Michael Palin
Biography
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS (born 5 May 1943) is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries. Palin wrote most of his comedic material with Terry Jones. Before Monty Python, they had worked on other shows such as The Ken Dodd Show, The Frost Report and Do Not Adjust Your Set. Palin appeared in some of the most famous Python sketches, including "Argument Clinic", "Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", and "The Spanish Inquisition". Palin continued to work with Jones after Python, co-writing Ripping Yarns. He has also appeared in several films directed by fellow Python Terry Gilliam and made notable appearances in other films such as A Fish Called Wanda, for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted the 30th favourite by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. After Python, he began a new career as a travel writer and travel documentarian. His journeys have taken him across the world, including the North and South Poles, the Sahara desert, the Himalayas and, most recently, Eastern Europe. In 2000 Palin was honoured as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to television.
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (35)
The Magic Faraway Tree
2026
When Bruce Springsteen Came to Britain
as Self
2025
Innes Lloyd: The Producer
as Self
2025
The Academy of Armando
as Self
2025
Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration
as Self
2024
How To Make It In Comedy
2024
Fawlty Towers: 50 Years of Laughs
as Self
2023
The Fringe, Fame and Me
as Self
2022
Monty Python's Best Bits Celebrated
as Self (archive footage)(uncredited)
2021
Jeepers Creepers
as Newscaster (voice)
2020
Sir David Attenborough and Sir Michael Palin in Conversation
as Self
2020
Peter Sellers: A State of Comic Ecstasy
as Self
2020
Python at 50: Silly Talks and Holy Grails
as Self (archive footage)
2019
An Accidental Studio
as Self
2019
Final Ascent: The Legend of Hamish MacInnes
as Himself
2019
Michael Palin: A Life on Screen
2018
The Death of Stalin
as Vyacheslav Molotov
2017
Generation '66
2016
Attenborough at 90
as Self
2016
Michael Palin's Quest for Artemisia
as Self
2015
Absolutely Anything
as Kindly Alien (voice)
2015
Rik Mayall: Lord of Misrule
as Self
2014
Spike Milligan: Love, Light and Peace
as Himself
2014
Monty Python: The Meaning of Live
as Self
2014
Monty Python Live (Mostly)
as Self, others
2014
Monty Python: And Now for Something Rather Similar
as Self
2014
50 Years of BBC Two Comedy
as Self
2014
The New Incomplete And Utter History Of Everything
2014
Alexander Armstrong's Real Ripping Yarns
as Self
2014
New Tales from Around the World in 80 Days
as Himself.
2014
Michael Palin In Wyeth's World
as Himself
2013
The Meaning of Monty Python
as Self
2013
The Wipers Times
as General Mitford
2013
Frost on Sketch Shows
as Self
2013
Anatomy of a Liar
as Self
2012
TV Shows (15)
Michael Palin in Venezuela
as Self - Host
2025
The Secret Life of Trees
as Self - Narrator
2025
Time Bandits
Characters (Writing)
2024
Michael Palin in Nigeria
as Self
2024
Michael Palin: Into Iraq
2022
Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime
as Self - Host
2020
Staged
as Michael
2020
Worzel Gummidge
as The Green Man
2019
Michael Palin in North Korea
as Himself - Host
2018
Vanity Fair
as William Makepeace Thackeray
2018
Artsnight
as Self
2015
A Life on Screen
as Self
2014
Remember Me
as Tom Parfitt
2014
Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly)
as Self (archive footage)
2014
Brazil with Michael Palin
as Self (Presenter)
2012