Making Fun Of People
Newcastle Herald
Friday June 27, 2003
TAKING the micky out of people he sees on the street is a passion of Big Bite funnyman Chris Lilley.
With a knack for observation the former teaching student turned comedian is among the gang of nine funnybone ticklers on Prime's hit series.
To elicit laughter in his routines Lilley, who has tried his hand at stand-up comedy, draws inspiration from people he has met in real life.
Skaters sporting elbow pads and wavy hair are often a fixture at many suburban skating ramps and Lilley's alter ego, Extreme Darren, with his red dreadlocks certainly looks the part.
When Lilley created a character with a penchant for skateboards and BMX bikes he had one of his two older brothers in mind.
"My older brother used to do BMX shows," Lilley tells TV Magazine.
But unlike his brother Liam, Lilley is not confident about his skating prowess.
"In real life I am completely retarded in skateboarding," he says. "If you look carefully I slip off the skateboard."
In the interests of safety and realism, Lilley now dabbles in some skating on the side.
"Since the show I got a skateboard and trained up," he says. "People always assume I have skills."
When Lilley ventures to the supermarket, members of the public sometimes confuse him for Extreme Darren.
"I get kids asking me what shoes to buy."
Through his comic routines he strives to make a comment about society.
"I love doing character stuff," he says. "I don't excel in the impersonations."
While some comedians thrive on mimicking celebrities and politicians, Lilley prefers to create characters that mirror life's absurdities.
"When I'm watching comedy I just love the original character."
As a youngster, Lilley was a fan of the wacky cast on Full Frontal and The Comedy Company, which memorably included Mark Mitchell's Con the fruiterer.
Deluded misfits are Lilley's specialty on Big Bite and former Vietnam veteran school teacher Mr G adds an edge of controversy.
"He says very unpolitically correct things," Lilley says. "I was lucky in that they gave me a lot of freedom in Mr G."
Mr G, who is based on a drama teacher from Lilley's old high school in northern Sydney, loves organising rock eisteddfords and he has a tongue for the odd racist remark.
"He's still likable because he's deluded."
Occasionally, however, some of Mr G's material is too controversial for Channel 7 to broadcast.
"The network put their foot down," Lilley concedes when his character uttered too many racist overtones about Asians.
Not one to be timid with political correctness, Lilley has created an Asian character who is trapped in a dull marriage with his wife Linda.
"They just look odd together," Lilley says.
Sharing the same name as Pamela Anderson's ex-husband, Tommy Lee is someone who is easily influenced by the latest fads of lifestyle television.
A crop of sketch comedy programs may have appeared on rival commercial stations but Lilley insists Big Bite is different.
"Skit House, it's more sketch focused," he says. "We're more character based.
He says NBN's Comedy Inc has a lot of black humour.
"Comedy Inc there's no comparison. We're not as good."
When the producers of Big Bite, including Fast Forward veteran Ted Emery, went scouting for comic talent they avoided going to the usual casting agents.
"They didn't want actors, they just put out the word in the underground comedy scene," Lilley says.
Early episodes of this series were filmed late last year and Lilley claims Big Bite was the first sketch comedy program off the drawing board.
During his time as a teaching and later music student at Sydney's Macquarie University, Lilley was a regular in the drama society's annual comedy revue.
"It's a great training ground, no one is stopping you," Lilley says. "I got so much out of it."
Following his graduation in 1998, Lilley forged a career in stand-up. Three years ago, he represented NSW at the RAW Comedy national grand final as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Since then, he has performed television gigs alongside Roy and HG and delivered jokes with former Novocastrian Mikey Robins.
With filming now over for this season's Big Bite, Lilley has more time to hit the skateboard ramp.
© 2003 Newcastle Herald