Greg Larsen
Greg Larsen is an actor, television writer, and comedian from Melbourne, Australia. He is best known internationally for his role as Ethan Krum in the BBC One drama thriller series The Tourist. He has also been a cast member and correspondent in the ABC news comedy show Tonightly with Tom Ballard; and a writer and cast member of the sketch comedy series At Home Alone Together and We Interrupt This Broadcast on Seven Network.
He is also known for his many years of award-winning stand-up comedy performances, notably at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Early life
[edit]Larsen is from Melbourne.[citation needed]
Career
[edit]Comedy
[edit]Larsen began his career performing stand-up and creating YouTube videos with Henry Stone and Sam Campbell as the sketch group Skills in Time.[1]
He is known for many years of stand-up comedy performances, notably at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF).[2] In 2014, along with Henry Stone, Stuart Daulman, and John Campbell, Larsen was awarded the Golden Gibbo award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for the Fancy Boy Variety Show.[3] In 2016, along with Anne Edmonds and Damien Power, Larsen was awarded the Director's Choice Award for their show True Australian Patriots.[4][5]
Larsen was a cast member and correspondent in the ABC news comedy show Tonightly with Tom Ballard (in which he created the recurring character "Mr. Oily").[6][7]
He was a writer for and cast member of the sketch comedy series At Home Alone Together.[8]
Larsen won acclaim for his role in the MICF Great Debate event in 2021.[9]
He also wrote for and appeared in We Interrupt This Broadcast on Seven Network in 2023.[10]
In 2021 Larsen was again an MICF award recipient with his one-man play This Might Not Be Hell, receiving the Piece of Wood Award.[11]
During the 2022 MICF Larsen was nominated for the Most Outstanding Show award for the acclaimed We All Have Bloody Thoughts[12][13]
In 2023, Larsen received further acclaim for his new comedy special Slurp's Up!![14]
Acting
[edit]Larsen is best known for his performance portraying Ethan Krum in the BBC One series The Tourist,[15] alongside Jamie Dornan and Danielle Macdonald. He returned to the role in Season 2, which premiered on 1 January 2024.[16] His performance in Season 2 drew praise from reviews including Digital Spy[17] as well as fellow cast members including Conor MacNeill, saying "For me, I really love Greg Larsen [who plays Ethan Krum]. I think he's phenomenal and even just how he uses his hands is hilarious. He's a very clever comedic actor."[18]
He also portrayed wrestler Bob Owens in the NBC comedy series Young Rock,[19] and Dave in Ronny Chieng: International Student (which he co-wrote with Ronny Chieng and Declan Fay)[20]
Controversies
[edit]In 2017, Larsen was the focus of an Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation based on his on-air conduct in which he called a conservative politician named Kevin Bailey a "cunt" on air during a sketch on the ABC show Tonightly With Tom Ballard. Larsen and the ABC were ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing, as the investigation found that Larsen was playing the character of an "unreasonably angry man" and that the attack would have been considered "comedic" by any reasonable viewer.[21][22]
Awards and nominations
[edit]- 2022 - MICF: Most Outstanding Show (Nominated)
- 2021 - MICF: Piece Of Wood (Winner)[23]
- 2017 - Australian Writer's Guild: Best Sketch Comedy (Winner)[24]
- 2016 - MICF: Director's Choice (Winner)[23]
- 2014 - MICF: Golden Gibbo (Winner)[23]
Filmography
[edit] | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (December 2023) |
| Year | Production | Writer | Actor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | The 2IC (Short) | Yes | Yes |
| 2024 | The Tourist - Season 2 | No | Yes |
| 2023 | We Interrupt This Broadcast | Yes | Yes |
| 2023 | Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe | Yes | Yes |
| 2022 | The Tourist - Season 1 | No | Yes |
| 2022 | Young Rock | No | Yes |
| 2021 | The Newsreader | No | Yes |
| 2021 | Hug The Sun | No | Yes |
| 2021 | Slushy (podcast) | No | Yes |
| 2020 | Rosehaven | No | Yes |
| 2020 | At Home Alone Together | Yes | Yes |
| 2019 | Aunty Donna: Glennridge Secondary College | No | Yes |
| 2018 | Tonightly With Tom Ballard | Yes | Yes |
| 2017 | The Edge Of The Bush | No | Yes |
| 2017 | Get Krack!n | Yes | Yes |
| 2017 | True Story With Hamish and Andy | No | Yes |
| 2017 | Ronny Chieng: International Student | Yes | Yes |
| 2017 | Ask The Doctor | No | Yes |
| 2016 | Fancy Boy | Yes | Yes |
| 2016 | The Letdown | No | Yes |
| 2015 | Looking Back | Yes | Yes |
| 2015 | How Not To Behave | No | Yes |
| 2014 | Dirty Laundry Live | No | Yes |
References
[edit]- ^ Jefferson, Dee (1 May 2015). "YouTube changes face of comedy". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ Wells, Peter (14 January 2021). "Live comedy drought highlights the need for self-sufficiency". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ Low, Lenny Ann (8 September 2014). "Fancy Boy Variety Show: the secret late-night comedy show that's winning prestigious awards". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ Badham, Van (15 April 2016). "Tom Ballard, Zoe Coombs Marr and True Aussie Patriots: why risk politics in comedy?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ Writer, Staff. "Zoe Coombs Marr Takes Home MICF Barry Award". themusic.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ Ballard, Tom (9 July 2020). "Tom Ballard: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2023./
- ^ "Australia's newest TV channel ABC Comedy starts tonight!". Mediaweek. 4 December 2017. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ^ Adams, David (9 July 2020). "Mr Oily Made His Shock Return To The ABC And Viewers Are Demanding More Slippery Goodness". Pedestrian TV. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2023./
- ^ Wray, Tyson (5 April 2021). "Shambolic, loose and hilarious: the Comedy Festival's Great Debate". The Age. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ^ McManus, Bridget (23 February 2023). "'Weird is mainstream': The show bringing sketch comedy back to TV". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ Parker, Tom (19 April 2021). "Melbourne International Comedy Festival announces 2021 award winners". Beat Magazine. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ Chuma, Tim (9 April 2022). "MICF 2022: Greg Larsen - We All Have Bloody Thoughts Review". Impulse. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ Bennett, Steve. "Melbourne Comedy Festival announces its 2022 award nominees : News 2022 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ Bennett, Steve. "Greg Larsen: Slurp's Up!!". Chortle. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ Griffiths, Emily (11 January 2022). "The Tourist star responds to criticism over character - and fans react". Hello Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ^ Audley, Fiona. "New Year's Day treat as Jamie Dornan returns to our screens in The Tourist". The Irish Post. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ^ Cook, Rebecca (1 January 2024). "The Tourist season 2 review: Does Jamie Dornan's returning thriller live up to the hype?". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ Jewell, Bryony (9 December 2023). "How Jamie Dornan had his castmates in stitches filming dark comedy The Tourist in Ireland". Evoke. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ Trivedi, Dhruv (15 March 2022). "Is Young Rock's Bob Owens Based on a Real Wrestler? Is He Dead or Alive?". TheCinemaholic. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Ronny Chieng: International Student: Season 1, Episode 4 - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ Meade, Amanda (10 August 2018). "Calling candidate C-word did not breach ABC standards, media watchdog says". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ Esposito, Brad (10 August 2018). "A Report Has Found It Was Actually Entirely OK To Call This Political Candidate A "C*nt"". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ a b c "Melbourne International Comedy Festival". Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ Kornits, Dov (26 August 2017). "AWGIEs Wrote This: Winners Announced". FilmInk. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.