Play Brightcove video
The new movie, ’Is This Thing On?’, is loosely based on John Bishop’s first footsteps into comedy, as ITV News Entertainment Reporter Rishi Davda reports
I think at some point we’ve all imagined who we’d like to play us in a big budget blockbuster. Stick a slicked-back wig on Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and I’d happily have him tell ‘The Rishi Davda Chronicles’.
For Liverpudlian comedian John Bishop, this far-fetched daydream has become a reality.
A new movie, ’Is This Thing On?’, is loosely based on John’s first footsteps into comedy.
Without giving too much away, John was in his 30s and on the brink of divorce. He put his name down on the list at an open-mic night to avoid paying the £4 comedy club entry fee. He was only looking to have a drink.
He was called up second, talked about his life, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Bishop on Have I Got News For You back in 2010. Credit: PA
So, how on Earth does that become a Hollywood film? Well, great question.
Decades later, John Bishop found himself on a barge in Amsterdam having lunch with a group of people, which just happened to include actor Will Arnett.
A mutual friend convinced John to tell Will the story of how he became a stand-up comic. The actor told me it was “riveting” hearing Bishop’s journey.
“It was amazing, how he started and how he ended up being really successful. But what really struck me was how much he spoke about how much it changed him.
“He spoke about how comedy made him feel, he was getting that relief. He was going on a Monday, he would drop the kids off at school and he would know that he wouldn’t see him again till the weekend. Knowing the feeling myself and what that is like, to then go and find something that gives you relief from that.
“That felt so powerful and interesting and needed to be explored.”
ITV News Entertainment Reporter Rishi Davda with Will Arnett and John Bishop. Credit: ITV News
Will asked John if he could write a script about his story and the comedian obliged.
“I wanted the story to be told,” Bishop says. “When you watch the film, the big things in the film that you think are made up are the most true things.
“The starting in comedy, my wife coming unexpectedly, seeing me and then that becoming a vehicle to get back together. So I know it was a good story.
“Ideally, like everybody, you want to write it yourself but I knew I couldn’t do that. When the lads got involved, I was going ‘I’ll chip in’…then I realised that everything I was chipping in wasn’t really landing. So I stepped back, it took a little bit of faith.”
“This is not a film about comedy, this is a film about love. It is a film about adult relationships and the complications of it. Comedy is the vehicle through which one person finds his voice that allows him to find the person that he lost, that he always loved.”
Bradley Cooper, Laura Dern, Will Arnett, John Bishop and Andra Day attend the UK gala screening of Is This Thing On? Credit: PA
Arnett – perhaps best known for his roles in sitcom Arrested Development and animated series BoJack Horseman – showed the script to his close friend and Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper.
Cooper helped him refine the script, decided to star in and direct the movie and put Will in the lead role.
Despite being a naturally funny individual (I laughed a lot during the interview), Arnett had never done stand-up before. To prepare for the role, he spent 6 weeks performing comedy in front of real audiences at the Comedy Cellar in New York.
“I always had a healthy respect for standups and what they do,” he says.
“‘When I say healthy respect, I mean healthy fear of doing it myself. It’s hard enough to write a good joke. The relationship with the audience, the pacing, it’s always made me nervous. It was terrifying.”
Since stumbling into standup in 2000, Bishop has become one of Britain’s best, selling out countless comedy shows.
In 2010, he won the Best Male Comedy Breakthrough Artist Award at the British Comedy Awards.
A 2025 survey found that Merseyside had the highest number of comedians per million out of the whole of the UK.
Bishop believes “there’s something about Liverpool. You’ll find it in port cities. Glasgow’s got it, Newcastle’s got it, Dublin’s got it.”
“‘Ports bring people in and in all of those port cities, you’ll find music is important and comedy is important. It is the best way of breaking down barriers.
“We like laughing at ourselves. When I started doing comedy, people always say “is it different in different places”? It’s not, funny is funny… but in some places, people are a little bit up themselves.”
Bradley Cooper, Laura Dern, Will Arnett and John Bishop attend the UK gala screening of Is This Thing On? Credit: PA
Will is portraying a version of John in ‘Is This Thing On?’, but I wonder who Will would like to play him in a movie about his life?
“Put it this way, if you’d have asked John 10 years ago who he’d want to play him in a film inspired by his life, he wouldn’t have said me.”
“No, that’s not true,” Bishop replies. ‘I am a massive Arrested Development fan. So I’d have said Jason Bateman.
‘Is This Thing On?’ is out in UK cinemas on January 30
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…
