# Julian Barratt
**Julian Barratt** (Julian Barratt Pettifer, born 1968) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and musician, best known as co-writer and star of the surreal comedy series *The Mighty Boosh*, in which he played Howard Moon opposite [Noel Fielding](https://www.edgepedia.org/noel-fielding)'s Vince Noir.[1](https://mightyboosh.fandom.com/wiki/Julian_Barratt) • [2](https://www.pbjmanagement.co.uk/artists/julian-barratt/) Born in Leeds, England, Barratt is also a film actor and screenwriter whose first feature-film acting appearance was in *Lucky Break* (2001); *Mindhorn* (2016), which he co-wrote with [Simon Farnaby](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-farnaby) and starred in, earned a British Independent Film Award nomination for Best Debut Screenwriter.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/julian_barratt) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1027986/awards/) • [12](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/julian-barratt/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / birth | Julian Barratt Pettifer, born 1968 in Leeds, England[1](https://mightyboosh.fandom.com/wiki/Julian_Barratt) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/julian_barratt) |
| Signature work | *The Mighty Boosh*, co-written and co-starring with Noel Fielding; three series on BBC Three and BBC Two, 2004 to 2007[2](https://www.pbjmanagement.co.uk/artists/julian-barratt/) • [5](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the_mighty_boosh/cast_crew/full/) |
| Film work | *Mindhorn* (2016), co-written with Simon Farnaby, nominated for Best Debut Screenwriter at the 2016 British Independent Film Awards[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1027986/awards/) |
| Music | Composed much of the music for *The Mighty Boosh*, in genres including rap, heavy metal, and psychedelic rock[1](https://mightyboosh.fandom.com/wiki/Julian_Barratt) |
| Later television | Maurice Flowers in the Channel 4 black comedy *Flowers*; ensemble SAG Award nomination for *The Great* (2022)[6](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/interview-julian-barratt) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1027986/awards/) |
## Early career and stand-up
Barratt began as a stand-up comedian. In 1998 he performed at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal, and he did stand-up on [BBC One](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-one), Channel 4, and Five prior to his success with The Boosh.[7](https://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/j/33178/julian_barratt/news)
**The Boosh double act.** Barratt and Noel Fielding made their Edinburgh Festival debut in 1998, performing as the double act [The Mighty Boosh](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-mighty-boosh), and won the Perrier Award for Best Newcomer.[8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276161/fullcredits) They returned to Edinburgh in 1999 as *Arctic Boosh*, nominated for the main Perrier award, and in 2000 *Arctic Boosh* won the Barry Award, its equivalent at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.[7](https://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/j/33178/julian_barratt/news)
## The Mighty Boosh
The Boosh was picked up by [BBC Radio 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-4) in 2001 for a series that won the first and only Douglas Adams Award for Innovative Comedy Writing.[7](https://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/j/33178/julian_barratt/news) The show transferred to television, running for three series on [BBC Three](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-three) and [BBC Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-two) between 2004 and 2007, with Barratt as writer and performer.[2](https://www.pbjmanagement.co.uk/artists/julian-barratt/) • [5](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the_mighty_boosh/cast_crew/full/) Barratt played Howard Moon in all 21 episodes and also took guest roles including Rudy, the Crack Fox, and Dennis.[5](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the_mighty_boosh/cast_crew/full/) The series followed the adventures of zookeepers Vince Noir and Howard Moon, with a cast including Rich Fulcher as Bob Fossil, Michael Fielding as Naboo, and Matt Berry as Dixon Bainbridge in the first series.[5](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the_mighty_boosh/cast_crew/full/)
The show's success extended to music and live performance. Barratt, a self-described jazz fusion enthusiast, composed much of the series' music across a wide range of genres.[1](https://mightyboosh.fandom.com/wiki/Julian_Barratt) After the television series, the duo undertook nationwide tours in 2006 and 2008/9.[2](https://www.pbjmanagement.co.uk/artists/julian-barratt/)
## Other television and film acting
Outside the Boosh, Barratt co-starred as the frustrated writer Dan Ashcroft in the [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) media satire *Nathan Barley* (2005), written by [Charlie Brooker](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-brooker) and Chris Morris, and appeared as The Padre in the spoof horror series *Garth Marenghi's Darkplace* (2004).[1](https://mightyboosh.fandom.com/wiki/Julian_Barratt) His television debut came as Victor Munro in 1996's *Asylum*, an experimental comedy whose co-stars [Simon Pegg](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-pegg) and Jessica Hynes were impressed enough to want to write a part for him in *Spaced*.[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/julian-barratt-mindhorn-the-mighty-boosh-noel-fielding-nathan-barley-flowers-a7716291.html) He also appeared in the Channel 4 adaptation of Zadie Smith's *White Teeth* (2002) and the Sky miniseries *Treasure Island* (2012).[7](https://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/j/33178/julian_barratt/news) • [2](https://www.pbjmanagement.co.uk/artists/julian-barratt/)
**Film work.** Barratt's screen roles include *Bunny and the Bull* (2009), *[A Field in England](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-field-in-england)* (2013) with [Michael Smiley](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-smiley), *The Harry Hill Movie* (2013), *Aaaaaaaah!* (2015), *Brakes* (2016), and *In Fabric* (2018).[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/julian_barratt) On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, *Mindhorn* and *In Fabric* hold his highest ratings at 92 percent, while *The Harry Hill Movie* holds his lowest at 33 percent.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/julian_barratt)
## Mindhorn and writing
Barratt co-wrote the film *Mindhorn* (2016) with Simon Farnaby, with Barratt starring as the washed-up actor Richard Thorncroft, whose career peaked in a 1980s cop drama of the same name.[2](https://www.pbjmanagement.co.uk/artists/julian-barratt/) • [9](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/julian-barratt-mindhorn-the-mighty-boosh-noel-fielding-nathan-barley-flowers-a7716291.html) • [12](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/julian-barratt/) The film was nominated for Best Debut Screenwriter, a category new for 2016, at the British Independent Film Awards.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1027986/awards/) • [10](https://www.heyuguys.com/british-independent-film-awards-2016/) In 2010 he had made his directorial debut with *Curtains* for Warp Films.[2](https://www.pbjmanagement.co.uk/artists/julian-barratt/)
## Flowers and later work
In the Channel 4 black comedy *[Flowers](https://www.edgepedia.org/flowers-tv-series)*, Barratt plays Maurice Flowers, a children's author who has hit a creative brick wall and become suicidal, surrounded by a family including his wife Deborah, played by [Olivia Colman](https://www.edgepedia.org/olivia-colman).[6](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/interview-julian-barratt) Barratt described the character as "quite a broken, stuck person" and said the show's mix of bleak subject matter and comedy appealed to him, noting that "comedy is the way we deal with dark times and depression".[6](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/interview-julian-barratt)
His later credits include the comedy series *Bloods* (2021 to 2022), *Truth Seekers* (2020), and voice roles in the CBBC animated series *Super Happy Magic Forest* (2024), in which he voices Hoofius the faun, and *Badjelly* (2025).[11](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/julian_barratt/) • [7](https://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/j/33178/julian_barratt/news) For his guest role in *Killing Eve*, he was nominated for Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series at the 2019 Online Film and Television Awards, and as part of the ensemble of *The Great* he was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series at the 28th [Screen Actors Guild Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/screen-actors-guild-awards) in 2022.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1027986/awards/)
## References
1. [Julian Barratt, The Mighty Boosh Wiki (Fandom)](https://mightyboosh.fandom.com/wiki/Julian_Barratt)
2. [Julian Barratt, PBJ Management](https://www.pbjmanagement.co.uk/artists/julian-barratt/)
3. [Julian Barratt, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/julian_barratt)
4. [Julian Barratt, Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1027986/awards/)
5. [Full The Mighty Boosh cast & crew, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the_mighty_boosh/cast_crew/full/)
6. [Interview with Julian Barratt, Channel 4 Press](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/interview-julian-barratt)
7. [Julian Barratt, comedian news, Chortle](https://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/j/33178/julian_barratt/news)
8. [Noel Fielding, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0276161/fullcredits)
9. [Mindhorn's Julian Barratt on the legacy of The Mighty Boosh, Nathan Barley and the new series of Flowers, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/julian-barratt-mindhorn-the-mighty-boosh-noel-fielding-nathan-barley-flowers-a7716291.html)
10. [The 2016 British Independent Film Awards Interviews & Full List of Winners, HeyUGuys](https://www.heyuguys.com/british-independent-film-awards-2016/)
11. [Julian Barratt, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/julian_barratt/)
12. [Julian Barratt - Independent Talent](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/julian-barratt/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stand-up comedy and comedians › British and Irish comedians › Alternative comedy generation*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license