British comedian John Bishop became the inspiration for the new film Is This Thing On, directed by Bradley Cooper, after sharing his life story with a film producer at a nightclub in London.
Film producer Kris Thykier, who worked on 2021 war drama Operation Mincemeat, told The Independent he struck up a conversation with Bishop at a film premiere after-party in 2016.
“I asked him about how he got into comedy because I hadn't really heard the story. And he told it to me and I said, ‘Okay, well that's a movie,’” said Thykier.
“It didn't become a very small British story, but something that was more universal,” he added.