Greg Fleet

Gregory Fleet (born 1962) is an Australian comedian and actor.

Early life

Fleet was born in Michigan, in the United States. His father moved the family to Australia when Greg was four. He grew up in Geelong, and as a teenager boarded at Geelong Grammar School. Fleet briefly attended Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), but he was kicked out after a year for poor performance.

Career

Fleet began his acting career in the early 1980s with several performances in Australian television series and telemovies. He appeared in '' Matthew and Son'' alongside Nicole Kidman in 1984, and then played the role of "Delivery Man 2" in an episode of ''Prisoner'' a role that he discussed on Tony Martin's ''Get This'' radio show in 2010, resulting in him gaining an underground fame and following as "Delivery Man 2". Fleet went on to star as Lt Scott Harris in the Australian mini-series ''A Thousand Skies''.

He also appeared in the ABC TV police dramas '' Phoenix'' and ''Janus'' as well as playing guest roles in ''The Flying Doctors'' and '' Stingers''.

In 1988, after a guest appearance in ''The Flying Doctors'', Fleet took on the role of Dave Summers in the Australian soap ''Neighbours''. His most dramatic sequence in this program involved killing the popular character of Daphne in a car accident. Though Fleet has often commented that he was not sure if the role was supposed to be comedy or drama. Fleet then appeared in the popular Australian comedy sketch show '' Full Frontal'' and was a regular on the live comedy show ''The Big Gig''.

Since then, Fleet has been a regular stand-up comedian around Australia, and has appeared on many TV and radio comedy programs, including The Comedy Channel's '' Stand Up Australia!''. He was the announcer and narrator for the comedy series ''Real Stories'' on the Ten Network, and provided the voice of "Sandy" the Yellow Labrador in TV commercials for the Home Hardware hardware store chain for 11 years.

In 2001, he was flown to London to appear in Al Murray's TV sitcom ''Time Gentlemen Please''.

During 2006 and 2007. Fleet was often heard on Triple M's ''Get This'' radio program as a frequent guest co-host alongside Tony Martin, Ed Kavalee, and Richard Marsland. On occasions he filled in as a last-minute replacement guest as he only lived a short distance away from the Triple M studio.

In 2011, Fleet commissioned a DVD containing segments of some of his best-known performances. The DVD was sold as ''Bootlegs and Jumperpants'' and was sold for $19.95. Fleet mentioned that the funds from this DVD were going towards financing the filming of his classic 1995 show ''Thai Die'' as a feature-length comedy special. It was scheduled to be filmed on 7 November 2011 at The Comics Lounge in Melbourne, and it was released in 2012.

In 2015, Fleet starred in the Australian zombie comedy film '' Me and My Mates vs the Zombie Apocalypse,'' alongside fellow Australian comedians Jim Jefferies and Alex Williamson.

In 2013, he appeared in '' Underbelly: Squizzy'' playing Richard Harris "Australia's most violent prisoner" and in 2016 appeared in series one of '' Wolf Creek'' as the bikie "Gundog".

In 2018, he wrote and starred in the modern adaptation of Macbeth, ''Signifying Nothing'', the second of his plays to win best theatre and critics choice awards at the Adelaide fringe.

In 2021, he co-wrote and acted in the play ''The Twins'' with his old school friend Ian Darling, which opened at the 2021 Adelaide Fringe Festival and won the Mental Health Awareness Award.

In 2023, he played in Allan King's psychological horror film ''Vincent'' as the drug dealing paedophile Micky St Peters.

In mid 2024, he finished writing his fourth book ''The Last Ride'', which will be in stores early 2025. He also finished work on a screenplay called ''I Know, I Know'' based on his novel ''The Good Son''. The screenplay was co-written with his partner, filmmaker Philippa Bateman.

In 2024, Fleet announced his semi-retirement from performing stand up comedy having appeared in 27 consecutive Melbourne International Comedy Festivals, half a dozen Edinburgh Fringe festivals and performing all over the world.

Books

*''Thai Die'' (2002) Random House
*''These Things Happen'' (2015) Macmillan 9781743537916
*''The Good Son'' (2018) Random House
*''The Last Ride'' (2024)

Personal life

When Fleet was ten, his father faked his own death, only to reappear later in his life. His father changed his name, married, and fathered another child during this absence, and then eventually returned to the United States. Fleet expanded upon these experiences in his live show ''I Wish You Were Dead''.

Fleet has also fought a long battle with heroin addiction, a subject he has covered in many media interviews, his live show ''10 Years in a Long Sleeved Shirt'', and on the 1997 ABC television program ''Smallest Room in the House''. In 2015, Fleet also revealed a six-month-long addiction with methamphetamine in 2005. In 2007, Fleet went into drug rehab and returned for the 2 April 2007 episode of ''Get This''. Although Fleet had claimed to be drug-free, he admitted in an interview in April 2011 that he was stoned during that performance.

Fleet is a passionate long-distance supporter of the Hibernian Football Club of Edinburgh, Scotland.

References

External links

Official Greg Fleet site
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleet, Greg
Australian people of American descent
Australian stand-up comedians
Living people
People educated at Geelong Grammar School
Male actors from Geelong
1962 births
Comedians from Geelong
Australian male comedians
Comedians from Michigan
American emigrants to Australia