The other Pythons are much funnier, but Chapman is very important. He's sort of the straight man (ironic, for those in the know) and is, for the most part, the real actor of the group. Not like the other actors aren't amazing. They are awesome. But they are funny and Chapman just plays the character outright, without any intention of being funny while others played around him, and I think he was amazing in that.
He definitely plays very very silly characters on Flying Circus, but in this movie you're right, I think he's underrated.
shareUnderrated by whom? In the 2009 documentary "Monty Python: Almost the Truth - The Lawyer's Cut" all the remaining Pythons agree that "Gray" was indispensable and none of them could have played Arthur and especially Brian as well as he did (in spite of the fact that Chapman could only work for half a day at best before getting completely plastered). Cleese stated that he himself (being the most prominent of the group) had expected to be Brian and was rather disappointed when the others insisted it had to be Chapman, but once the movie was finished he agreed that he couldn't have done it that well.
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Chapman had cleaned up by the time he shot Life of Brian and was able to work longer days. He was a wreck while shooting Holy Grail, but absolutely hilarious onscreen. And he reportedly kept morale high during shooting with a "here's-what-we've-shot-so-far" rush party; he picked up the tab for the drinks. And there were many drinks that night; people were quite happy (after a long stretch of being miserable).
Love all the Pythons, but they were right about Chapman: He WAS their leading man. He was also terrific in featured roles like Biggus Dickus.
I do especially love Chapman. Then again, I especially love all of the Pythons in one way or another. I'd say all of them are underrated... with the possible exception of John Cleese, just because he's always had the highest profile.
share... (ironic, for those in the know) ...Well it is, since it is pretty well known that he had the most publicized personal issues. But he will remain unforgettable as Arthur and Brian.🐭 share
I agree. With Abbott and Costello, the money earned from their comedy act were split 60/40, favoring Abbott. Costello's reasoning was, "Comics are a dime a dozen. Good straight men are hard to find."
It is so true... anyone can be funny, but to pull off the serious role is a hard thing to acomplish
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As far as I can tell, Graham was just as popular as the others in Python. I actually attended a live one-man show he did, c. 1987. He did a great one-man wrestling routine, which was the high-light of the night.
shareThe other Pythons are much funnier
I don't know on what planet you're living on if you think Graham Chapman's underrated. For most Brits I'd say Chapman's Colonel character is the first thing you see in your mind when you think of Monty Python. That or Gilliam's animations.
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