Like most of the characters in Holy Grail, he is played by a member of Monty Python, namely John Cleese, who primarily portrays Lancelot in the film.

The Black Knight appears in a single scene of Holy Grail, in which he guards a tiny bridge over a small stream and fights King Arthur, who wants to pass it; although a brave and skilled swordfighter, he is defeated by Arthur, who is soon bewildered by the knight's staunch refusal to admit his obvious defeat.

In the film, King Arthur (Graham Chapman), accompanied by his squire Patsy (Terry Gilliam), is travelling through a forest when he observes a fight taking place between the Black Knight (John Cleese) and a Green Knight (also played by Gilliam) by a bridge over a small stream.

Arthur then summons Patsy and "rides" away, leaving the Black Knight's limbless torso screaming threats at him with a cracking voice.

It was only when one wrestler finally tapped out and pulled away from his opponent that he and the crowd realised the other man was, in fact, dead and had effectively won the match posthumously.

[citation needed] Cleese said that the scene would seem heartless and sadistic except for the fact that the Black Knight shows no pain and just keeps on fighting, or trying to, however badly he is wounded.

Also, as the scene progresses and Arthur becomes increasingly annoyed, his dialogue lapses from medieval ("You are indeed brave, Sir Knight, but the fight is mine.")

[2] A humorous reference to a potentially mortal injury being a "flesh wound" also appeared in the 1940 screwball comedy His Girl Friday, in response to a maid being reported shot by a sheriff's deputy.