When was Jeffrey Dunham born?

Jeffrey Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist and comedian who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including "Late Show with David Letterman", "Comedy Central Presents", "The Tonight Show" and "Sonny With a Chance". He has six specials that run on Comedy Central: "", "", "Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special", "", "", and "". Dunham also starred in "The Jeff Dunham Show", a series on the network in 2009.

Jeff Dunham

His style has been described as "a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder". "Time" described his characters as "politically incorrect, gratuitously insulting and ill tempered." Dunham has been credited with reviving ventriloquism and doing more to promote the art form than anyone since Edgar Bergen.

Dunham has been called "America's favorite comedian" by "Slate". According to the concert industry publication "Pollstar", he is the top-grossing standup act in North America and among the most successful acts in Europe as well. As of November 2009, he has sold over four million DVDs, an additional $7 million in merchandise sales, and received more than 350 million hits on YouTube as of October 2009; his introduction of Achmed the Dead Terrorist in "Spark of Insanity" was ranked as the ninth most watched YouTube video at the time. "A Very Special Christmas Special" was the most-watched telecast in Comedy Central history, with the DVD selling over 400,000 copies in its first two weeks. "Forbes" ranked Dunham as the third highest-paid comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock and reported that he was one of the highest-earning comics from June 2008 to June 2009, earning approximately $30 million during that period. Dunham also does occasional acting roles. He achieved the "Guinness Book of World Records" record for "Most tickets sold for a stand-up comedy tour" for his "Spark of Insanity" tour, performing in 386 venues worldwide.

Dunham was born in Dallas, Texas on April 18, 1962. When he was three months old, he was adopted by real estate appraiser Howard Dunham, and his homemaker wife Joyce, who raised him in a devoutly Presbyterian household in an affluent Dallas neighborhood, as an only child.

He began ventriloquism in 1970 at age eight, when his parents gave him a Mortimer Snerd dummy for Christmas, and an accompanying how-to album. The next day he checked out a how-to book on ventriloquism from the library, and explained in 2011 that he still had it, remarking that he was "a thief in the third grade". By the fourth grade, Dunham decided he not only wanted to be a professional ventriloquist, but the best one ever. Dunham began practicing for hours in front of a mirror, studying the routines of Edgar Bergen, and the how-to record "Jimmy Nelson's Instant Ventriloquism", finding ventriloquism to be a learned skill, similar to juggling, that anyone with a normal speaking voice can acquire. Dunham has explained that, as an only child, he enjoyed being alone, likening his solitude to a "warm blanket" with which he could explore his own thoughts and ideas, which prepared him for the solitude of living alone when he later moved to Los Angeles as a struggling comedian.

When Dunham was in the sixth grade, he began attending the Vent Haven ConVENTion in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, an annual international meeting of ventriloquists that includes competitions, where he met Jimmy Nelson in person. Dunham has missed only one ConVENTion since then, in 1977. The organizers of the ConVENTion eventually declared Dunham a "retired champion", ineligible from entering any more competitions, as other attendees were too intimidated to compete against him. The Vent Haven Museum devotes a section to Dunham, alongside Señor Wences and Dunham's idol, Edgar Bergen.

Dunham began performing for audiences as a teenager, in various venues such as school, church, and during his job at Six Flags. By his middle school years, he began to perform for banquets attended by local celebrities such as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, having developed his style of lampooning those he performed for, using the puppets to say things too risque for him to say without them. Dunham's television debut came in 1976 when the still prepubescent performer caught the attention of Dallas reporters like Bill O'Reilly, who interviewed Dunham for a local news story. Dunham later did commercials for Datsun dealerships in Dallas and Tyler while still in high school. While emceeing a high school talent show, he dealt with a heckler, and won over the rest of the audience. During this period he became so associated with his craft that he and one of his dummies "cowrote" a column in the school paper, and he would pose with his dummies for yearbooks as an inexpensive way to acquire professional photos of his act for promotional purposes. He was voted Most Likely to Succeed, and in 1980, after he graduated from high school, Dunham gave himself a career goal of obtaining, within ten years, an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", which was seen as the "holy grail" for comedians.

That year Dunham began attending Baylor University, hoping to graduate with a degree in communications, while performing around campus. He would also fly around the country on weekends, doing up to 100 private shows a year, entertaining corporate customers such as General Electric, whose CEO, Jack Welch, he mocked during his routine. By his junior year in college (1983–84), Dunham was making $70,000 a year, and as word spread of his act, he landed featured spots opening for Bob Hope and George Burns, though he still perceived his act as raw, as he did not have any knowledge of standup comedy beyond his Bill Cosby albums.

He caught a break in 1985 when he was asked to join the Broadway show "Sugar Babies" with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller, replacing an outgoing variety act. For the naive and devoutly-raised Dunham, Broadway was a new world filled with beautiful showgirls and crusty stagehands, and his first taste of entertainment industry egos came when Rooney called Dunham into his dressing room, and told him he was there for one reason alone: so that Rooney could change his costumes. He performed at the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island. These early experiences, in which he used characters like José Jalapeño on a Stick, taught him the value of modifying his act regionally, as the jalapeño jokes that worked well in Texas were not as well received by audiences in Long Island. After graduating from Baylor University in 1986, he continued honing his act in comedy clubs in the Southwest with new characters such as Peanut and José Jalapeño, but struggled against the perception he relates from fellow comedians that he was not a true comedian because he relied on props.

His experience at Catch a Rising Star in New York City served as a bitter confirmation of where ventriloquists stood in the comedic food chain, as the emcee at that club gave Dunham little respect. According to Dunham, after he arrived at the club in the evening and informed the emcee that he was a ventriloquist, the emcee reacted with derision, telling Dunham that he would be given a late time slot, and after that time slot came and passed, kept postponing Dunham's stage time until Dunham left the club.

By the end of 1988, Dunham felt his career went as far as it could go in Texas, and he moved to Los Angeles, California, never having, as he has commented, "a real job", much to the concern of his parents, who assumed he would relegate his act to local venues such as church groups. When he first arrived in Los Angeles, the comedy in his act bombed. Dunham attributes this initial reaction to his underdeveloped comedy, explaining that while the characters' personalities were developed at that point, his jokes were not. In addition to this, the comedy world was not welcoming to ventriloquists, and his manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, did not use the word "ventriloquist" when finding bookings for him, choosing to present him as a comedy duo. After Dunham became friends with Mike Lacey, owner of The Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, Lacey gave Dunham a steady slot at the club, where Dunham sharpened his act by observing the techniques of comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, and taking the advice of colleague Bill Engvall, moving away from his G-Rated material toward edgier, more adult themes.

At the end of 1988, Dunham was told by James McCawley, a talent booker for "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", that Dunham would be given a spot on the coveted program. Though the 26-year-old Dunham was elated that his 10-year goal was arriving two years early, McCawley later cancelled Dunham's appearance after attending, with Roseanne Barr, a public performance of Dunham's the day before Dunham's scheduled "Tonight Show" taping. McCawley informed Dunham on the day of the scheduled taping that he had been wrong in his initial assessment of Dunham, whom he now said was not ready for "The Tonight Show". Dunham continued to tighten his act in Los Angeles clubs, performing the same six-minute segment with Peanut a total of nine times for McCawley over the next few months. Finally at the Ice-House in Pasadena in April 1990, after Dunham did the same segment, McCawley informed Dunham that he would finally get his "Tonight Show" appearance. Dunham and Peanut appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" on April 6, 1990, alongside guests Bob Hope and B.B. King. Following his bit, he was invited to sit on Johnny Carson's couch, a mark of approval on Carson's show. Upon sitting down next to Carson's desk, Dunham pulled out Walter, who told Carson sidekick Ed McMahon, "Stop sending me all your damn mail." At the time, Dunham saw his "Tonight Show" appearance as his big break, but was frustrated at his parents' initial disapproval over Walter's use of the words "hell" and "damn", and he would toil in obscurity for another twelve years, continuing his stand up at venues such as The Improv chain, and appearing in small roles on TV. One of these was a 1996 episode of "Ellen", in which he appeared with Walter. Dunham also appeared with Walter in a TV commercial for Hertz. Dunham would appear on "The Tonight Show" a total of four times, as well as similar TV venues such as "Hot Country Nights", appearing in one segment with Reba McEntire. This exposure helped make Dunham a large theater headliner, a rare accomplishment for a ventriloquist, but by the mid-1990s, his television appearances had dwindled, and with them, so did his stage audiences.

Dunham moved back to clubs, more than 200 appearances a year. To maintain a connection with his fan base, he would use question cards that he had audiences fill out for his performances to build a database, which was tailor-made for the burgeoning World Wide Web. Though he was voted Funniest Male Standup at the American Comedy Awards in 1998, his club work kept him away from his wife and daughters between two and three weeks each month, which put a strain on his marriage, and made paying bills for his expanded family difficult. By 2002, Dunham was hoping to obtain more TV work to raise his profile and ease his standup schedule. Such exposure was elusive until a successful appearance on "The Best Damn Sports Show Period", where Dunham and Walter made jokes at the expense of co-hosts Tom Arnold, Michael Irvin, John Salley and John Kruk, generating laughter from them, and giving Dunham much-needed exposure. In 2003, Dunham was the frontrunner to replace Jimmy Kimmel on "Fox NFL Sunday", but hosts Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw were not amenable to the idea of being upstaged by a puppet, and, as Dunham tells it, did not provide a welcoming atmosphere to Dunham, nor allow him to speak much during his appearance.

On July 18, 2003, Dunham appeared on "Comedy Central Presents", his first solo appearance on Comedy Central. During his half hour piece, he showcased José Jalapeño on a Stick, Walter, an early version of Melvin the Superhero Guy and Peanut, whom Dunham had begun to merchandise into a line of dolls. The appearance was successful, but Comedy Central resisted giving Dunham more airtime, feeling that he was not a good fit for them. By 2005 Dunham decided to gamble on financing his own comedy DVD, "", which was taped in Santa Ana, California. Dunham's manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, lobbied the network to air it, pointing to Dunham's drawing power and merchandising profits, and arguing that the network needed more diverse content. Surprised by the high ratings of the first Blue Collar Comics concert movie that same year, the network began to reconsider its brand. In late 2006, Comedy Central aired "Arguing with Myself", drawing two million viewers when it aired, and selling two million DVDs.

In 2007, Dunham appeared as The Amazing Ken with José Jalapeño on a Stick in the Larry the Cable Guy feature film "Delta Farce".
His second special, "", was taped at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. that same year. It served not only to cement Dunham's stardom, but to introduce his most controversial character, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, which became a viral Internet sensation. A clip of Achmed from "Insanity" attracted over 140 million hits on YouTube, making it the ninth most watched clip on that website as of October 2009.

By 2008, Dunham's characters had crossed language barriers, with his specials dubbed for audiences in various countries such as France, and Dunham attracting requests for performances in South Africa, Australia, Norway, Denmark, China, and the Middle East. "Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special" was taped at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that same year, and premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2008, watched by 6.6 million people. It became available on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2008. The special's premiere was the highest rated telecast in Comedy Central's history.

In September 2008, his career reached new heights as he began performing in arenas filled with tens of thousands of people. Dunham was somewhat wary of such large venues, but adapted by adjusting the timing of his often rapid exchanges with the puppets so that audience members farthest from the stage could have time to react.

In addition to his comedy specials, Dunham also released his first music album, "Don't Come Home for Christmas", on November 4, 2008. It contains original Christmas songs as well as a parody of "Jingle Bells" by Achmed entitled "Jingle Bombs". All the songs, with the exception of "Jingle Bombs", were written and accompanied by Brian Haner, who joined Dunham's act as "Guitar Guy". His first onscreen appearance was in "Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special".

In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. It included a fourth stand-up special to air in 2010, DVDs, a consumer products partnership, a 60-city tour beginning in September 2010, and an order for a television series called "The Jeff Dunham Show" that premiered on October 22, 2009. Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows.

Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sitcom "30 Rock", playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia. In November 2009 Dunham also appeared with Walter in "Hart to Hart", an episode of the Disney Channel series "Sonny With a Chance", as two security guards. He appeared in the 2010 Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy, "Dinner for Schmucks", as Lewis, with a new puppet named Diane.

His fourth special, "Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos", premiered on September 25, 2011, on Comedy Central. His fifth special, "Minding the Monsters", which was taped in Savannah, premiered on Comedy Central on October 7, 2012. His sixth special, "All Over the Map", which was taped in various international cities, premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2014.

On March 28, 2014, Country Music Television premiered "Achmed Saves America", an animated film starring Achmed the Dead Terrorist.

Dunham's seventh special, "Unhinged in Hollywood", premiered on September 17, 2015. Rather than premiering on Comedy Central, the special instead aired on NBC.

In January 2008, Dunham was voted by fans the Top Comic in Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Showdown". He is the only person ever to win the "Ventriloquist of the Year" Award twice, was nominated "Comedian of the Year" by the TNN Music City News Country Awards, and has drawn praise from the "Dallas Morning News" for his technique and timing. Critics, such as Randee Dawn of "The Hollywood Reporter", accused Dunham's characters of being racist caricatures, sexist, and homophobic.

In 2008, a TV commercial for a ringtone which featured Dunham's character Achmed the Dead Terrorist (see Characters below) was banned by the South African Advertising Standards Authority after a complaint was filed by a citizen stating that the ad was offensive to Muslims, and portrayed all Muslims as terrorists. Dunham responded that "Achmed makes it clear in my act that he is not Muslim." However, the ASA noted that the name Achmed was of Arab origin and was one of the names of Muhammad. Dunham responded, ""I've skewered whites, blacks, Hispanics, Christians, Jews, Muslims, gays, straights, rednecks, addicts, the elderly, and my wife. As a standup comic, it is my job to make the majority of people laugh, and I believe that comedy is the last true form of free speech... I'm considering renaming Achmed 'Bill'"", he added. Dunham has conceded that he does exhibit particular sensitivity to the "conservative country crowd," or those characterized by "basic Christian values", as they are one of his largest constituencies, and part of his upbringing.

Dunham was heckled and criticized for mocking TV critics during a July 2009 press tour to promote his then-upcoming Comedy Central TV series, "The Jeff Dunham Show", as well as Comedy Central programming chief Lauren Correo. In October 2009 "The Jeff Dunham Show" enjoyed good initial ratings, but was not well liked by critics, some of whom either questioned the wisdom of translating his act into a series, or cited Dunham, his previous specials, or ventriloquism itself as reasons for disliking the show.

J.P. Williams, the producer of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, has opined that Dunham's act is not funny on its own merits, and that his material gets a greater reaction because of the puppet characters than it would otherwise garner by itself. Blue Collar veteran Bill Engvall, a friend of Dunham's, insists otherwise, saying that Dunham is inherently funny with or without the puppets.

In a 2014 show in Malaysia, the government requested that he not use or name Achmed in his show. Due to the restriction, but to avoid disappointing fans, Achmed was renamed to be "Jacques Merde, the Dead French Terrorist" (Jacques Merde meaning "Jack Shit").

In 2003, BRASMA Publications released "Dear Walter", a collection of questions asked of Dunham's fictional curmudgeon at live performances, authored by Dunham and Walter Cummings. His autobiography, "All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed and Me", was published by Dutton in November 2010.

Walter is a retired, grumpy old man with arms always crossed in discontent. Dunham was inspired to create Walter when he watched Bette Davis's final appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", giving her honest, unfiltered candor to Walter, and patterning Walter's frown on Dunham's own. He has a brash, negative and often sarcastic view on today's world. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a former welder, and "doesn't give a damn" about anyone, especially his own wife and certain audience members. Walter appeared in every Comedy Central special. He's been married for several decades. When Dunham asks him if he remembers the happiest moment of his life after Walter tells him he has been married for forty-six years, Walter responds, "Forty-"seven" years ago!" Dunham created the Walter puppet himself, including both the initial sculpture and the silicone mold, though he eventually began using professional effects companies for the latter stages with his subsequent puppets.

In "Relative Disaster" it's revealed that Walter might be Jeff's biological father.

Peanut is a hyperactive, purple-skinned "woozle" with white fur covering most of his body, a tuft of green hair on the top of his head, and one sneaker on his left foot. Dunham explains in "Arguing with Myself" that Peanut is from a small Micronesian island, and that they met in Florida. Peanut's humor is not based on a particular motif or stereotype, as those of the other characters, and he has been described as "the bad kid". He often makes fun of Dunham, and torments and mocks José Jalapeño on a Stick. Touching upon his unusual appearance and personality, he asks Dunham in "Arguing with Myself", after Dunham denies ever having done drugs, "Then how the hell did you come up with "me"?"

José is a talking jalapeño pepper on a stick who wears a small sombrero. José, who speaks with a thick Spanish accent, is typically paired with Peanut, who often makes fun of José, uses appeals to Latino stereotypes when doing so, and makes fun of his being on a stick. Although José was not Dunham's first puppet, it was the first that Dunham made himself.

Dunham has not used José in any specials since "Minding the Monsters", although he was referenced by Walter in "Relative Disaster".

Bubba J is a beer-drinking redneck that Dunham describes in "Arguing with Myself" and "A Very Special Christmas Special" as "white trash trailer park", and whom Dunham uses for humor centered on such stereotypes. To this end, he frequently does jokes involving Bubba J's love of drinking beer and NASCAR, and his low intelligence. Touching upon such stereotypes, Bubba mentions in "Arguing with Myself" that he met his wife at a family reunion, and remembers seeing her with a corn dog in one hand, a beer in another, and leaning against a ferris wheel, "making it tilt". Although he does not appear onstage, Bubba has a prominent role as the backstage security guard in "Controlled Chaos".

Dunham introduces Sweet Daddy Dee in "" as his "new manager". He calls himself a "pimp", which he says stands for "Player In the Management Profession." According to Sweet Daddy, because he is a pimp, that makes Jeff the "ho". When Dunham objects, Daddy Dee points out that Dunham makes people laugh and feel good for a living. When Dunham agrees that this is the case, Daddy Dee says, "You a ho." When Dunham asks what he would say if he told him that he was a comedian only because he enjoyed it, Daddy Dee responds, "You a "dumb" ho." Much unlike Bubba J, he hates NASCAR. Sweet Daddy's headstone is featured in the beginning of the special "Minding the Monsters". As revealed in the DVD release, this signifies that he will no longer be used; however, he has reappeared in some videos on Jeff's YouTube channel, he was also referenced in "Relative Disaster".

Melvin wears a blue superhero costume, and is used to poke fun at superheroes. When asked about his superhuman powers, he indicates that he has X-ray vision, adding, "I love looking at boobies!" He appears to have no other powers, however: When Dunham asks how far he can fly, he responds, "How far can you throw me?", and when asked if he can stop a bullet like Superman, he responds, "Yeah. Once". Dunham portrays Melvin as unimpressed with other superheroes: When told Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound, Melvin dismisses him as a "showoff," arguing that he can simply walk around them, observes that Aquaman has the same powers as SpongeBob SquarePants, asserts that the Flash's super speed is derived from methamphetamine, that the Hulk's vaunted ability to get stronger as he gets angrier merely mirrors "every white trash guy on "COPS"," and makes innuendo about the questionable relationship between Batman and the underage Robin. Melvin's first onscreen appearance was in the July 2003 "Comedy Central Presents" episode, in which he had small, black, beady eyes. By his next appearance, in "Spark of Insanity", he had been modified to have large, blue, crossed eyes. He has an enormous nose, which he claims is his symbol, and whose similarity in shape to that of a penis is alluded to in the act. Dunham sculpted the current version of Melvin's head himself, and hired an effects company called Renegade Effects Groups to create the rubber mold and complete the puppet, before then installing the mechanics himself. Melvin's headstone is featured in the beginning of the special "Minding the Monsters". As revealed in the DVD release, this signifies that he will no longer be used.

Achmed is the skeletal corpse of an incompetent suicide bomber, whom Dunham uses to satirize the contemporary issue of terrorism. He is known for yelling, "Silence! I keel you!" to Dunham and people laughing in the audience. Achmed first appeared in "Spark of Insanity", and has since appeared in every Dunham special since then. In "Spark of Insanity" the audience learns several things about Achmed. When Dunham says that Achmed must be dead because he's a skeleton, Achmed responds, "It's a flesh wound." When Dunham inquires as to how he died, Achmed explains his incompetence with explosives, while also casting aspersions on Dunham's sexual prowess by saying that they both suffer from "premature detonation". Although he frequently mentions working for Osama Bin Laden, Achmed denies being a Muslim and says "Look at my ass! It says 'Made in China'!" He says he is afraid of Walter, partially because he's "one mean son of a bitch" and finds Walter's flatulence to be more potent than Saddam Hussein's mustard gas. In "Very Special Christmas Special", he sings a song called "Jingle Bombs".

By June 2009, the sketch in which Dunham introduced Achmed has amassed nearly 200 million views. The large, round, articulated eyes of puppets such as Achmed and Achmed Junior are constructed by the same effects artist who created the dinosaur eyes for the "Jurassic Park" films. The character's popularity lead to a starring role in "Achmed Saves America", an animated film that premiered on Country Music Television in March 2014. In the film, which depicts the mishap that led to the character's skeletonization, Achmed himself is in an American town called Americaville, which he plots to blow up, before developing an affinity for American culture.

Little Jeff is a miniature version of Dunham himself, usually dressed in the same clothes Dunham wears during each show. He appeared in "Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos" as a puppet that Peanut used when trying to do ventriloquism like Dunham. Peanut named the doll "Little Ugly Ass-Jeff", and uses him to insult Dunham. In "Unhinged in Hollywood", Dunham himself puppeteers him, and gives him different voice than he did in his past performances.

Diane first appeared with Dunham in the 2010 film "Dinner for Schmucks" as "Debbie", his character's "wife". She made her stand-up debut in Dunham's Identity Crisis Tour 2010.

Achmed Junior is the estranged son of Achmed. He was designed by "Mad" magazine illustrator Tom Richmond. He first appeared during the Identity Crisis Tour 2010, and made his first onscreen appearance in Dunham's fourth special, "Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos". Like his father, Achmed Junior is the victim of a bomb, which resulted in the destruction of the half of his face and body. He speaks with a British accent because he was raised in Britain after the accident. Much to his father's consternation, he expresses an attraction to Dunham's male stage hand, Marnell, who constantly came on stage because Achmed kept losing balance on the stand and eventually Marnell brought duct tape. He does not wish to be a suicide bomber.

Seamus is Dunham's newest adopted addition to his family. He is an Irish infant, but is already well-versed in drinking. He is introduced in the Netflix special "Relative Disaster".

Other characters that Dunham has voiced include a miniature puppet of Peanut's, and an unseen worm inside a bottle of tequila, both of which he has used, for example, in his appearance on A&E's "An Evening at The Improv".

Dunham met his first wife, Paige Brown, at the Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach, Florida. They began dating in December 1992. In May 1994, Dunham married Brown and adopted her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Bree. Their daughters Ashlyn and Kenna were born in 1995 and 1997, respectively. Dunham's time away while performing proved a strain on the marriage, and in November 2008, he filed for divorce. By mid-2009, Dunham was in a relationship with fellow Texan Audrey Murdick, a certified nutritionist, personal trainer, and competition bodybuilder, and on December 25, 2011 they became engaged. On October 12, 2012, the couple married. On May 14, 2015, Dunham announced, via Facebook, that he and Audrey were expecting twin boys. In October, she gave birth to James Jeffrey and Jack Steven.

In addition to building the dummies he uses in his act, Dunham also restores antique ones as a hobby, such as The Umpire, a mechanized dummy built in 1941 to work the plate at a girls' softball game, which went unused and packed away for 50 years before Dunham acquired it in early 2008.

Dunham has harbored a love of helicopters since childhood and is fond of building and flying his own kit helicopters from Rotorway helicopter kits. At the time he finished writing his autobiography in June 2010, he was beginning to build his fourth kit. He is an aficionado of muscle cars and Apple, Inc. products.

According to the July 16, 2012, TV documentary, "The Batmobile", Dunham owns a replica of the Batmobile that was used in the Tim Burton film "Batman".

Dunham was born in Dallas, Texas on April 18, 1962. When he was three months old, he was adopted by real estate appraiser Howard Dunham, and his homemaker wife Joyce, who raised him in a devoutly Presbyterian household in an affluent Dallas neighborhood, as an only child.

Jeff Dunham

His style has been described as "a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder". "Time" described his characters as "politically incorrect, gratuitously insulting and ill tempered." Dunham has been credited with reviving ventriloquism and doing more to promote the art form than anyone since Edgar Bergen.

In September 2008, his career reached new heights as he began performing in arenas filled with tens of thousands of people. Dunham was somewhat wary of such large venues, but adapted by adjusting the timing of his often rapid exchanges with the puppets so that audience members farthest from the stage could have time to react.

On March 28, 2014, Country Music Television premiered "Achmed Saves America", an animated film starring Achmed the Dead Terrorist.

Dunham's seventh special, "Unhinged in Hollywood", premiered on September 17, 2015. Rather than premiering on Comedy Central, the special instead aired on NBC.

In a 2014 show in Malaysia, the government requested that he not use or name Achmed in his show. Due to the restriction, but to avoid disappointing fans, Achmed was renamed to be "Jacques Merde, the Dead French Terrorist" (Jacques Merde meaning "Jack Shit").

In 2003, BRASMA Publications released "Dear Walter", a collection of questions asked of Dunham's fictional curmudgeon at live performances, authored by Dunham and Walter Cummings. His autobiography, "All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed and Me", was published by Dutton in November 2010.

In "Relative Disaster" it's revealed that Walter might be Jeff's biological father.

José is a talking jalapeño pepper on a stick who wears a small sombrero. José, who speaks with a thick Spanish accent, is typically paired with Peanut, who often makes fun of José, uses appeals to Latino stereotypes when doing so, and makes fun of his being on a stick. Although José was not Dunham's first puppet, it was the first that Dunham made himself.

Dunham has not used José in any specials since "Minding the Monsters", although he was referenced by Walter in "Relative Disaster".

Diane first appeared with Dunham in the 2010 film "Dinner for Schmucks" as "Debbie", his character's "wife". She made her stand-up debut in Dunham's Identity Crisis Tour 2010.

Seamus is Dunham's newest adopted addition to his family. He is an Irish infant, but is already well-versed in drinking. He is introduced in the Netflix special "Relative Disaster".

Other characters that Dunham has voiced include a miniature puppet of Peanut's, and an unseen worm inside a bottle of tequila, both of which he has used, for example, in his appearance on A&E's "An Evening at The Improv".

In addition to building the dummies he uses in his act, Dunham also restores antique ones as a hobby, such as The Umpire, a mechanized dummy built in 1941 to work the plate at a girls' softball game, which went unused and packed away for 50 years before Dunham acquired it in early 2008.

Dunham has harbored a love of helicopters since childhood and is fond of building and flying his own kit helicopters from Rotorway helicopter kits. At the time he finished writing his autobiography in June 2010, he was beginning to build his fourth kit. He is an aficionado of muscle cars and Apple, Inc. products.

According to the July 16, 2012, TV documentary, "The Batmobile", Dunham owns a replica of the Batmobile that was used in the Tim Burton film "Batman".


When did the movie of Les Mis premier?

"Les Misérables" held its world premiere at Leicester Square in London on 5 December 2012, and was released 25 December 2012 in the United States and 11 January 2013 in the United Kingdom. It grossed over $441 million worldwide. The film received generally favourable reviews, with many critics praising the cast, with Jackman, Hathaway, Redmayne and Samantha Barks being the most often singled out for praise. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Jackman, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for Hathaway. It also won four British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), including for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Hathaway. Additionally, it received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture (the first musical nominated since 2002's winner "Chicago") and Best Actor for Jackman, and won three, for Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Supporting Actress for Hathaway.

Les Misérables (2012 film)

Les Misérables is a 2012 musical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and scripted by William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, and Herbert Kretzmer, based on the 1862 French novel of the same name by Victor Hugo, which also inspired a 1980 musical by Boublil and Schönberg. The film is a British and American venture distributed by Universal Pictures. The film stars an ensemble cast led by Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter, and Sacha Baron Cohen.

The film takes place in France during the early 19th century and tells the story of Jean Valjean who, while being hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The story reaches resolution against the background of the June Rebellion.

Following the release of the 1980 musical, a film adaptation was mired in "development hell" for over ten years, as the rights were passed on to several major studios, and various directors and actors considered. In 2011, producer Cameron Mackintosh sold the film rights to Eric Fellner, who financed the film through his Working Title Films. In June 2011, production of the film officially began, with Hooper and Mackintosh serving as director and producer, and the main characters were cast later that year. Principal photography commenced in March 2012, with a budget of $61 million. Filming took place on locations in Greenwich, London, Chatham, Winchester, Bath, and Portsmouth, England; in Gourdon, France; and on soundstages in Pinewood Studios.

In 1815, French prisoner Jean Valjean is released on parole from the Bagne of Toulon after serving nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread and trying to escape multiple times. On the outside, Valjean's anger rises as his paroled status prevents him from getting work or accommodation.
He is offered shelter by the kindly Bishop of Digne, but Valjean steals his silverware. Captured by police and taken to the Bishop, Valjean is shocked when the Bishop answers he offered him the silver, telling him to use it to do something worthwhile with his life. Valjean decides to break his parole and start a new life.

Eight years later in 1823, Valjean is now a respected factory owner and mayor of Montreuil, Pas-de-Calais.
He is shocked when Javert, formerly a Toulon prison guard, arrives as his new chief of police. Javert suspects Valjean's real identity when he rescues an injured worker trapped under a heavy cart.
One of Valjean's workers, Fantine, is dismissed by the factory foreman upon learning she has an illegitimate daughter Cosette, whom she left to live with the greedy innkeepers, the Thénardiers, and to whom she sends all her earnings. To support her daughter, Fantine sells her hair, her teeth, becomes a prostitute and is arrested by Javert when she attacks an abusive customer. Valjean, learning who she is, rescues her and takes her to the hospital.

Valjean later learns that a man has been wrongly identified as him, and decides to reveal his true identity to the court - before returning to the dying Fantine, promising to care for Cosette.
Javert arrives to arrest Valjean but he escapes, finds Cosette and pays Fantine's debts to the Thénardiers. Valjean and Cosette flee from Javert, hiding in a convent, aided by the worker Valjean rescued before.

Nine years later, Valjean has become a philanthropist and helps the poor in Paris. General Lamarque, the only government official sympathetic to the poor, dies, and a group of revolutionists called the Friends of the ABC plot to rebel against the monarchy.
Marius Pontmercy, a member of the Friends, encounters Cosette and they fall in love. He asks Éponine, the Thénardiers' daughter, to help find her. They finally meet and confess their love, leaving Éponine sad as she's also in love with Marius.

Thénardier plans on robbing Valjean's house, but they are stopped by Éponine. Valjean, afraid Javert could be near, makes plans to flee to England with Cosette. Cosette leaves a letter for Marius, but Éponine finds it and hides it from him.

During Lamarque's funeral procession, the revolt begins and barricades are built across Paris. Javert pretends to be an ally to spy on the rebels but the street urchin Gavroche exposes him as a policeman. During the first skirmish against the soldiers, Éponine takes a bullet for Marius and dies in his arms, giving him Cosette's letter and confessing her love.
Marius' answer to Cosette is intercepted by Valjean, who joins the revolution to guard Marius.

Valjean offers to execute Javert but actually releases him, faking his death. By dawn, the soldiers are close to ending the revolution, storming the students' barricade and execute everyone save Marius and Valjean, who escape into the sewers. Thénardier comes across Valjean and the unconscious Marius, stealing the latter's ring, before pointing a way out. Valjean finds Javert waiting for him, ignoring his nemesis' threats. Javert, morally confused by the mercy of Valjean, commits suicide by throwing himself in the Seine. Marius recovers but is traumatised by the death of his friends.

Marius and Cosette are reunited but Valjean, concerned his presence would threaten their happiness, makes plans to leave and reveals his story to Marius, who promises to remain silent. Cosette and Marius marry, but the Thénardiers crash the wedding reception to try to blackmail Marius, with Thénardier saying that he witnessed Valjean carrying a murdered corpse and shows the stolen ring. Marius recognises it as his own and understands that Valjean saved him that night. Marius forces Thénardier to reveal where Valjean is before leaving with Cosette, with the Thénardiers thrown out of the wedding afterwards.
Cosette and Marius reunite with the dying Valjean at the convent. Valjean gives them letters of confession before dying peacefully, and his spirit is guided away by the spirits of Fantine and the Bishop to join the spirits of Eponine, Gavroche and the Friends of the ABC in the afterlife.Colm Wilkinson and Frances Ruffelle, two of the original cast members involved in the West End and Broadway productions of the English version (as Jean Valjean and Éponine, respectively), make appearances. Wilkinson plays the Bishop of Digne, while Ruffelle plays a prostitute. Hadley Fraser, who previously played Grantaire in the 25th Anniversary Concert and Javert at West End, appears as the Army General. Another West End actor, Gina Beck, appears as one of the "Turning Women". Michael Jibson plays the foreman of the factory in which Fantine works and is fired from.

Several actors in the West End production of the musical appear as members of the student society, including George Blagden as Grantaire; Killian Donnelly as Combeferre; Fra Fee as Courfeyrac; Alistair Brammer as Jean Prouvaire; Hugh Skinner as Joly; Gabriel Vick as Feuilly; Iwan Lewis as Bahorel; and Stuart Neal as Bossuet. Blagden was cast in January 2012. Other stage actors including Hannah Waddingham, Daniel Evans and Kerry Ellis have small parts in the film along with actors who previously starred in various productions of "Les Misérables".

A highlights soundtrack album was released via Universal Republic 21 December 2012. Republic Records confirmed 25 January 2013, via Twitter that a 2-disc deluxe soundtrack was in production alongside the DVD and Blu-ray; it was released 19 March 2013.

The film contains every song from the original stage musical with the exception of "I Saw Him Once" and "Dog Eats Dog", although many songs have been partially or extensively cut. "The Attack on Rue Plumet" and "Little People" were especially shortened. In addition, the Bishop sings with Fantine during "Valjean's Death" instead of Eponine, as was in the stage musical. "Stars" was also moved to before "Look Down", which echoes the original 1985 London production. The lyrics of some songs were also changed to suit the changes in setting or narrative to the stage musical. In addition to the cuts, a new song, "Suddenly" was added, new music was composed for the battle scenes, and the order of several songs changed from the stage musical. Several major pieces—primarily "Who Am I?", "Stars", and the two "Soliloquy" pieces—are performed in a different key from most recordings.Following the release of "Les Misérables" (1980), a French sung-through concept album by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo, the musical premiered at the Palais des Sports in Paris in 1980. The English-language West End theatre production opened at the Barbican Arts Centre on 8 October 1985. The subsequent Broadway production opened at the Broadway Theatre on 12 March 1987 and closed at the Imperial Theatre on 18 May 2003 after 6,680 performances. In 1988, Alan Parker was considered to direct a film adaptation of the "Les Misérables" musical. In 1991, Bruce Beresford signed on to be the film's director.
In 1992, producer Cameron Mackintosh announced that the film would be co-produced by TriStar Pictures. However, the film was abandoned. In 2005, Mackintosh later confirmed that interest in turning the musical into a film adaptation had resumed during the early months of that year. Mackintosh said that he wanted the film to be directed by "someone who has a vision for the show that will put the show's original team, including [Mackintosh], back to work." He also said that he wanted the film audiences to make it "fresh as the actual show".

In 2009, producer Eric Fellner began negotiations with Mackintosh to acquire the film's rights and concluded it near the end of 2011. Fellner, Tim Bevan, and Debra Hayward engaged William Nicholson to write a screenplay for the film. Nicholson wrote the draft within six weeks time.

The DVD/Blu-ray release of "" confirmed an announcement of the musical's film adaptation.

In March 2011, director Tom Hooper began negotiations to direct "Les Misérables" from the screenplay by William Nicholson. Production on the film officially began in June that year, with Cameron Mackintosh and Working Title Films co-producing. Having already approached Hooper prior to production with the desire of playing Jean Valjean, Hugh Jackman began negotiations to star in the film alongside Paul Bettany as Javert. Other stars who became attached to the project included Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter.

In September 2011, Jackman was officially cast as Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe was cast as Javert. The following month, Mackintosh confirmed that Fantine would be played by Hathaway. Before Hathaway was cast, Amy Adams, Jessica Biel, Tammy Blanchard, Kristin Kreuk, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet and Rebecca Hall were also considered for the part. For the role, Hathaway allowed her hair to be cut short on camera for a scene in which her character sells her hair, stating that the lengths she goes to for her roles "don't feel like sacrifices. Getting to transform is one of the best parts of [acting]." The role also required her to lose.

In addition to Hathaway's weight loss, Hugh Jackman also lost an extreme amount of weight for the opening scene as Jean Valjean when he is imprisoned in a labor camp. To achieve an emaciated look, Jackman committed to a minimalistic diet and intense work outs. In an interview with Epix, Jackman revealed that he went on 45 minute morning runs on an empty stomach which Hathaway later used as a weight loss tactic with Jackman's help, and he went on a 36-hour liquid fast. This allowed him to rapidly lose ten pounds and caused his eyes and cheeks to sink severely. With these efforts, Jackman was able to successfully look unrecognizable as Jean Valjean in the opening scene.

In November 2011, Eddie Redmayne joined the cast as Marius Pontmercy. It was reported that the shortlist of actresses for the role of Éponine included Scarlett Johansson (who also auditioned for the role of Fantine), Lea Michele, Miley Cyrus, Tamsin Egerton, Taylor Swift, and Evan Rachel Wood.

In January 2012, the press reported that the role of Éponine had officially been offered to Taylor Swift, but Swift later stated that those reports were not entirely accurate. At the end of the month, Mackintosh made a special appearance during the curtain call of the "Oliver!" UK tour at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, announcing that the tour's Nancy, Samantha Barks, who had played Éponine in the West End production and in the 25th Anniversary concert, would reprise the role in the film. Barks had been auditioning for 15 weeks by that point.

Originally, an unknown was sought for the role of Cosette, with an open casting call in New York City in December 2011. In January 2012, reports surfaced that Amanda Seyfried had been offered the role instead. Eddie Redmayne confirmed both Seyfried's casting and that of Bonham Carter as Madame Thénardier in an interview on 12 January. Hooper confirmed that he would stick to the musical's essentially sung-through form and would thus introduce very little additional dialogue. Hooper confirmed that the film would not be shot in 3D, expressing his opinion that it would not enhance the emotional narrative of the film and would distract audiences from the storytelling.

Following this announcement, reports surfaced in the press that Sacha Baron Cohen had begun talks to join the cast as Thénardier and that Aaron Tveit had been cast as Enjolras. Later that month, the press officially confirmed Tveit's casting as Enjolras. Colm Wilkinson and Frances Ruffelle (the original Valjean and Éponine, respectively, in the West End and Broadway productions) appeared in the film. Wilkinson played the Bishop of Digne, and Ruffelle had a cameo as a prostitute. George Blagden was cast as Grantaire. In an interview with BBC Radio 4's "Front Row", Tom Hooper revealed that Claude-Michel Schönberg will be composing one new song and additional music. The director also expanded on the performers singing live on set, which he felt would eliminate the need to recapture "locked" performances and allow more creative freedom. More details of this were confirmed by Eddie Redmayne in an interview. He stated that the cast would sing to piano tracks (via earpiece) and that the orchestra would be added in post-production.

In February 2012, casting auditions involving extras for the film took place at the University of Portsmouth and Chatham Maritime in Chatham. Several days later, Mackintosh officially confirmed that Bonham Carter would play Madame Thénardier. He also announced that the title of the newly created song for the film is "Suddenly" and that it "beautifully explains what happens when Valjean takes Cosette from the inn and looks after her." At the end of the month, "The Sun" reported that the long-rumoured Baron Cohen had been cast in the role of Monsieur Thénardier.

The cast began rehearsals in January 2012, with principal photography due to begin in March. The press officially confirmed Baron Cohen's casting during the latter month. No table read took place before filming.

With a production budget of $61 million, principal photography of the film began 8 March 2012 in Gourdon. Filming locations in England included Boughton House, Winchester College, Winchester Cathedral Close, Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth, Chatham Dockyard, St Mary the Virgin Church, Ewelme, South Oxfordshire and Pinewood Studios. In April 2012, crews built a replica of the Elephant of the Bastille in Greenwich. In the novel, Gavroche lives in the decaying monument.

On-location filming also took place at Gourdon, Alpes-Maritimes in France. Footage of Hathaway singing "I Dreamed a Dream", a song from the musical, was shown at CinemaCon 26 April 2012. Russell Crowe confirmed 5 June 2012, on Twitter that he had finished filming. He was later followed by Samantha Barks, confirming that all of her scenes had too been completed. Jackman stated that all filming had been completed 23 June 2012. Some late filming occurred in Bath, Somerset, in October 2012 where stunt shots for Javert's suicide scene had to be reshot due to an error found with this footage during post-production. Bath was not the original filming location for this scene, but the late footage was captured at Pulteney Weir.

The film's vocals were recorded live on set using live piano accompaniments played through earpieces as a guide, with the orchestral accompaniment recorded in post-production, rather than the traditional method where the film's musical soundtracks are usually pre-recorded and played back on set to which actors lip-sync. Production sound mixer Simon Hayes used 50 DPA 4071 lavalier microphones to record the vocals. Hooper explained his choice:
Although this unique live recording method has been stated as "a world's first" by the creative team, several film musicals have used this method before, including early talkies, as lip-syncing wasn't perfected, the 1975 20th Century Fox film "At Long Last Love", the adaptation of "The Magic Flute" that same year, and more recently in the 1995 adaptation of "The Fantasticks", portions of the 1996 adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Evita", in the 2001 film version of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", and in the 2007 film "Across the Universe" with songs by The Beatles.

Producers announced 27 August 2012, that recording sessions for "Les Misérables" would begin in London 10 October and featured a 70-piece orchestra. They also announced that composer Claude-Michel Schönberg was composing additional music to underscore the film. Universal Studios executives were granted a viewing of the rough cut of the film 9 September 2012, without the orchestra tracks. They greeted the cut with "extreme excitement".

The film's first teaser trailer debuted online 30 May 2012, and later in theatres with "Snow White and the Huntsman", "The Bourne Legacy" and "Argo".

Producers released an extended first look on the film's official Facebook page 20 September 2012. This short introduces and explains Hooper's method of recording vocals live on set, comparing it to the traditional method of pre-recording the vocals in a studio months in advance. Hugh Jackman stated that filming in this way allows him more creative freedom with the material and that he "only has to worry about acting it." Both Hooper and the actors believe that this choice of production method will make the film feel much more emotional, raw, and real. The actors praised Hooper for his method and provide brief interviews throughout the video. Hooper mentions, "I thought it was an amazing opportunity to do something genuinely groundbreaking."

Clips of Jackman, Hathaway, Seyfried, Redmayne and Barks singing were received very positively, especially the teaser trailer's presentation of "I Dreamed a Dream" by Hathaway. Producers released a new poster, featuring young Cosette (in what is essentially a real-life version of the musical's emblem), played by Isabelle Allen, 24 September 2012, on the film's official Facebook page. They released posters featuring Jean Valjean, Javert, Fantine, and Cosette 12 October, with additional posters of Thénardiers and Marius released 1 November 2012.

"Les Misérables" was originally to be released 7 December 2012 before the studio moved it to 14 December in the United States; however, 18 September 2012, they delayed the film's release date to 25 December, so as not to conflict with the opening of "", which opened 14 December. Because of this, it opened alongside "Django Unchained". Release date for the United Kingdom was 11 January 2013.

"Les Misérables" was screened for the first time at Lincoln Center in New York City, 23 November 2012, and received a standing ovation from the crowd. This was followed by a screening the next day in Los Angeles, which also received positive reviews.

"Les Misérables" premiered 5 December 2012, at the Empire, Leicester Square in London. Red carpet footage was screened live online in an event hosted by Michael Ball, the original Marius of the West End. The film was released in select IMAX theatres in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Montreal the same day as its domestic theatrical release, 25 December 2012. "Les Misérables" was released internationally by IMAX theatres on 10 January 2013. The film was distributed by Universal Pictures in North America, Latin America and most of Europe, and Toho (through Toho-Towa) in Japan.

The film was confirmed for home release 13 May 2013 on DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD in the United Kingdom; it was released in the United States 22 March 2013. The DVD contains three featurettes: "The Stars of Les Misérables", "Creating the Perfect Paris", and "The Original Masterwork: Victor Hugo's Les Misérables", along with an audio commentary from director Tom Hooper. The Blu-ray has all DVD features including four additional featurettes: "Les Misérables Singing Live", "Battle at the Barricade", "The West End Connection", and "Les Misérables On Location".

"Les Misérables" earned $148,809,770 in North America and $293,000,000 in other territories for a worldwide total of $441,809,770. In North America, "Les Misérables" opened 25 December 2012 in 2,808 theatres, placing first at the box office with $18.1 million. This amount broke the record for the highest opening day gross for a musical film, previously held by "", and was also the second highest opening day gross for a film released on Christmas Day. It earned $27.3 million in its opening weekend, placing third behind "Django Unchained" and "".

The film was released in the United Kingdom 11 January 2013 and earned £8.1 ($13.1) million in its opening weekend, making it the largest opening weekend for a musical film, as well as for Working Title.

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 69% approval rating with an average rating of 6.9/10, based on an aggregation of 238 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Impeccably mounted but occasionally bombastic, "Les Misérables" largely succeeds thanks to bravura performances from its distinguished cast." On Metacritic, the film achieved an average score of 63 out of 100 based on 41 reviews, signifying "generally favorable reviews". The film was generally praised for its acting and ensemble cast, with Jackman, Seyfried, Hathaway, Bonham Carter and Barks being singled out for praise. The live singing, which was heavily promoted in marketing for the film, received a more divided response.

Robbie Collin of "The Daily Telegraph" gave the film five stars: ""Les Misérables" is a blockbuster, and the special effects are emotional: explosions of grief; fireballs of romance; million-buck conflagrations of heartbreak. Accordingly, you should see it in its opening week, on a gigantic screen, with a fanatical crowd."

"The Guardian"s Peter Bradshaw concurred: "Even as a non-believer in this kind of "sung-through" musical, I was battered into submission by this mesmeric and sometimes compelling film...". Kenneth Turan of "Los Angeles Times" gave a positive review, saying that the film "is a clutch player that delivers an emotional wallop when it counts. You can walk into the theater as an agnostic, but you may just leave singing with the choir." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" said, "Besides being a feast for the eyes and ears, "Les Misérables" overflows with humor, heartbreak, rousing action and ravishing romance. Damn the imperfections, it's perfectly marvelous."

Todd McCarthy of "The Hollywood Reporter" said, "As the enduring success of this property has shown, there are large, emotionally susceptible segments of the population ready to swallow this sort of thing, but that doesn't mean it's good."

Manohla Dargis of "The New York Times" wrote: "[Director Tom] Hooper can be very good with actors. But his inability to leave any lily ungilded—to direct a scene without tilting or hurtling or throwing the camera around—is bludgeoning and deadly. By the grand finale, when tout le monde is waving the French tricolor in victory, you may instead be raising the white flag in exhausted defeat."

Justin Chang of "Variety" wrote that the film "will more than satisfy the show's legions of fans." Chang praised the performances of Jackman, Hathaway, Barks, Tveit and Seyfried ("i.e.", every leading cast member except Crowe and Redmayne) but said that the film's editing "seems reluctant to slow down and let the viewer simply take in the performances."

Callum Marsh of "Slant Magazine" gave the film 1 star, and wrote: "Flaws—and there are a great many that would have never made the cut were this a perfectible studio recording—are conveniently swept under the rug of candid expression... the worst quality of Les Misérables's live singing is simply that it puts too much pressure on a handful of performers who frankly cannot sing... Fisheye lenses and poorly framed close-ups abound in Les Misérables, nearly every frame a revelation of one man's bad taste... One would be hard-pressed to describe this, despite the wealth of beauty on display, as anything but an ugly film, shot and cut ineptly. Everything in the film, songs included, is cranked to 11, the melodrama of it all soaring. So it's odd that this kind of showboating maximalism should be ultimately reduced to a few fisheye'd faces, mugging for their close-up, as the people sing off-key and broken." "Chicago Tribune" critic Michael Philips gave the film only one and a half stars, writing: "The camera bobs and weaves like a drunk, frantically. So you have hammering close-ups, combined with woozy insecurity each time more than two people are in the frame....too little in this frenzied mess of a film registers because Hooper is trying to make everything register at the same nutty pitch."

Some specific performances were reviewed very positively. Anne Hathaway's performance of ballad "I Dreamed a Dream" was met with praise, with many comparing its showstopper-like quality to Jennifer Hudson's performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from "Dreamgirls". Christopher Orr of "The Atlantic" wrote that "Hathaway gives it everything she has, beginning in quiet sorrow before building to a woebegone climax: she gasps, she weeps, she coughs. If you are blown away by the scene—as many will be; it will almost certainly earn Hathaway her first Oscar—this may be the film for you." Ann Hornaday of "The Washington Post" writes that "The centerpiece of a movie composed entirely of centerpieces belongs to Anne Hathaway, who as the tragic heroine Fantine sings another of the memorable numbers". Joy Tipping of "The Dallas Morning News" described Hathaway's performance as "angelic".

Claudia Puig of "USA Today" describes her as "superb as the tragic Fantine". Travers felt that "A dynamite Hathaway shatters every heart when she sings how 'life has killed the dream I dreamed.' Her volcanic performance has Oscar written all over it." Lou Lumenick, critic for "New York Post", wrote that the film is "worth seeing for Hathaway alone". She was widely considered to be the frontrunner for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, ultimately winning it.

Eddie Redmayne also received considerable praise for his performance with "Bloomberg News" saying that "Eddie Redmayne—most recently seen as the eager young production assistant in "My Week with Marilyn"—delivers by far the most moving and memorable performance in the film as the young firebrand Marius, who, along with his fellow students, is caught up in France's political upheavals in the 19th century."

Samantha Barks earned praise for her portrayal of Éponine, with "Digital Journal" saying: "Samantha Barks plays Éponine with such grace, sweetness, and sadness that it is hard to imagine anyone else in the role", while Claudia Puig of "USA Today" calls her "heartbreakingly soulful", Richard Roeper of "Chicago Sun-Times" describes her performance as "star-making", and Roger Friedman of Showbiz411.com says she "just about steals the film".

Crowe's performance was less well received and even Crowe agreed that the film suffered from poor vocal performances. Emma Gosnell, writing for "The Daily Telegraph", stated that she walked out of the showing due to the poor singing, specifically citing Crowe and Jackman as the cause. Playback singer Marni Nixon said "[Crowe] was nothing. It wasn't that he was choosing to sing like that, he just couldn't do anything else" and that Jackman acted well but "could have done with a nobler voice". "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert tweeted several disparaging messages, including "why not cast actors who could actually sound good?" and "the singing was so distracting at times it pulled me out", to which Crowe replied via Twitter: "I don't disagree with Adam, sure it could have been sweetened, Hooper wanted it raw and real, that's how it is". Nixon rebutted this: "We're talking about a musical. Is that real? People don't go around singing 'La la la la' to each other all day!"

In 2013, the film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including the Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Hugh Jackman, and went on to win in three categories: Best Supporting Actress for Anne Hathaway, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Sound Mixing.