Shaun Patrick Micallef (; born 18 July 1962) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, television presenter, and formerly a lawyer. He was the host of the satirical news comedy series Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell on the ABC. He also hosted the game show Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation.
Micallef first gained recognition as a cast member of the sketch comedy show Full Frontal, which led to his own sketch show, The Micallef P(r)ogram(me), the sitcom Welcher & Welcher and the variety show Micallef Tonight. He then hosted the satirical news comedy series Newstopia on SBS, the game show Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation (both the first Network Ten iteration and the Nine Network iteration), and Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell on ABC TV. He also co-created and starred in Mr & Mrs Murder on Network Ten.
In addition to his television work, Micallef has appeared on stage, most notably in a revival of The Odd Couple (2016) for the Melbourne Theatre Company and on radio as the co-host of Melbourne station Vega 91.5's morning program. He is also the author of several books: Smithereens (2004), Preincarnate (2010), The President's Desk (2014), Tales from a Tall Forest (2017), The Uncollected Plays of Shaun Micallef (2018), Mad as Hell and Back (2019), Happily Ever Afterwards (2021) and Tripping Over Myself, a memoir (2022).
Early life and education
Micallef was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and is of Maltese and Irish descent.
His father worked for a company that sold parts for Volvos and his mother was employed at the
Adelaide Bank.
As a child, Micallef lived in Clovelly Park and attended St Bernadette's School in St Marys then St Joseph's Catholic School in Mitchell Park (now Sacred Heart College Middle School) before moving on to Sacred Heart Senior College where he was the College Captain.
Micallef studied law at the University of Adelaide, where he was frequently involved in comedy revues, often involving Francis Greenslade and Gary McCaffrie, with whom he continues to work.
Influences
Micallef was influenced by the Goons,
,
Marx Brothers,
S. J. Perelman,
,
Spike Milligan,
,
Frank Muir,
and
Woody Allen.
Career
Early theatre
In 1972, having three younger sisters taking ballet classes, ten-year-old Micallef was often asked to help out when a dance routine required a boy. The following year he auditioned for the Bunyip Children's Theatre and over the next four years participated in plays that they performed in the Scott Theatre during school holidays. In 1976, he doubled for Humphrey B. Bear for personal appearances.
Law school theatre
During law school at Adelaide University and four years beyond,
he appeared in Footlights Revues such as
The Frogs,
[ PDF] 39 Steps,
Two Escalators and a Lift,
Poodle Armageddon,
As Time Goes By and
Beckoning Gullett.
What got me through it was doing the revues. We did three a year and it was atrocious material, awful stuff looking back on it. We were idiots who didn’t know anything. But it seeded the timing and being able to cope with shit material and get laughs out of awful things.
Legal career
Micallef was a practising solicitor for ten years in the field of insurance law before making the decision to move to Melbourne and pursue a full-time career in comedy in 1993.
He relates the story that, while working as a solicitor, he talked so much about making a career change and becoming a comedian that his wife Leandra gave him an ultimatum: she marked a date on a calendar and told him to quit his job and become a comedian by that date or never talk about it again.
Television and film
Following early TV appearances on
theatresports (1987) and
The Big Gig (1989), in early 1993, Micallef was offered a job writing for the
Jimeoin show which was soon followed by an offer to also write for the sketch comedy show
Full Frontal where six months later he took on the role as co-producer with
Gary McCaffrie. In 1994, Micallef became a full-time cast member of
Full Frontal, where he became well known for characters such as
Milo Kerrigan,
Nobby Doldrums and a send-up of Italian male model
Fabio Lanzoni. Micallef recalls that the show was a good introduction to television comedy because, with an ensemble cast, its success did not hinge on his performance and he had more freedom to make and learn from mistakes. However, he was frustrated with the lack of control he had over his work in the series as well as the repetition of characters and gags.
Micallef's role on Full Frontal led to a 1996 special Shaun Micallef's World Around Him and three seasons of the two-time Logie Awards-winning ABC series The Micallef Program (1998–2001), which he co-wrote and produced with long-time writing partner Gary McCaffrie.
Micallef has also had acting roles in the television series SeaChange (2000), Through My Eyes (2004) and Offspring (2010) as well as supporting roles in the films Bad Eggs (2003), The Honourable Wally Norman (2003), The Extra (2005), Aquamarine (2006) and The King (2007). In 2006, he was a recurring guest on the Network Ten improvisational theatre show Thank God You're Here.
In 2007, along with partners McCaffrie and Michael Ward, Micallef developed the satirical comedy program Newstopia, which he hosted.
He co-created Mr & Mrs Murder, a crime comedy television series for Channel Ten which aired in 2013, and starred in the lead role of Charlie Buchanan alongside Kat Stewart. Also that year, Micallef signed on to voice the artificially intelligent robot RE3F in the Australian feature length science fiction film Arrowhead (2014).
Micallef hosted Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell
In 2022, he performed in a celebrity tribute to Australian comedian and actor Paul Hogan, Roast of Paul Hogan, which was broadcast on Australia's Seven Network.
In August 2024, Micallef hosted a series on ABC TV titled Shaun Micallef's Eve of Destruction.
Other work
In September 2005, Micallef began hosting the breakfast show "Shaun, Beverley and Denise" on Melbourne radio station Vega 91.5 FM with comedian
Denise Scott and television presenter Beverley O'Connor. In July 2006, comedian Dave O'Neil took over as host and the show was renamed "Dave and Denise with Shaun Micallef". Micallef left the network on 23 November 2007.
Micallef released a book, Smithereens, which was published in 2004 and contains a collection of prose, poetry and plays. He describes it as a collection of "all sorts of bits and pieces I have written".
In October 2014, Micallef released his third book, The President's Desk: An Alt-History of the United States; a semi-fictitious history, told from the perspective of the Resolute desk.
Shaun published an autobiography in 2022, Tripping Over Myself, A Memoir of a Life in Comedy.
Personal life
Born to
teetotaling parents, Micallef began drinking alcohol at age 18, and became a teetotaller in 1986,
although he did consume alcoholic beverages for a scientific test featured on
Shaun Micallef's On The Sauce. , he lived in Williamstown, Victoria, with his wife Leandra. The couple married in 1989 and have three sons.
List of works
Films
-
Bad Eggs (2003) – Premier Cray
-
The Honourable Wally Norman (2003) – Ken Oats
-
The 13th House (2003) – Sir
-
The Extra (2005) – Paul Ridley
-
Aquamarine (2006) – Storm Banks
-
The King (2007) – Colin Bednall
-
The Cup (2011) – Lee Freedman
-
Arrowhead (2014) – RE3F (voice)
Television
-
The Big Gig (1989) (writer)
-
Jimeoin (1994) – various (also writer)
-
Full Frontal (1994–1997) – various (also writer and producer)
-
The Glynn Nicholas Show (1996) (writer)
-
Shaun Micallef's World Around Him (1996) – various (also writer and producer)
-
The Micallef Program (1998–2001) – various (also writer and producer)
-
SeaChange (2000) – Warwick Munro
-
Welcher & Welcher (2003) – Quentin Welcher (also writer and producer)
-
Micallef Tonight (2003) – himself (also writer)
-
BlackJack (2003–2007) (writer)
-
Through My Eyes (2005) – Jack Winneke
-
Thank God You're Here (2006–2007) – various (semi-regular guest)
-
Dogstar (2007) – narrator
-
Newstopia (2007–2008) – himself
-
Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation (2009–2012, 2018–2019) – host
-
Melbourne International Comedy Festival (2009) – host
-
Offspring (2010) – Lachlan
-
Laid (2011–2012) – G-Bomb
-
The Bazura Project's Guide To Sinema (2011) – MK-Ultra (voice)
-
Mollusks (2011) – Easty (voice)
-
Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell (2012–2022) – host
-
Mr & Mrs Murder (2013) – Charlie Buchanan
-
Danger 5 (2012, 2014) – Principal
-
Shaun Micallef's Stairway to Heaven (2014) – himself
-
The Ex-PM (2015–2017) – Andrew Dugdale
-
Shaun Micallef's On The Sauce (2020) – himself
-
Shaun Micallef's Brain Eisteddfod (2022) – himself
-
Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe (2023) – himself
-
Time Bandits (TV series) (2024) – Town Mayor
-
Shaun Micallef's Eve Of Destruction (2024) - himself
-
Shaun Micallef's Origin Odyssey (2024) - himself
Theatre
-
Boeing Boeing (2008) – Bernard
-
Good Evening – Sketches from Dudley Moore and Peter Cook (2010)
-
The Odd Couple (2016)
Radio shows
-
Dave and Denise with Shaun Micallef on Vega FM (2005–2007)
-
The Comedy Crystal Set – Adelaide University Radio, co-host
Books
-
Smithereens (2004)
-
Preincarnate (2010)
-
The President's Desk (2014)
-
Tales from a Tall Forest (2017)
-
The Uncollected Plays of Shaun Micallef (2018)
-
Mad as Hell and Back: Silver Jubilee of Sketches, co-written with Gary McCaffrie (2019)
-
Happily Ever Afterwards: A Tale From a Taller Forest (2021)
-
Tripping Over Myself (2022)
-
Slivers, Shards and Skerricks (2024)
DVD and Audio
-
The Micallef P(r)ogram(me) s.2 (2004, DVD)
-
The Micallef P(r)ogram(me) s.3 (2005, DVD)
-
The Micallef P(r)ogram(me) s.1 (2006, DVD)
-
The Expurgated Micallef Tonight: The Very Best of Shaun Micallef's Short-Lived but Brilliant Tonight Show (2008, DVD)
-
His Generation (2009, CD)
-
Micallef in a Box (2010, 4DVD/1CD) – collection of the above
Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.
!
|-
| 2008
| The Expurgated Micallef Tonight
| Best Comedy Release
|
|
AACTA Awards
-
2010: AACTA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Television Screencraft (Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation)
-
2013: AACTA Award for Best Comedy Series (Mad as Hell s.2)
-
2013: AACTA Award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy (Mad as Hell s.2)
-
2015: AACTA Award for Best Comedy Series (Mad as Hell s.3/4)
-
2016: Logie Award for Most Outstanding Comedy Program (Mad as Hell s.5)
-
2020: AACTA Award for Best Comedy Entertainment Program (Mad as Hell s.12)
GQ Men of the Year
-
2012: GQ Men of the Year Awards (Comedian of the Year)
Logie Awards
-
2000: Logie Awards: Most Outstanding Comedy Program for the Micallef P(r)ogram(me) s.2
-
2002: Logie Awards: Most Outstanding Comedy Program for the Micallef P(r)ogram(me) s.3
-
2010: Logie Awards: Most Popular Presenter (Won); Gold Logie (nominated) for Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation
External links
