Monty Python: John Cleese’s 10 Best Characters, Ranked

Thanks to his subsequent work on Fawlty Towers and A Fish Called Wanda (not to mention appearing in the Shrek, Harry Potter, and James Bond franchises), John Cleese is one of the most famous members of the Monty Python troupe. Across the Pythons’ unparalleled legacy of comedic material, Cleese played a bunch of different characters.

His impeccable deadpan delivery skills made him a shoe-in for any staunch authoritative figure, and he always played characters with rage problems hysterically (Basil Fawlty is a prime example, but he’s outside the Python oeuvre).

10 Mr. Barnard

The “Argument Clinic” sketch is one of Python’s headiest. Broadly, it’s a critique of consumer culture, suggesting that anything can be bought and sold in the age of consumerism – even something as frivolous and abstract as an argument.

Five of the six Pythons appear in the sketch, and it primarily revolves around Michael Palin, but John Cleese is a clear standout in the role of Mr. Barnard.

9 Reg

Reg is central to not one, but two of Life of Brian’s most timeless and hysterical gags. First, he appears at the gladiatorial match, hung up on the petty differences between religious groups: “F*ck off! Judean People’s Front? We’re the People’s Front of Judea!” Later, he asks what the Romans have ever done for us.

After being told many things the Romans have done for them, Reg says, “All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?”

8 Mr. Praline

John Cleese always made a great deadpan straight man opposite a zany, over-the-top Michael Palin. This dynamic is part of what makes the iconic “Dead Parrot” sketch work so well.

Cleese plays a disgruntled customer who returns to a pet store with the Norwegian Blue parrot he just purchased, having realized that the bird is dead. Palin insists it’s alive, and the two go back and forth, making comedy history along the way.

7 French Taunter

Throughout the three seasons that he appeared in Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Cleese was often called upon to play a pompous character with a French accent. In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, he perfected this comedic “type” with the French guard who taunts King Arthur various times throughout the movie.

The French taunter is a master of articulate insults. Highlights include: “I fart in your general direction!,” and “Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!”

6 Sex Ed Teacher

Cleese’s best-known character type in the Python oeuvre is straight-faced authority figures. In The Meaning of Life, he plays a teacher who gives his class a very practical sex ed lesson by having sex with his wife in front of them.

Cleese’s spot-on performance as a no-nonsense middle-aged British teacher juxtaposes hilariously with the graphic sexual content of the sketch.

5 The BBC Announcer

Initially conceived as a way to segue between sketches, the BBC announcer character could often be found uttering his catchphrase, “And now for something completely different.” But beyond his practical purposes, the character was a spot-on spoof of actual BBC announcers.

When this announcer could be found sitting at a desk, wearing a suit, on a beach or in a farmer’s field or in the back of a moving vehicle, Cleese made the joke work with a straight face and a completely deadpan delivery.

4 Sir Lancelot

Opposite his writing partner Graham Chapman as King Arthur, John Cleese played Sir Lancelot, perhaps the second most “heroic” character in the movie. In a hysterical display of irony, Lancelot’s heroic acts involve overzealous mass murder in pursuit of personal gains.

The shot-reverse-shot of Lancelot running up to the castle from far away, being watched by the guards, before suddenly appearing in the closeup shot, is an example of directors Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam using film language to create laughs.

3 Self-Defense Against Fresh Fruit Instructor

The instructor in the “Self-Defense Against Fresh Fruit” sketch is a classically Cleese-ian hothead authority figure. Cleese played the character like a rage-fueled drill sergeant.

But instead of getting new military recruits into shape, he teaches his students how to defend themselves against attackers specifically armed with pieces of fruit.

2 Mr. Teabag, The Minister Of Silly Walks

Although he’s not named in the sketch, the government minister that John Cleese plays in “The Ministry of Silly Walks” has been identified off-screen as Mr. Teabag. He does a silly walk everywhere he goes and gives out monetary grants to applicants who want to develop their own silly walks.

Cleese played him brilliantly as a stern-faced government bureaucrat whose duties are completely ridiculous. Cleese himself actually believes that “The Ministry of Silly Walks” is a weak sketch, saying that it relies on easy laughs and doesn’t build on the joke. But if it works, it works.

1 The Black Knight

There are three Cleese characters from Monty Python and the Holy Grail on this list, because he really nailed that movie. The Black Knight isn’t the most major role that Cleese plays in the film, but it’s easily the most iconic. He challenges King Arthur to a swordfight. Arthur accepts, and quickly bests the Black Knight by chopping off one of his arms.

But the Black Knight insists that it’s just a flesh wound, and keeps challenging an increasingly reluctant Arthur to combat. By the end of the scene, the Black Knight has no arms or legs and still insists that he’s in fighting form.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3465 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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