Dylan Moran

Born in 1971 in County Meath, Ireland, Moran left school at 16 with no qualifications and no idea what to do. He spent the next four years in unemployment, apparently writing bad poetry and drinking.

He finally fell into stand-up after a visit to Dublin's Comedy Cellar. It was at this small ninety seat club, with no microphone, where he did his first few gigs. Although he was a nervous performer, he soon built up a good reputation amongst the regulars. His sell-out tours Monster, and Monster Two included performances in New York and Milan. The Times described his performance as "master class of comic charisma: swinging from topic to topic in a manner seemingly spontaneous but actually tightly organised."

Moran's on-stage persona is much like the character he played in Channel 4's Black Books. He basically looks like he just wants to get the whole thing over and done with so he can get back to drinking wine and smoking cigarettes. In bed.

Moran has resisted the lucrative move onto TV and has instead chosen to maintain eye contact with his audience. He still tours and is a regular at many national and international comedy festivals. A more credible comedian you will not find - and he's racked up a few awards along the way in recognition of this. By 21 he had won the So You Think You're Funny? award at the Edinburgh festival. Three years later he became the youngest person to win the coveted Perrier award. La Monde also crowned him the greatest ever comedian, living or dead. Where do you go from that? Accomplished performer, credible comic. Dylan Moran is one of the great stand-ups of our time.