Akmal Saleh

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Akmal Saleh
Saleh in 2006
Born
Akmal Abdul Malek Saleh

Cairo, Egypt
Other namesPeter Saleh
Comedy career
Years active1990–present
MediumRadio, television, comedy
GenresStand-up comedy, acting
Websitewww.akmal.com.au

Akmal Saleh (Arabic: أكمل صالح, Coptic: Ⲁⲕⲙⲁⲗ Ⲥⲁⲗⲉϩ) is an Egyptian-Australian comedian and actor. He was born in Egypt and arrived in Sydney with his family in 1975 at the age of 10.[1] He has been performing comedy since the early 1990s and his live shows have toured comedy festivals both within Australia and internationally. He has also made guest appearances on numerous Australian television series, including Superwog.[2]

Early life and education

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Akmal Abdul Malek Saleh[citation needed] was born in Egypt around 1965. He moved to Sydney in 1975 at the age of 10 with his family. While his father Riyadh, a university professor, was fluent in English, neither Saleh nor his mother Marie could speak the language when they arrived.[1] He grew up in Punchbowl, New South Wales and describes himself as having been a quiet child who was "the class clown's assistant. I was the guy who got his props ready."[3] He grew up in a "very right-wing fundamentalist Christian family". He says that his parents contributed to his sense of humour. "My father... was a very witty man with a quick mind. My mother was neurotic and mad. I think the combination of those two turned me into who I am," he says.[4]

Saleh was 14, when his father died of Schistosomiasis contracted years earlier when swimming in the Nile River. Searching for something meaningful in his life, he became very religious and joined the Coptic Orthodox Christian church. However, within a few years he says he grew resentful of the religion, finding it "corrupt and hypocritical".[5] Saleh says that when he discovered comedy it "filled the void that religion left", and his disillusionment with Christianity became a subject of comedy in his stand-up routine from early on.[6]

Saleh started a number of university degrees and drove a taxi.[3]

Career

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Saleh began performing stand-up comedy in 1990, when he decided to take part in an open mic night at the Sydney Comedy Store.[3]

For a time, he performed under the alias 'Peter Saleh' – "so that people would think I was white", he says. "'Peter' seemed like a common name. 'Akmal' is such an awkward name, a very difficult name to remember."[7] In 1992 he co-wrote and starred in the show All Aussies are Boofta and also the Best alongside fellow comedians Anthony Mir and Gary Eck, which enjoyed successful runs in various Sydney venues. This was followed by the live shows Bound and Gagged and Hoot, the latter of which toured the 1996 Adelaide Fringe Festival, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 1999 the trio created the television show The Fifty-Foot Foot Show for Australia's The Comedy Channel.[8] Saleh was credited onscreen by his real name; he says he had not bothered to use his stage name because he did not expect that many people would watch an obscure cable television show. "But strangely enough, enough people saw it and saw me in the street and said, "Hey Akmal, good show mate! Loved The Fifty-Foot Show." He says he found it so much nicer to be called by his real name, and has performed under it ever since.[7] Saleh has also collaborated with Mir and Eck on the 2002 film You Can't Stop The Murders, which he co-wrote and starred in.[9]

Saleh also performs solo stand-up shows, and has toured numerous comedy festivals in both in Australia and internationally. He commonly jokes about his own ethnicity and negative stereotypes regarding Middle Easterners. However, he says that he does not want to become known as an "ethnic comic" and likes to be able to talk about a "broad range of stuff".[10] He says that he is most comfortable performing stand-up: "It's the thing that I do best. I'm not a radio guy. I'm a comedian doing radio."[11]

Saleh emerged on Australian radio in January 2007, filling in for Merrick and Rosso on Nova for three weeks during the summer before receiving his own drive-time show. He was initially contracted to co-host the show alongside actor Matthew Newton, but Newton was unexpectedly dropped after news emerged that he was facing assault charges involving a former girlfriend, and instead Saleh made a solo debut.[12] The show has since experienced several changes of co-hosts. Saleh co-hosted the drive shift with comedians Cal Wilson and Ed Kavalee.[13]

Saleh has appeared in numerous Australian television shows, such as Hey Hey it's Saturday,[14] Rove Live,[15] The Footy Show,[8] The Glass House,[9] In Siberia Tonight, Thank God You're Here,[15] Big Questions, Hughesy, We Have a Problem,[16] Spicks and Specks,[15] Insight,[14] Tonight Live with Steve Vizard[14] and was a regular panel member on Good News Week.[15]

He has performed voiceover work for animated television series The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill and Tracey McBean. His voice can also be heard in 2020 film 100% Wolf, as well as its 2024 sequel 200% Wolf.[17]

Additionally, Saleh appeared on the 2016 season[18] of I'm A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here. He accepted the role due to financial issues, without having previously watched the show – a move he subsequently described as “a horrible mistake",[19] explaining that "the pressure to provide the laughs in camp was scarier to him than any tucker trial". He was the second contestant to be eliminated.[18]

In 2010, Saleh released a memoir "The Life of Akmal" with publisher Random House.[20]

Personal life

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Saleh is married; his wife, Cate, is a social worker.[12] He has said that they did not intend to have children, a decision he says which is probably influenced by his father's untimely death.[5]

In 2013, Akmal Saleh became an ambassador for the Top Blokes Foundation.[21]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2003 You Can't Stop the Murders Constable Akmal
2005 You and Your Stupid Mate The Third AD
2006 BoyTown Man in Rio 1
2020 100% Wolf Hamish (voice) Animated film
2022 Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again Seth (voice) Animated film
2024 200% Wolf Hamish (voice) Animated film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1993 G.P. Mr. Bottros
1994 Crazy Crosswords Bhutros Bhutros Bhutros Galic
1999 The 50 Foot Show Various characters
2001–2011 Tracey McBean Jim McConnolly (voice) Animated series
2016–2017 The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill Jacko Browing (voice) Animated series
2018 Superwog School Janitor Season 1, episode 3: "The Final Exam"

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2004 Rome: Total War

Discography

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Video albums

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Title Details
Live And Uncensored
  • Released: November 2007
  • Label: Universal
The Life of Akmal
  • Released: November 2017
  • Label: Universal
Transparent
  • Released: August 2018
  • Label: Universal

Awards and nominations

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Year Work Award Category Result Ref.
2006 Akmal Live and Uncensored Helpmann Awards Best Comedy Performer Nominated [22]
2007 Nominated [23]
2008 ARIA Music Awards Best Comedy Release Nominated [24][25]
2018 Transparent Nominated

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Silkstone, Dan; Piera, Ebony (23 September 2006). "Little English but plenty of scientists and entrepreneurs". The Age. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  2. ^ "Superwog: cast". Australian Television Information Archive. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Moses, Alexa (18 July 2002). "Goodness, the Wright stuff's a real motivator". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  4. ^ Wyld, Ben (10 December 2004). "He's the bomb". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  5. ^ a b Lawson, Annie (19 December 2006). "Fathers lost". The Age. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  6. ^ Staff writer (13 June 2006). "The Big Issue and Akmal Saleh". ABC Queensland. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  7. ^ a b Romeo, Demetrius (14 December 2004). "Sean Choolburra and Akmal Saleh". Stand and Deliver. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  8. ^ a b "Biography". Akmal.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 September 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  9. ^ a b "Akmal Saleh" (PDF). www.alist.com.au. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  10. ^ Scott-Norman, Fiona (25 March 2004). "Raw, racy and riotous". The Age. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  11. ^ Hargreaves, Wendy (5 April 2007). "Never tired of comedy". The Age. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  12. ^ a b Javes, Sue (19 February 2007). "Akmal's mission impossible". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  13. ^ Hargreaves, Wendy (31 January 2008). "Vega sparkles as combos settle". The Age. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  14. ^ a b c "Akmal Saleh". Upfront Events. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  15. ^ a b c d "Akmal Saleh". www.penguin.co.nz. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  16. ^ Knox, David (14 February 2020). "Hughesy, We Have a Problem: Feb 17". TV Tonight.
  17. ^ Peirce, Andrew F. (6 August 2024). "Comedian Akmal Saleh on His Voice Acting Improv in 200% Wolf". www.thecurb.com.au.
  18. ^ a b "Akmal: I was scared of not being funny on I'm A Celeb". The Courier-Mail. 15 February 2016.
  19. ^ Lally, Hannah (7 July 2016). "Akmal Saleh is Bringing His Debts to Adelaide". www.glamadelaide.com.au.
  20. ^ "The Life of Akmal". www.penguin.co.nz. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  21. ^ Top Blokes Foundation (2015)Ambassadors Archived 8 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 04/08/2015
  22. ^ "Past nominees and winners – Best Comedy Performer". Helpmann Awards. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  23. ^ "Nominations for 2007 Helpmann Awards". www.australianstage.com.au. 12 July 2007.
  24. ^ "ARIA Awards Best Comedy Release". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  25. ^ Cameron Adams & Jane Metlikovec (20 October 2008). "Dandenong teenager Gabriella Cilmi: she'll be sweet". The Age. Archived from the original on 21 October 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
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