Matt Berry - Life and Career

Life and Career

Berry was born in Bromham, Bedfordshire, to Pauline (née Acreman) and Charles Berry. Matt has one older sister, Johanna. He attended Nottingham Trent University where he received a BA in Contemporary Arts in 1997. He began his career as a runner before appearing in the video game magazine show Game Over on BSkyB's computer and technology channel .tv, between 1998 and 1999. Though commissioned as an editorial show on the subject matter, episodes contained a large number of comedy sketches with Berry as the main performer. These showcased a wide range of characters, one of which was a sketch about The Exorcist entitled "Fear Pushed Through the Ring". It was this sketch and others like it that resulted in Berry, and producers Rik Henderson and Richard Pitt, being fired from the show.

Berry's first prominent TV role was playing Todd Rivers/Dr Lucien Sanchez in the cult 2004 comedy series Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and the 2006 spin-off Man to Man with Dean Learner. He later appeared as the eccentric and sinister tycoon/explorer Dixon Bainbridge in The Mighty Boosh. Berry first met The Mighty Boosh duo while performing at the Hen and Chickens Theatre, where they were resident in 2000. He can be seen in a small cameo performance in the The Mighty Boosh Live DVD.

Berry wrote and starred in the comedy show Snuff Box on BBC Three with Rich Fulcher, whom he met during the filming of the first series of The Mighty Boosh. Fulcher co-starred as Bainbridge's lackey, Bob Fossil. Berry has starred as Douglas Reynholm since the second series of The IT Crowd. He was nominated as Best Male Comedy Newcomer in the 2007 British Comedy Awards for this role, but lost out to James Corden for Gavin and Stacey. In 2012 he appeared in the title role of the sitcom pilot Toast of London.

In November 2007, Berry starred alongside Simon Farnaby and Boosh regular Rich Fulcher in The Golf War on E4. Film appearances include The Devil's Chair (2006) and Moon (2009). In 2008 he became the face of Adult Swim's spoof charity appeal "Save the Workers". Berry featured in Season 3, episode 9 of The Sarah Silverman Program, filmed in Los Angeles for Comedy Central. Berry stars in the video (directed by Richard Ayoade) for the 2007 Super Furry Animals song "Run-Away". He also appeared as an antiques expert in the ITV sketch show Monkey Trousers with Vic and Bob and Steve Coogan.

Berry has provided many voiceovers for both radio and television advertising, including Absolute Radio, Volvic mineral water, Müller Corner adverts and characters on several adverts for The Natural Confectionery Company. He has also been in the sketch show The Wrong Door as a recurring bit-part character who runs into a snooker hall and shouts "Stop playing snooker!" before whispering an implied impossible wager to one of the players and completing an unfeasible trick shot. In 2012 he worked with Team17 on their video game title Worms Revolution, providing voice over, as fictional wildlife documentary maker Don Keystone, for both the game and the video advertisements produced for it.

In 2010 Berry played journalist Michael Duffy in the BBC production Five Daughters, which portrayed events surrounding the Ipswich murders of 2006. Berry starred in a short film called The Search, about "a lonely man's search for the existence of life outside our universe takes a remarkable turn when he connects with a recently bereaved family". In 2011, he played the voice of Allen in Aqua Unit Patrol Squad's "Allen Part 2". He appeared as a contestant in the British comedy panel game Shooting Stars, acting the part of Vangelis.

Matt Berry appeared in the film adaptation of the David Nicholls novel One Day, playing the role of Aaron, Dexter's agent. Matt Berry briefly featured in the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, introducing ELO's 'Mr. Blue Sky' by way of a mock weather forecast.