An introduction to the colorful U.K. comedy of What We Do In The Shadows star Matt Berry
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Matt Berry’s no stranger to TV, but his starring turn in FX’s What We Do In The Shadows marks the British comedian’s biggest stateside role to date. As Laszlo, Berry elaborates upon the playboy vampire trope Jemaine Clement toyed with as the original film’s Vladislav. Where Clement is silken, though, Berry is bold, his booming baritone conveying a regality that clashes hilariously with his baser, more profane tendencies. As he’s proven time and again throughout his career, Berry also plays well with others, with our own Danette Chavez praising his chemistry with co-stars Natasia Demetriou and Kayvan Novak as “enviable; no matter what the configuration, the results are gut-busting.”
Truly, Berry was born in the wrong century, as his cadence and princely mane lend themselves to the open-air stages of the Elizabethan era. He’s made it work for him, however, developing a style that bends his theatrical air to both the highest and lowest brows of U.K. comedy. His career contains multitudes—The IT Crowd, Disenchantment, Duncan Jones’ Moon—but, as a treat on the heels of last night’s premiere, we’re here to share a few of our favorite Berry performances.
Toast Of London
Toast Of London’s pilot debuted in August of 2012, and its three subsequent seasons have seen Berry’s Steven Toast spiral deeper and deeper into the show’s breakneck blend of wit, absurdity, and industry satire. Toast, an ailing, middle-aged actor, tumbles through what feels like six or seven storylines in every 23-minute episode, his sprint towards fame often resulting in financial ruin, humiliation, and, in so, so many cases, actual death. Berry’s hifalutin countenance is used against Toast here, situating the actor as an out-of-time fool in an industry run by hipsters, including the suave, recording engineer Clem Fandango (Shazad Latif). Jon Hamm and Queens Of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme have made random, hilarious cameos, while legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is portrayed as an underhanded heavy.
Also, Toast, which was co-created by Berry, offers the actor a chance to flex his own musical prowess, which isn’t insignificant. He’s got several studio albums under his belt, and caps off each episode of Toast with a parody song that, more often than not, milks a touch of pathos from the character’s mishaps. Check some out below.
Snuff Box
After appearing on several episodes of The Mighty Boosh, Berry linked up with comedian Rich Fulcher in 2006 for Snuff Box, a BBC Three sketch series in which the two played executioners in “a gentlemen’s club for hangmen.” There’s plenty of great bits to be found in the episodes, but perhaps the most enduring are the “Boyfriend” sketches, an admittedly one-note bit that, due to Berry’s timing and escalation, only grows funnier with time. Each follows a similar pattern: Berry steps in to perform a favor for a young woman, flirts with her, finds out she has a boyfriend, and immediately bails with a brisk “fuck you.” It’s the perfect distillation of his talents, his suaveness making the meet-cutes as charming as they are groan-worthy—“Well, it has been said that I’m a gentlemen, but never a gentle man”—and his curt flip into the profane serving to satirize the predatory nature of the toxic male. Also, for as simple as the sketches are, they’re brimming with subtle gems—the “piss off” at the two-minute mark of the above video is priceless.
Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace
We’ve written about 2004’s short-lived, much-loved Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace before, but it’s worth revisiting for Berry’s absurd, wonderful turn as Dr. Lucien Sanchez. The satirical, low-budget horror soap explored a haunted hospital where the doctors saw more demons than patients, and Berry’s Sanch was often at the center of the series’ best scenes. His portrayal of the roguish, lovelorn sidekick was funny enough, but, as a nod to show-in-the-show’s shoddy production value, the majority of his lines were dubbed in, his already-uncanny voice sounding even more alien when mismatched with his mouth. It also produced what’s probably Berry’s best-known song: “One Track Lover,” a parody of ’80s synth-cheese that’s so much better than it has any right to be. Hear it below.
179 Comments
The only rival to “God DAMN these electric sex pants!”
I would also add, “Ray bloody Purchase!”
I’ll see your bloody Ray Purchase and raise you the sounds of Ray Purchase and Toast doing voice work for a German adult homoerotic movie “Smack… smooch… slurp… lolll lolll lolll lolll…. oh oooooooooooh.”
Oh shit, that was hilarious.
You! Computer man! Fix my pants!
+1 get on your knees and do your job!!!!
Fuck off!
This is how I explained to my wife who he is.Also,“I don’t care that you used to be from Iran”
That episode is one of the best episodes of TV. Is that the same one where they convince the Jan that the internet is kept in a box?
I want to say yes. I’ve been put on a IT Crowd Freeze because I was watching it on a regular basis.
It is not. The episode with the internet in a box is the same one that he dates the woman who used to be a man.
The episode he dates the man is the one I was referring to. The quote I was responding to about being from Iran is that episode.
Ah yes, the first signs of Graham Linehan becoming the transphobic shitpiece that he is today.
Leaving these out is criminal for any profile of Mr. Berry.
That moment is the single funniest thing I’ve ever seen on a tv screen.
Oddly, for me, it’s the scene that directly leads to it:
Not the same episode as the one I’m thinking of but also truly classic. If anyone tried me to make me choose between Matt Berry and Chris Morris I would fire myself out of a cannon and into the sun.
ARE YOU SURE? ARE YOU SURE? ARE YOU SURE? ARE YOU SURE?
I don’t know why, but the one that kills me everytime is “Press the button, you dough-nut!”, really anything with Clem Fandango is fucking golden.
I’m sorry for your loss. Move on.(I know: different character. But I can’t see anything from that episode and not have that immediately come to mind.)
“Damn that sorcerer! 20 gold pieces and I’m wankered on Rohypnol”
My only regret is I cannot give you more stars. I literally thought of this scene the moment i started reading the article.
he has a great voice, but doesnt always have to use it….
Haha. That scene was incredible. Everything about him in IT crowd was fantastic.
I’ve said it before every time the subject comes up but the line delivery on “Speak priest” and “Where is your God now?” is also stellar 🙂
Damn, IT Crowd used to be one of my fave shows ever. Graham Linehan has almost ruined it for me by being such a dick.
I have the same problem with both Black Books and IT Crowd. I just tell myself that his cowriters did most of the funny stuff (Dylan Morran did a fair amount of work on BB and it shows, its full of his style comedy)
I am completely comfortable calling this one of the best character introductions of all time.
One of my favorite scenes ever. That whole funeral was brilliant.
Literally just watched that on TV 5 minutes ago.
Came here for this. Leaving satisfied.
Best. Character intro. Ever.
One of the single greatest character entrances of all time.
Also look on YouTube for his completely unhinged series “Matt Berry Does” and become infatuated with the name Colin Dent.
The greatest voice of all time. I’d pay to listen to him read anything. The back of a cereal box, Ikea instructions, the bible, Steven Toast’s autobiography (Seriously, get it and listen to it).
I know it’s cliche, but I would in all sincerity genuinely listen to Matt Berry read the phone book.
Somehow I had no idea that audiobook existed! It just became my first Audible purchase. Thank you!
I’m going to go home tonight and finally start writing my Great American Novel, just so I can have him do the audiobook.
Ikea instructions don’t have any words – they use graphics only so they can sell the same shit in every country of the world without translating the instructions.
Launch the nuclear weapons.
The Cold Play, Bon Jhovi and Madame Ga GA.
Hi Steven? It’s Clem Fandango. Can you hear me?
I heard this in my head in his voice.
The thing is, that’s not actually his voice, his real voice is insanely soft.
If I ever get cancer of the testicles, I’ll want him to tell me. It’ll soften the blow.
holy shit I forgot about that audiobook. it’s the best-
The world doesn’t realise this, but it needs a Matt Berry-voiced satnav.
FAAAAAAAAATHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRR!
DR. LUCIEN SANCHEZ!
Matt Berry is one of the most genuinely funny people on TV
snuff box is perfect in every way.
[BADLY DUBBED]“Get lost.”
The first time I went through the show I really lost my mind when the song started in each episode. The fact that it’s always the same tune and eventually devolves into the same song by the end each time is just SO funny to me and I’m not entirely sure why. At first you’re like, “Oh, another song. That’s fun!” But by like episode four I was seriously cackling each time those opening bars would start to play.
It’s hard to describe Snuff Box to people who haven’t seen it, but I usually tell people that it’s a sketch comedy show that’s heavily defined by dream logic…
You are objectively wrong about “One Track Lover” being his most well known or “beloved” That is clearly the Theme from Snuff Box “You Thought it was Gold but it was Bronze”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ssRbyWqHmg
Matt Berry’s weird cadences eclipse even those of Christopher Walken. “She says she’s having visions – blood, guts a real horror show.”
IT Crowd is where I first encountered Berry, and it’s still my favorite role of his. It’s such a funny show and he is absolutely incredible in it.
This is a weird thing to have to try and articulate properly on here in 2019 but the whole sexual harassment plot is executed in this weirdly innocent way where Douglas is too over the top creepy to be threatening and then they all just get their compensation and keep working together anyway. I also live the weirdness of the last/that late episode where there’s that weird plot point about how no-one understands what the proper sayings are.
I can’t help but laugh when the lawyer is directing him where to sign on the form and Douglas just peevishly retorts “Uh, I think I know where to sign on a sexual harassment settlement!”
I wanted to upvote this but Kinja is shitting the bed so upvote 🙂
Not to mention the ep where Douglas is dating a trans woman.It’s miles better than, say, Ace Ventura, but it’s still just a tiny bit troublesome in hindsight.
A lot worse if you’ve heard anything about what Graham Linehan’s been up to in 2019.
*reads what Graham Linehan has been up to in 2019*Oh, that’s unfortunate.
I have my issues with parts of the show (and especially Graham Linehan himself) now, but man, the climax of that episode where Douglas has a dazed Moss fixing his underwear, which looks far worse to the group of religious leaders who are then met with a hearty “FUCK OFF!” is one of my favorite joke payoffs ever.
SPEAK, PRIEST!
Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace was the first time I encountered him and I was convinced at the time that they’d overdubbed the actor with someone else’s voice as part of the joke. It just didn’t make sense that a voice like that would come out of his mouth.
“What!?!? Tell me something, am I holding a crock of sh*t? Is this hospital caught saying, ‘Crock of Shit??’” Or words to that affect. And, of course, “Ray ‘BLOODY’ Purchase!!”
Is this hospital called St. Crock of Shit???
Ah, thanks. His thick accent always threw me. Now you don’t get to taste any of my delicious chicken! son of a b*tch!
[POINTS DRAMATICALLY]
That boyfriend sketch compilation from Snuff Box is so fucking good. I’ve watched it like a 100 times.“I’m always ready to help a beautiful lady. I’ll help the ugly ones as well but I’d definitely say you’re in the former camp. He he he!”“Well it’s been said that I’m a gentleman but never a GENTLE man. He he he!”“I would be honored if my lady were to christen the rope folly I have ERECTED.”
Snuff Box in general is astonishing. Weird, arty, “what the fuck did I just watch”then:”Man, I miss Snuff Box” after it ends.
This bit always pops into my head tho:
I just now realized this was probably a reference to the time Christopher Lee unwittingly acted in a softcore bondage film, and now it’s even better.
WHISKY!
Toast of London is the best thing on Netflix. Do yourself a favor.
I’m hearing you Clem Fandango.
And your stupid made up name.
Fuck off, you malnourished pimp, with your world war one facial hair and your sister’s clothes!
Another great show — Bridget & Eamon. It’s an Irish show. Amazon Prime has it.
“FIRE THE NUCULAR WEAPONS.”
Mind the
……………………..GAP
Lovely work on the username…of co-of co-of course.
Gap
Ok, this time pause before the word hear.
It’s one of my favorite shows. Even if it often features that hack, Ray Bloody Purchase.
YEEEE-EEE-EESSSSSS.
Launch the nuclear weapons!!!!
Truly, Berry was born in the wrong century, as his cadence and princely mane lend themselves to the open-air stages of the Elizabethan era.Yup – I’ve always thought he looks and sounds like he time-travelled from an era where he wore pouffy sleeves and breeches, and spent his days hanging around in some Royal’s court, busy over-drinking wine from a chalice and motor-boating some voluptuous maiden in between telling wild stories loudly…
Good Godzilla, could you imagine his Falstaff?!
“And the Oscar goes to …”
Ever hear his real voice?
That is *jarring*
I love hearing Richard Ayoade rap.
Runaway – Super Furry Animals
Not to mention he stars in a Super Furry Animals music video.
Even better, it’s a Richard Ayoade directed music video (one of many greats – I also really love Cornerstone, Flourescent Adolescent, Oxford Comma, My Mistakes Were Made For You… alright let’s be real, all of Ayoade’s work is fabulous)
I had no idea! That’s awesome!
Like come on, make another fucking movie after Submarine and The Double!!
Do you watch Travel Man with him? It’s exhaustingly wordy and I kind of feel sorry for most of his victims/guests but it’s one of the few things my family can watch together.
Yessss, I binge watch any time they add a season to Hulu. One of the few shows I’m fine rewatching as well (every time I have to introduce someone to the pure joy that is Travel Man)
He has quite an amount of CHARISMEEEEEEEEEH.
Not as much as Jon Hamm!
It’s a different kind.Matt Berry = sleazy humourous charismaJon Hamm = ridiculously handsome charismaPatrick Warburton = dry humour old school charisma.
I like it when he plays the MAAAAAAAD MAN.
“You shut the fuck up, Clem Fandandgo! And your made-up name!”Matt Berry has great freak-outs.
Just stopping by to remind everyone how bonkers/awesome it is that Snuff Box’s theme plays during Dredd for virtually no reason.
Does this show exist in the same universe as the movie?
List of British comedies I CANNOT get into despite loving their casts:Toast of LondonJam and Jerusalem
Although special mention goes to Kate Rusby’s cover of the Village Green Preservation Society on the latter.
That’s by far the best part of the show.
I know his appearance lasted for all of 90 seconds, but Saxondale is missing from this list.
I feel like this post is sorely lacking without the mention of AD/BC
It’s all golden really. I’d suggest that anybody who likes Berry also check out AD/BC, a Jesus Christ Superstar parody featuring the all of the usual Boosh and IT Crowd suspects…
The “Matt Berry Does” series of faux documentaries on youtube are great, too.
Is it supposed to be the same characters or a set of all new vampires? I hope it’s not the same characters depicted in the movie. They were perfectly cast.
New set.
Awesome!
Came here to make sure Darkplace got mentioned.
Good. Carry on.
He’s just fantastic.“Ray BLOODY Purchase!”Every response to Clem Fandango.
Every scene in the I.T. Crowd.
“There’s somebody at the door. There’s somebody at the door.”
Bless you for including ‘Darkplace’!
Bless you for including ‘Darkplace’!
And let’s not forget his musical output too.
I’m disappointed that House of Fools is missing from the list, for one thing it’s frickin’ Vic and Bob, but also because Berry’s superb in it too, one of his daftest but most lovable characters.
Also his one off spoof of Jesus Christ Superstar (or homage too, perhaps) AD/BC A Rock Opera is really fun, especially if you’re aware of the musical it’s influenced by, and it’s up on youtube in full so no one has an excuse not to watch it:
Oh, and his special The Road To Brexit was great too, though as that only aired in the UK on Tuesday night I’ll forgive the AV Club for not covering it this one time.
I wonder if it’s loaded…
I love anything he’s in, but his best is either Garth Marenghi or Toast of London. Followed closely by Snuffbox.Also, Ray BLOODY Purchase.
Is Matt Berry ever not “a lot”? I like him, but he can be a lot to take in, especially given the normally dry tone of Britcoms…
Just like Brian Blessed, I’m sure Matt Berry is capable of subtlety… but he’s the best in the world at what he does, and what he does is VERY VERY LOUD.
He has a cameo in Christopher Robin as a policeman in which he’s pretty low-key. It’s, like, ninety seconds but it’s literally the only thing I can think of.
His work on Boosh is also amazing.
Not gonna lie, ever since that episode, this is how I’ve left every job: the entire lyrics of Total Eclipse of the Heart in my goodbye email (I don’t like to end on a down note). The best was when I left a total shitshow of a tech support company and spent my last afternoon spamming every line of the song into the group messenger.
Dixon Bainbridge is actually what I think of when I think of Matt Berry, and this scene in particular.
The first, last, and only Matt Berry clip I need in my life:
Matt Berry is fantastic. If you like him, check out his Audiobook, “Toast on Toast” – you can find it on YouTube. It’s hilarious.
Greatest album cover of all time. So great Kinja makes it appear twice.
It’s in my top 5 favorite albums of all time!
“Take My Hand” = great song. Have been meaning to download the rest of the album.
Every year I buy a new album of his for my wife for Christmas. His musical output is truly prolific (and you forgot AD/BC possibly the best Christmas Special/Jesus Christ Super Star parody of all time that he wrote and starred in). Also, don’t think for a second I didn’t catch what you were doing in that title there you cheeky bugger.
I often refer to myself as a “Ukaaaaaydaddy” at home. Much to my wife’s chagrin.
His nature videos, written with Bob Mortimer are amazing
“So what happened between you and this Renwick customer?”
I love that his favored musical genre is experimental folk, and he’s 100% serious about it.
So serious. He would be a rare talent if he only created music. With the comedy, it’s like two geniuses for the price of one!
You’ll love this mini piece he did about a composer that worked soley on British sitcoms:100% earnest.
one of the reasons IT crowd was so good – between berry, richard ayoade (let’s be honest, the entire cast) and the writing of graham linehan, it’s a cracker. special mention to first season boss, chris morris.
He’s good, but he’s no Jean Michel Jarre.
Matt Berry’s one of the most underrated comedians to come out of Britain, him and James Acaster.
:: dramatic voice :: Acaster has not won me over yet, sir! :: dramatic voice ::
List fails without Community:
(This video is rubbish, as it does not include Matt yelling to Britta “You Midwestern-nnnnnn-floozy!”)
Let us not forget his musical career. The first album was certainly the best, but he is a man of many talents.
So what’s the deal between you and this Matt Berry customerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
“You’re a woman.”
Dag: “For the first time ever I saw the Scotch in their natural habitat, and it weren’t pretty. I’d seen them huddling in stations before, being loud but. . .this time I was surrounded. Everywhere I went it felt like they were watching me; fish-white flesh puckered by the Highland breeze; tight eyes peering out for fresh meat; screechy, booze-soaked voices hollering out for a taxi to take ‘em halfway up the road to the next all-night watering hole. A shatter of glass; a round of applause; a sixteen-year-old mother of three vomiting in an open sewer, bairns looking on, chewing on potato cakes. I ain’t never going back… not never.”Sanchez: “My aunt lives in Scotland; she says it’s quite nice.”Dag: “Well, she’s wrong.”
I loved him in the Mighty Boosh. Not having Bainbridge in all three series was a bit of a shame.
“Look at this fucker move.”
Given what his character does for his bread and butter in Toast of London, I about did a spit-take when I first found out the man himself actually does commercials:
Matt Berry is a treasure
I love this bit.
The lack of an article on the sublime work of Kayvan Novak is a crime – he’s scores better than Berry.
In case anyone wondered what Berry actually sounds like:
I did not care for What We Do in the Shadows as a film (but really wanted to as I loved the concept, but not the execution). I’ve been wanting to watch Toast of London for a while as it keeps popping up on my Netflix recommendations. Is it worth checking out if I didn’t care for WWDitS?
Am I the only one who watched “Shadows” on FX and thought his charcter was Jermaine Clement? After reading this article, this makes sense, because the only other thing I saw him in was The IT Crowd, and I at first thought that character was Clement as well. I first saw Clement in Legion, and now I seem to see him everywhere. I feel a bit behind the curve, but happy to know about Berry’s work.
Watched the pilot. This is supposed to be a comedy, right? It isn’t.
I’m a superfan of his, so this article is mega fun for me, as are the comments. Some notes:Bruce Forsythe
The word “Canal”
Bubbles from Spongebob: The Movie – “What happened to Saturn? And to Jupiterrrrrr?”
The song “Take My Hand”
or “The Innkeeper’s Song” (Live)
or “Knock, Knock”
That’s a lovely surname…
The hypnosis podcasts
You can fuck that SKY HIGH!
An introduction to Matt Berry? As if Matt Berry NEEDS an introduction, you heathens!Also, the only man I would ever want to narrate my life. Period. Thank god he’s back in a new show; there’s never enough.
An introduction to Matt Berry? As if Matt Berry NEEDS an introduction, you heathens!Also, the only man I would ever want to narrate my life. Period. Thank god he’s back in a new show; there’s never enough.
If you’ve never heard him on the radio show I Regress as an unorthodox and not particularly helpful psychotherapist, it’s well worth tracking down. Great co-stars, too.
Introduction to guy who’s been plying his trade for longer than this websites been running?
Toast of London is Phenomenal.
Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace is so meta and subtle that (a) it’s almost indistinguishable from a real show (in other words, if someone told you that this was about a real 80s horror series and its production, you probably wouldn’t blink) and (b) it seriously takes several viewings before you realize how sharply funny and well-written it is. (Which is not to say that it’s not funny and entertaining before that, mind you. It’s just that at a certain point the totality of the satire just comes into focus and you realize the level of detail that’s been put into the writing and production of the show.) The investment is worth it, though. And if it opens you up to Mighty Boosh and Look Around You and the other shows mentioned above, all the better….
Also as the volcano on a commercial for bottled water. Grab life by the conkers!
Something that really shows his musical chops is his oft overlooked rock opera AD/BC, in which he plays the innkeeper that eventually turns out Joseph and Mary on the night of Christ’s birth. A lot of familiar faces in this too.
He is one of the funniest humans of all time.
Also…
I enjoy a lot of the work that Matt Berry’s been in, including some of the stuff he’s made himself with collaborators like Rich, and Arthur Mathews. From The IT Crowd through Boosh, Snuff Box & Toast to What We Do in the Shadows, he’s eminently watchable and enjoyable. But I’ve never heard anyone suggest that his characters are largely the same. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, but it’s 1) undeniably true and 2) puzzling that nobody’s mentioned it before.When I saw that he was to appear in Taika Waititi’s & Jemaine Clement’s TV adaptation of the brilliant ‘What We Do in the Shadows’, I was both excited and, oddly, looking forward to see whether Matt would/could refrain from one of his standard verbal tricks/tics, most evident in Steven Toast. Namely, the over-enunciated and elongated vowel sounds at the end of final words in sentences. Sure enough, five minutes into episode 1, Laszlo says, “[O]ne part of my anatomeehhhhh”. I have to emphasize, I like Matt’s work. He’s funny as hell. I just don’t know why anyone’s pointed out the sameness from gig to gig.