectively reflects on the first thirty years of the 21st century. One sketch involving a jumbo jet crashing into Parliament and the subsequent assassination of Tony Blair, was pulled in the wake of the 2006 terrorist plot. In 2009 his first feature film In The Loop premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, with many of the best-loved cast members from The Thick Of It returning. Shot in a farcical, rapid-fire manner, the film focuses on the run-up to a possible war, a thinly-veiled satire of the Iraq conflict.

Next Iannucci turned his attention to American audiences, creating the HBO political satire Veep (2012-2019, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer, fictional vice-president, of the United States who, despite being a heartbeat away from the leader of the free world, still feels undervalued and underappreciated in her role. Filmed in the quick-fire, sharply intelligent manner of Iannucci's other work, it has won 17 Primetime Emmy Awards and two Critics' Choice Television Awards, amongst other accolades.

In 2017, Iannucci released his second feature film, The Death of Stalin, a satirical look at the intense struggle for power following the sudden death of Joseph Stalin in 1953. The film is well-known for its sharp dialogue and absurd situations, but also for recreating genuine moments that occurred in history. For instance, in real life Stalin, having listened to a live concert on the radio, ordered that its recording be sent to him. No such recording had been established, so the entire concert had to be hurriedly repeated, with the audience forced back into their seats.

Iannucci is planning a science fiction sitcom set in space, entitled Avenue 5.

He was awarded the Writers' Guild of Britain Award at the 2011 British Comedy Awards.

Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards 2022

Best Screenplay (Winner)

DDA Spotlight Award 2020

Main Prize (Winner)

Satellite Awards 2019

Best Adapted Screenplay (Nominee)

British Independent Film Awards 2019

Best Screenplay (Winner)

BAFTA Scotland Awards 2018

Best Director (Winner)
Best Writer - Film/Television (Winner)

BAFTA Film Awards 2018

Outstanding British Film (Nominee)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Nominee)

BAFTA Scotland Awards 2017

Outstanding Contribution To Film And Television (Winner)

British Independent Film Awards 2017

Best Director (Nominee)
Best Screenplay (Nominee)

Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards 2016

Best TV Situation Comedy (Winner)

British Comedy Awards 2014

Best International Comedy Programme (Nominee (Veep))

BAFTA Television Awards 2013

Best Sitcom (Nominee)

BAFTA Television Awards 2011

New Media Award (Nominee (Malcolm Tucker: The Missing Phone))

British Comedy Awards 2011

Best Writing (Winner)

BAFTA Television Awards 2010

Best Sitcom (Winner)

Academy Awards (Oscars) 2010

Best Adapted Screenplay (Nominee)

BAFTA Film Awards 2010

Best Adapted Screenplay (Nominee)

Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2010

Best Writer (Winner)

London Critics' Circle Film Awards 2010

Director Of The Year (Nominee)
Screenwriter Of The Year (Winner)
Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker Of The Year (Nominee)

Chortle Awards 2010

Outstanding Contribution to Comedy (Winner)

BAFTA Scotland Awards 2009

Best Director (Winner)
Best Writer - Film/Television (Winner)

British Independent Film Awards 2009

Best Director (Nominee)
Best Debut Director (Nominee)
Best Screenplay (Winner)

RTS Awards 2008

Writer - Comedy (Nominee)

Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2006

Best Writer (Winner)

BAFTA Television Awards 1998

Best Comedy (Winner)

BAFTA Television Awards 1995

Best Light Entertainment Programme (Nominee)

British Comedy Awards 1994

Special Award (Winner)

Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards 1991

Best Radio Comedy (Winner)

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