Shaun Patrick Micallef (; born 18 July 1962) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer and television presenter. He is currently 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 ''Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation'' is an Australian game show produced by Granada Productions which premiered on Network Ten on 5 May 2009. It is hosted by Shaun Micallef. History Original run The first series ran on Network Ten for 18 episode ...

'' on Channel 10. Micallef first gained recognition as a cast member of the

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and ...

show '' Full Frontal'', which led to his own sketch show, '' The Micallef P(r)ogram(me)'', the sitcom ''

Welcher & Welcher ''Welcher & Welcher'' was an Australian sitcom written by and starring Shaun Micallef which aired on the ABC in 2003. The show revolved around a husband and wife run law firm. Regular cast * Shaun Micallef - Quentin Charles Welcher (Lawyer a ...

'' and the variety show '' Micallef Tonight''. He then hosted the satirical news comedy series '' Newstopia'' on SBS, the game show ''Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation'' on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of fiv ...

, 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 Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

, 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 The Adelaide Bank was a publicly listed bank with its head office in Adelaide, South Australia. It was established on 1 January 1994 from the Co-operative Building Society of South Australia Limited, which was Australia's largest building soci ...

. As a child, Micallef lived in

Clovelly Park Clovelly Park is an inner southern suburb of Adelaide in the local government area of the City of Marion. Before becoming an 'advanced' suburb, it was a farm and vineyard. The suburb is bordered by Daws Road to the north, South Road to the eas ...

and attended St Bernadette's School in St Marys then St Joseph's Catholic School in Mitchell Park (now

Sacred Heart College Middle School Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

) before moving on to Sacred Heart Senior College where he was the College Captain. Micallef studied law at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, where he was frequently involved in comedy revues, often involving Francis Greenslade and

Gary McCaffrie Gary McCaffrie is an Australian television comedy writer and producer, best known for his work on ''Fast Forward'' and '' Full Frontal'', and his many collaborations with comedian Shaun Micallef. Most recently he was the creator and co-writer (with ...

, with whom he continues to work.

Influences

Micallef was influenced by the Goons, Peter Sellers,

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...

, S. J. Perelman, James Thurber, Spike Milligan, Barry Humphries, Frank Muir,

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over fou ...

and

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

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 ''Humphrey B. Bear'' is a fictional character first created in an Australian children's television series called ''Here's Humphrey'', which first went to air in 1965. Its fictional character namesake is an icon of Australian children's televis ...

for personal appearances.

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 ''

Theatre Sports Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by di ...

'' (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 ''Full Frontal'' was an Australian sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The f ...

and a send-up of Italian

male model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Though ...

Fabio. 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 ''Shaun Micallef's World Around Him'' was an Australian sketch comedy television special. Its title is a parody of the Australian documentary series ''The World Around Us''. Airing on the Seven Network in 1996, the special provided a major stepp ...

'' and three seasons of the two-time Logie Award-winning ABC series '' The Micallef Program'' (1998–2001), which he co-wrote and produced with long-time writing partner

. Since the series' end he has created and starred in two short-lived television series, the sitcom ''

'' (2003) and the variety show '' Micallef Tonight'' (2003), and devised a series of telemovies, ''

BlackJack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fam ...

'' (2003–present). Micallef has also had acting roles in the television series '' SeaChange'' (2000), ''Through My Eyes'' (2004) and ''

Offspring In biology, offspring are the young creation of living organisms, produced either by a single organism or, in the case of sexual reproduction, two organisms. Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny in a more general way. This ca ...

'' (2010) as well as supporting roles in the films '' Bad Eggs'' (2003), ''

The Honourable Wally Norman ''The Honourable Wally Norman'' is a 2003 Australian comedy film directed by Ted Emery. It stars Kevin Harrington, Shaun Micallef, and Greig Pickhaver. It was filmed primarily in South Australia and was nominated for two AFI awards. Plot Th ...

'' (2003), '' The Extra'' (2005), '' Aquamarine'' (2006) and '' The King'' (2007). In 2006, he was a recurring guest on the

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. In 2009, Micallef joined the

Ten Network Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

and hosted ''

'', which aired for four seasons. 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 Katherine Louise Stewart (born 30 November 1972) is an AACTA and Logie Award-winning Australian actress who has made numerous appearances in television series, movies and on-stage. Early life Kat Stewart is the daughter of Tony and Kitty Stewar ...

. 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'' for 10 years and 15 series on the ABC from 2012 until 2022. Micallef also hosted a two-season reboot of ''Talkin' Bout Your Generation'' for Channel Nine (2018-2019) and the game show ''Shaun Micallef's Brain Eisteddfod'' which premiered on Channel 10 on 20 July 2022, running for 10 weeks. 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 The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

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". His second book, a novella titled '' Preincarnate'', was released in 2010. 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 Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...

parents, Micallef began drinking alcohol at age 18, and became a teetotaller in 1986. Micallef currently lives in

Williamstown, Victoria Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hobsons Bay local government area. Williamstown recorded a population of 14,407 at the 2021 census. ...

, with his wife Leandra, whom he married in 1989, and their three sons. Micallef is a teetotaler, although he did consume alcoholic beverages for a scientific test featured on ''Shaun Micallef's On The Sauce''.

List of works

Films

* '' Bad Eggs'' (2003) – Premier Cray * ''

'' (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 David Lee Freedman (born 12 August 1956) is an Australian thoroughbred racehorse trainer. and Hall of Fame inductee. In partnership with brothers Anthony, Michael, and Richard, he has been a prolific winner of Australia's major races in past 2 ...

* '' 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 Glynn Nicholas (born 1952) is an Australian actor, comedian, director, writer, and producer. In the early 1990s he developed several the comic alter ego Paté Biscuit, a parody of Patsy Biscoe, a fellow presenter on the TV show ''Here's Humphrey ...

'' (1996) (writer) *''

'' (1996) – various (also writer and producer) *'' The Micallef Program'' (1998–2001) – various (also writer and producer) *'' SeaChange'' (2000) – Warwick Munro *''

'' (2003) – Quentin Welcher (also writer and producer) *'' Micallef Tonight'' (2003) – himself (also writer) *''

'' (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 *''

'' (2009–2012, 2018–2019) – host *''

Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typical ...

'' (2009) – host *''

'' (2010) – Lachlan *'' Laid'' (2011–2012) – G-Bomb *'' The Bazura Project's Guide To Sinema'' (2011) – MK-Ultra (voice) *''

Mollusks Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

'' (2011) – Easty (voice) *'' Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell'' (2012–2022) – host *'' Mr & Mrs Murder'' (2013) – Charlie Buchanan *''

Danger 5 ''Danger 5'' is an Australian action comedy television series which premiered on SBS One on 27 February 2012. The men's adventure-magazine-inspired series was created by Dario Russo and David Ashby. The first series is set in a bizarre, campy ...

'' (2012, 2014) - Principal *''

Shaun Micallef's Stairway to Heaven ''Shaun Micallef's Stairway to Heaven'' is an Australian television factual series on SBS, starring comedian and writer Shaun Micallef Shaun Patrick Micallef (; born 18 July 1962) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer and television prese ...

'' (2014) - himself *''

The Ex-PM ''The Ex-PM'' (pronounced 'ex P.M.') is an Australian television comedy series that first aired on ABC on Wednesday 14 October 2015. The six-part series is written by and stars Shaun Micallef with director Sian Davies and producer Nick Murray fo ...

'' (2015-2017) - Andrew Dugdale *'' Shaun Micallef's On The Sauce'' (2020) - himself * Shaun Micallef's Brain Eisteddfod (2022) - himself

Theatre

*'' Boeing Boeing'' (2008) – Bernard *''

Good Evening - Sketches from Dudley Moore and Peter Cook In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...

'' (2010) *'' The Odd Couple'' (2016)

Radio shows

*'' Dave and Denise with Shaun Micallef'' on Vega 91.5 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)

DVD/Audio

* The Micallef Programme s.2 (2004) DVD *The Micallef Pogram s.3 (2005) DVD *The Micallef Program 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) - a collection of the above. 4DVD/1CD

Awards

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

are a set of annual ceremonies presented by

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...

(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , ''The Expurgated Micallef Tonight'' , ,

ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release The ARIA Music Award for Best Comedy Release, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indu ...

, , , , , -

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''

References

External links

*
ShaunMicallefOnline.com
fansite
ShaunMicallef.com
fansite (archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Micallef, Shaun 1962 births ARIA Award winners Australian male comedians Australian male film actors Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of Maltese descent Australian solicitors Australian television presenters Comedians from Melbourne Lawyers from Adelaide Living people Logie Award winners People from Williamstown, Victoria Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation Adelaide Law School alumni People educated at Sacred Heart College, Adelaide