Monty Python and the Holy Grail - actors, characters and roles
All actors and their roles in the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Timing:
1:31 (91 min)
7.804/10
6343
6343
7.796/10
37139
37139
8.2/10
601000
601000
Actors and characters
Graham Chapman
Graham ChapmanCharacter King Arthur / Voice of God / Middle Head / Hiccoughing Guard
John Cleese
John CleeseCharacter Second Swallow-Savvy Guard / The Black Knight / Peasant 3 / Sir Launcelot the Brave / Taunting French Guard / Tim the Enchanter
Terry Gilliam
Terry GilliamCharacter Patsy / Green Knight / Old Man from Scene 24 (Bridgekeeper) / Sir Bors / Animator / Gorilla Hand
Terry Jones
Terry JonesCharacter Dennis's Mother / Sir Bedevere / Left Head / Prince Herbert / Voice of Cartoon Scribe
Michael Palin
Michael PalinCharacter First Swallow-Savvy Guard / Dennis / Peasant 2 / Right Head / Sir Galahad the Pure / Narrator / King of Swamp Castle / Brother Maynard's Brother / Leader of The Knights Who Say NI!
Neil Innes
Neil InnesCharacter First Monk / Singing Minstrel / Page Crushed by the Rabbit / Peasant #4
John Young
Character Dead Body / Historian Frank
Avril Stewart
Character Dr. Piglet
Sally Kinghorn
Character Dr. Winston
Mark Zycon
Character Prisoner
Elspeth Cameron
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Mitsuko Forstater
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Sandy Johnson
Sandy JohnsonCharacter Knight of Ni / Villager at Witch Burning / Musician at Wedding / Monk / Knight in Battle
Sandy Rose
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Romilly Squire
Character Musician at Wedding / Villager at Witch Burning
Joni Flynn
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Alison Walker
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Loraine Ward
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Anna Lanski
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Sally Coombe
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Vivienne MacDonald
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Yvonne Dick
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Daphne Darling
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Fiona Gordon
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Judy Lamb
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Tracy Sneddon
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Joyce Pollner
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Mary Allen
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Gloria Graham
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Sylvia Taylor
Character Girl in Castle Anthrax
Iain Banks
Character Knight in Battle (uncredited)
Margarita Doyle
Character Peasant (uncredited)
Charles Knode
Character Camp Guard / Robin's Minstrel (uncredited)
Zack Matalon
Character Guard who Falls into Barrels (uncredited)
Scott Mike
Character Bash (Mudfighter (uncredited)
William Palin
Character Sir Not-Appearing-in-this-Film (uncredited)
Tom Raeburn
Character Guard Eating Apple (uncredited)
Brian Ross
Character Biff (Mudfighter) (uncredited)
Roy Forge Smith
Character Inspector End of Film (uncredited)
Maggie Weston
Character Page-turner (uncredited)
What's left behind the scenes
- Part of the filming took place in Scotland, at Dun and Stalker castles, near a village.
- During one of the first test screenings before a live audience, Terry Jones, one of the scriptwriters and directors, noticed that the audience laughed much less at the jokes and gags when music was playing on the screen at the same time. Jones removed the musical accompaniment from such moments where possible. Throughout subsequent screenings, he noticed that audiences reacted much more positively to the gags in the absence of music, and since then, he has removed musical accompaniment from moments where the visuals became funny whenever possible.
- The members of Pink Floyd were such ardent fans of the series "Monty Python's Flying Circus" (1969-1974) that they took breaks from recording the album "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973) to watch it.
- The sound of coconut shells being struck together was used to imitate the sounds of galloping horses, simply because the budget didn't allow for the use of real horses.
- During the witch-hunting scene, Eric Idle grinned and bit down on the blade of the scythe he was holding. This wasn't in the script; Idle couldn't contain his laughter and bit whatever was at hand, just to avoid bursting out laughing and ruining the take.
- The knights' armor was actually made of wool, so considering the typical weather conditions in Scotland and England, the actors were constantly sweaty and freezing during filming. To make matters worse, the hotel where everyone was staying had only a limited number of bathtubs and hot water, resulting in a race for a hot bath at the end of each shooting day.
- A real rabbit was used in the filming of the killer rabbit sketch; it was simply borrowed for the shoot and smeared with red paint, assuming it could be easily washed off afterward, which proved not to be the case. According to Terry Gilliam, if they had been more experienced filmmakers, they would have simply bought the rabbit outright. Either way, the animal was not harmed during filming. The rabbit bites were filmed using special dummies devised and created by Gilliam and special effects supervisor John Horton.
- The photograph of God depicts William Gilbert Grace (1848-1915), one of the most famous cricket players in history.
- When the first screening of the film began at the Cannes Film Festival, the credits rolled and the audience in the auditorium began to laugh. When the screening was stopped, the audience simply broke out in hysterics, assuming it was intentional. In reality, an anonymous tip had been received by the police about a bomb being planted in the cinema, so the audience had to be evacuated.
- During the duel between the Black and Green Knights, John Cleese and Terry Gilliam performed all the stunts themselves. Both had to learn to handle heavy swords while wearing full knightly armor. They had refused the use of stunt doubles and stunt performers in advance, and they themselves genuinely enjoyed the filming process.
- Graham Chapman's (1941-1989) fondness for alcoholic beverages, which he unsuccessfully tried to combat, caused problems during filming, and not only because he kept forgetting his lines. On the very first day of filming, he was required to walk across the 'Bridge of Death.' While working on 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' (1969-1974), Chapman drank a lot to calm his nerves, but here he found that there was no alcohol on set, and it wasn't easy to quickly run to the nearest town to stock up. For this reason, Chapman felt unwell, he was shaking, and covered in sweat, and moved very slowly in front of the camera, despite being an experienced mountaineer in real life. No one on the film crew understood the reason for this, but the real culprit was actually delirium tremens.
- King Arthur's army consisted of 175 students from Stirling University (they were filmed from different angles to make the army appear visually larger than it actually was). A request was made to the university administration, promising each extra actor two pounds sterling for a day's work, free transportation to the filming location, food, and 'a lot of fun.'
- The abrupt ending of the film is explained by the fact that there were insufficient budgetary funds to film the battle scene.
- The ship in the film's finale was conceived by Terry Gilliam. It made a great impression on the other members of the film crew.
Did you like the film?
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