Line #2 Creator/ChristopherGuest


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Christopher_Guest_6777.jpg]]
2	->''"Comedy is like music. You have to know the key and you have to find players with good chops."''
3
4	Christopher Haden-Guest, the fifth Baron Haden-Guest (born February 5, 1948 in New York City), known professionally as Christopher Guest, is a British and American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor, and comedian best known for his [[{{Mockumentary}} mockumentaries]], which include those below. Guest rarely shoots with a script, instead relying on putting together an ensemble of talented comic actors (including many ''Series/{{SCTV}}'' alums), providing them with detailed backstories, and [[{{Improv}} turning them loose]].
5
6	Guest started out as a musician (he played with Arlo Guthrie at one point) before turning to acting and comedy. He was involved with ''Film/NationalLampoon'' when they were doing stage shows (particularly ''Lemmings'', a parody of ''Film/{{Woodstock}}''). He was also a cast member on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' during the mid-1980s. Guest was a Weekend Update anchor after Brad Hall's departure, his time at the desk is considered to be unremarkable but most critics and fans do see it as a dry-run version for what Creator/DennisMiller would bring from season 11 to season 16. To date, he is the only member of British nobility to have been an ''SNL'' cast member.
7
8	Guest had a few recurring characters, including Frankie (a guy who, along with Billy Crystal, always talk about physically painful experiences they've had), Herb Minkman (another Guest/Crystal pairing; this one was a joke shop owner and scam artist), Señor Cosa (a ventriloquist on ''The Joe Franklin Show''), and Rajeev Vindaloo (a game show contestant from India). Guest's celebrity impressions were fewer than his recurring characters (four celebrity impressions versus Guest's five recurring characters) and were Alan Arkin, James Mason, Red Skelton, and Bert Convy.
9
10	And, yes, he really is a [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever Peer of the Realm]]. His paternal grandfather, Leslie Haden-Guest, was a British politician who was elevated to the peerage as the first Baron Haden-Guest in 1950; Christopher inherited the title from his father, the fourth Baron, in 1996. He was even active in the House of Lords until his seat was abolished in 1999 by reforms enacted by UsefulNotes/TonyBlair. This was a decision Guest was in complete agreement with as he believes that Lords should be reformed into a democratically elected body.
11
12	He's been married to Creator/JamieLeeCurtis since 1984. His brother, Creator/NicholasGuest, is also an actor in his own right[[note]]plus, heir presumptive to the barony[[/note]], while his half-brother, Anthony Haden-Guest, is a writer.
13
14	----
15
16	!!Guest as actor/director:
17	* ''Film/TheBigPicture''
18	* ''Film/WaitingForGuffman''
19	* ''Film/AlmostHeroes''
20	* ''Film/BestInShow''
21	* ''Film/AMightyWind''
22	* ''Film/ForYourConsideration''
23	* ''Series/FamilyTree'', his first television series
24	* ''Film/{{Mascots}}''
25	----
26	!!Guest has also acted in:
27
28	* ''Film/TheHotRock''
29	* ''Film/DeathWish''
30	* ''Film/TheFortune''
31	* ''Film/{{Girlfriends1978}}''
32	* ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap'' -- Directed by Creator/RobReiner. StarMakingRole for Guest, and it provided the model (and much of the core cast) for Guest's subsequent projects.
33	* ''Film/TheLongRiders''
34	* ''Film/LittleShopOfHorrors'' ([[IncrediblyLamePun guest star]])
35	* ''Film/ThePrincessBride'' (playing Count Rugen, the six-fingered man)
36	* ''Film/AFewGoodMen''
37	* ''Film/SmallSoldiers''
38	* ''Film/NightAtTheMuseumBattleOfTheSmithsonian''
39	* ''Film/TheInventionOfLying''

Context Creator / ChristopherGuest