We value Tony Slattery most as an improviser: quick, articulate and cheerfully indecent. His supporting film work was less dependable, especially when a busy ensemble needed him to do less rather than more.
Fi1m perspective
On Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1988–1995), Tony Slattery could be articulate and badly behaved in the same breath. The speed was impressive, but the pleasure was in how precisely he could phrase something rude. We laughed because the language was so much more considered than the thought deserved. With Clive Anderson hosting, the programme gave his unruly energy somewhere to go. His early film work included Basil in How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989), alongside Richard E. Grant, but improvisation remains the clearest reason to seek him out.
Peter's Friends (1992) puts him back among Cambridge Footlights colleagues, with Kenneth Branagh directing and Slattery playing Brian. The reunion comedy is funny and companionable, but its script gives too many people a personal crisis, and Slattery's tendency to overplay does not help it settle. We like the film without finding him its strongest reason for a return visit. Emma Thompson and Imelda Staunton supply the emotional weight; their work helps explain why a performer so well suited to quick invention could be less satisfying when fitting into a busy scripted ensemble.
The Crying Game (1992) places him in Neil Jordan's romantic thriller as Deveroux, rather than in another reunion comedy. We rate it more highly than Peter's Friends: it is tender and unsettling, despite plotting that occasionally demands attention better spent on the characters. Stephen Rea gives it its vulnerable centre, and Slattery is part of the supporting company. It is worth seeing him outside comedy, though this would be a peculiar film to recommend chiefly on his account.
Those two films belong to his busiest period of screen work, from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. After his regular run on Whose Line Is It Anyway? ended in 1995, screen appearances became less frequent, with occasional dramatic parts and returns to the stage. For his particular talent, we would still begin with the improvisation, where the speed and unruliness had room to work. Try Peter's Friends afterwards, allowing for a performance that can be larger than the film needs.
Biography
Tony Slattery was an English actor and comedian. Born in Stonebridge, London, he studied at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Cambridge Footlights.
He appeared regularly on British television from the mid-1980s, including as a performer on the improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1988). His film roles included Deveroux in The Crying Game (1992) and Brian in Peter's Friends (1992), as well as parts in How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989) and Carry On Columbus (1992). He received an Olivier Award nomination for his stage work in Neville's Island.
Slattery died on 14 January 2025, aged 65.
