Greg Larsen

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Greg Larsen is an actor, television writer, and comedian from Melbourne, Australia. He is best known for his work portraying Ethan Krum in the BBC One drama thriller series The Tourist;[1] cast member and correspondent in the ABC news comedy show Tonightly with Tom Ballard (in which he created the recurring character "Mr. Oily");[2][3] and as writer and cast member of the sketch comedy series At Home Alone Together[4] and We Interrupt This Broadcast on Seven Network.[5]

He is also known for his many years of award-winning stand-up comedy performances, notably at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival,[6] which also led to acclaim for his role in the yearly Great Debate event in 2021.[7]

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.[8]

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.[9] In 2016, along with Anne Edmonds and Damien Power, Larsen was awarded the Director's Choice Award for their show True Australian Patriots.[10][11] 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.[12] During the 2022 MICF Larsen was nominated for the Most Outstanding Show award for the acclaimed We All Have Bloody Thoughts[13][14]

In 2023, Larsen received further acclaim for his new comedy special Slurp's Up!![15]

Acting[edit]

Larsen is best known for his performance portraying Ethan Krum in the BBC One series The Tourist, alongside Jamie Dornan and Danielle Macdonald. He returned to the role in Season 2, which premiered on January 1, 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]

Filmography[edit]

Year Production Writer Actor
TBC 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

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]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Griffiths, Emily (2022-01-11). "The Tourist star responds to criticism over character - and fans react". Hello Magazine.
  2. ^ Ballard, Tom (2020-07-09). "Tom Ballard: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)". The Guardian. Retrieved 2023-12-20./
  3. ^ "Australia's newest TV channel ABC Comedy starts tonight!". Mediaweek. 2017-12-04. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  4. ^ Adams, David (2020-07-09). "Mr Oily Made His Shock Return To The ABC And Viewers Are Demanding More Slippery Goodness". Pedestrian TV. Retrieved 2023-12-08./
  5. ^ McManus, Bridget (2023-02-23). "'Weird is mainstream': The show bringing sketch comedy back to TV". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  6. ^ Wells, Peter (January 14, 2021). "Live comedy drought highlights the need for self-sufficiency". Sydney Morning Herald.
  7. ^ Wray, Tyson (April 5, 2021). "Shambolic, loose and hilarious: the Comedy Festival's Great Debate". The Age.
  8. ^ Jefferson, Dee (2015-05-01). "YouTube changes face of comedy". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  9. ^ Low, Lenny Ann (2014-09-08). "Fancy Boy Variety Show: the secret late-night comedy show that's winning prestigious awards". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  10. ^ Badham, Van (2016-04-15). "Tom Ballard, Zoe Coombs Marr and True Aussie Patriots: why risk politics in comedy?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  11. ^ Writer, Staff. "Zoe Coombs Marr Takes Home MICF Barry Award". themusic.com.au. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  12. ^ Parker, Tom (2021-04-19). "Melbourne International Comedy Festival announces 2021 award winners". Beat Magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  13. ^ Chuma, Tim (9 April 2022). "MICF 2022: Greg Larsen - We All Have Bloody Thoughts Review". Impulse. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  14. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Melbourne Comedy Festival announces its 2022 award nominees : News 2022 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  15. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Greg Larsen: Slurp's Up!!". Chortle. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  16. ^ Audley, Fiona. "New Year's Day treat as Jamie Dornan returns to our screens in The Tourist". The Irish Post.
  17. ^ Cook, Rebecca (1 January 2024). "The Tourist season 2 review: Does Jamie Dornan's returning thriller live up to the hype?". Digital Spy.
  18. ^ Jewell, Bryony (9 December 2023). "How Jamie Dornan had his castmates in stitches filming dark comedy The Tourist in Ireland". Evoke.
  19. ^ Trivedi, Dhruv (15 March 2022). "Is Young Rock's Bob Owens Based on a Real Wrestler? Is He Dead or Alive?". TheCinemaholic.
  20. ^ "Ronny Chieng: International Student: Season 1, Episode 4 - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  21. ^ Meade, Amanda (2018-08-10). "Calling candidate C-word did not breach ABC standards, media watchdog says". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  22. ^ Esposito, Brad (2018-08-10). "A Report Has Found It Was Actually Entirely OK To Call This Political Candidate A "C*nt"". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  23. ^ a b c "Melbourne International Comedy Festival". Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  24. ^ Kornits, Dov (2017-08-26). "AWGIEs Wrote This: Winners Announced". FilmInk. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
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