Josh Lawson is an Australian actor best known for his role as Doug Guggenheim in '' House of Lies'', Tate in '' Superstore'' and as Kano in the 2021 film ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The original ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'' arcade game spawned Lis ...

''.

Early life

Lawson grew up in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, and attended St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace. He graduated from the

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...

in 2001. He also spent one year studying improvisation techniques in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise. It is the oldest improvisational theater troupe to be continuously based in Chicago, with training programs and live theaters in Toronto and New York. Since its debut in 1959, it has b ...

, The Groundlings, ACME Comedy Theatre and I.O. West. His older brother is actor Ben Lawson. In 2003 Lawson was awarded a Mike Walsh Fellowship.

Career

Television

Lawson has had guest-starring roles in such popular Australian television programs as ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for twelve years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted th ...

'' and '' Home & Away'', and is known for his appearances on the improv comedy program '' Thank God You're Here'' and on the Australian drama ''

Sea Patrol ''Sea Patrol'' is an Australian television drama that ran from 2007 to 2011, set on board HMAS ''Hammersley'', a fictional patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The series focused on the ship and the lives of its crew members. Despi ...

'' and comedy '' The Librarians''. He also had a guest role in the comedy '' Wilfred'' and starred in several television commercials, including advertisements for

Coca-Cola Cherry Coca-Cola Cherry (originally marketed and still commonly referred to as Cherry Coke) is a cherry-flavored version of Coca-Cola. It is produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers in the United States and some internationa ...

and Gold Class cinemas. He portrayed Tate Staskiewicz, the pharmacist in the series' titular setting, on the sitcom '' Superstore'' for three seasons. Lawson also hosted '' Wipeout Australia'' with James Brayshaw. Lawson played Ben in the American pilot ''

Spaced ''Spaced'' is a British television sitcom created, written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright, about the comedic, and sometimes surreal and action-packed, misadventures of Daisy Steiner and Tim Bi ...

'' and Shawn on '' Romantically Challenged'' for ABC. Since its inception in 2012, he has played management consultant Doug Guggenheim on Showtime's '' House of Lies''. In 2017, he played the title role in '' Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story''.

Film

In 2006, Lawson made his feature film debut in '' BoyTown''. He had the starring role in the 2012 Australian comedy film '' Any Questions for Ben?'', created by

Working Dog Productions Working Dog Productions (originally Frontline Television Productions Pty. Ltd.) is a film and television production company based in Melbourne, Australia. It was formed in 1993 by actors Santo Cilauro, Rob Sitch, Jane Kennedy, Tom Gleisner, a ...

. He also appeared alongside

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...

and Zach Galifianakis in the 2012 comedy film '' The Campaign'', as well as '' Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues'' and '' Crave''. His feature directing debut '' The Little Death'' which he also wrote and starred in, was released in 2014. Lawson was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under numerous names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, ''Best Short Subject, On ...

in 2018 for '' The Eleven O'Clock'', a short film he wrote and starred in. In 2018, Lawson portrayed "Dave Johnson" in the comedy pilot for the CBS series ''Here Comes the Neighborhood'' (later '' The Neighborhood''), but was replaced by actor Max Greenfield before the series was picked up by the network. In August 2019, Lawson was cast in the ''Mortal Kombat'' reboot as Kano.

Other work

During 2006 and 2007, Lawson was a regular guest co-host on the Australian radio comedy show '' Get This'' which aired on

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 45 radio stations with flagship stations broadcasting a mainstream/classic rock music format in Sydney, Melbourne, and B ...

. In 2013, he voiced the role of Bob in the Cartoon Hangover short film ''Rocket Dog''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Josh 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors Australian expatriate male actors in the United States Australian male child actors Australian male comedians Australian male film actors Australian male soap opera actors Living people Male actors from Brisbane National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni People educated at St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace Comedians from Brisbane Year of birth missing (living people)