Greg Larsen

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Greg Larsen is a comedian, actor, and television writer from Ipswich, Queensland, Australia.

Beginning his comedy career as part of the sketch group Skills in Time, Larsen involved himself in stand-up comedy, notably at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF), for which he won the festival's Golden Gibbo award in 2014. He was a cast member and correspondent in the 2017–2018 ABC news comedy show Tonightly with Tom Ballard, was a writer and cast member in the sketch comedy series At Home Alone Together in 2020, and appeared as Ethan Krum in the BBC One drama thriller series The Tourist from 2022. He wrote and appeared in the sketch show We Interrupt This Broadcast in 2023.

Early life

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Larsen grew up in Ipswich, Queensland.[1] From 2000 to 2004, he was part of a punk band called the Feminazis, the all-male members of which wore dresses onstage.[2] He later worked as support staff for a porn website.[1]

Career

[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. The group had a modest 10,663 subscribers in April 2015, and the Sydney Morning Herald note that they had "serious cred in the Melbourne and Sydney comedy scenes", noting that they were "successfully straddling the old and new comedy terrains in a way that many of the YouTubers aren't."[3]

He is known for his stand-up comedy performances, largely at the MICF.[4] In 2014, along with Henry Stone, Stuart Daulman, and John Campbell, Larsen was awarded the Golden Gibbo award at the MICF for the Fancy Boy Variety Show.[5] In 2016, along with Anne Edmonds and Damien Power, Larsen was awarded the Director's Choice Award for their show True Australian Patriots.[6][7]

He portrayed Dave in Ronny Chieng: International Student in 2017, which he co-wrote with Ronny Chieng and Declan Fay.[8] Larsen was a cast member in the ABC news comedy show Tonightly with Tom Ballard which aired from 2017 to 2018.[9] 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 Kevin Bailey, a candidate for the Australian Conservatives, a "cunt" on air during a sketch on Tonightly. Larsen and the ABC were ultimately cleared of 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.[10][11] In the final weeks of the show, Larsen created the character Mr Oily.[12]

Larsen started a sketch comedy podcast with Ben Russell and Anne Edmonds named The Grub; when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many of its episodes were moved behind a Patreon paywall in order to finance their work.[4] During this time Larsen was a writer for and cast member of the sketch comedy series At Home Alone Together.[13]

Larsen won acclaim for his role in the MICF Great Debate event in 2021,[14] and was again an MICF award recipient with his one-man play This Might Not Be Hell, receiving the Piece of Wood Award.[15] He portrayed Ethan Krum in the BBC One series The Tourist in January 2022,[16] alongside Jamie Dornan and Danielle Macdonald.[17] During the 2022 MICF, Larsen was nominated for the Most Outstanding Show award for We All Have Bloody Thoughts.[18][19] He wrote for and appeared in We Interrupt This Broadcast on Seven Network in 2023.[20]

In 2023, Larsen received further acclaim for his new comedy special Slurp's Up!![21] He returned to the role of Krum in Season 2 of The Tourist, which premiered on 1 January 2024.[17] His performance in drew praise from Digital Spy,[22] as well as fellow cast members including Conor MacNeill, saying "he's phenomenal and even just how he uses his hands is hilarious. He's a very clever comedic actor."[23] Chortle gave his 2024 MICF show Revolting four and a half stars.[1] In November 2024, Larsen left his manager of five years to join management company the Junkyard. The Junkyard became insolvent the next month and Larsen missed the deadlines to sign up to many of the upcoming comedy festivals that year.[24]

In 2025, Geggy, which he said would be his final festival show, premiered at the MICF and then in Sydney. It covered the events of his career that led up to his card declining at a McDonald's drive-through; Larsen rewrote the show after experiencing this incident weeks prior to the festival. The Guardian gave the show four of five stars, calling it a "relentless barrage of jokes".[25] In April 2025, Larsen was the subject of several Sky News Australia and other right-wing media outlets articles after he criticised Anzac Day on an episode of his podcast, The Greg Larsen Show. He stated that it "was invented as a jingoistic, nationalistic myth to get you to wave a flag and fall in line", and "that the very existence of Anzac Day as a commemoration is a slap in the face to everyone who died at Gallipoli."[26]

Awards and nominations

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  • 2025 - MICF: Most Outstanding Show (nominated)[27]
  • 2022 - MICF: Most Outstanding Show (nominated)[28]
  • 2021 - MICF: Piece Of Wood (winner)[29]
  • 2017 - Australian Writers' Guild: Best Sketch Comedy (winner)[30]
  • 2016 - MICF: Director's Choice (winner)[29]
  • 2014 - MICF: Golden Gibbo (winner)[29]

Filmography

[edit]
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

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  1. ^ a b c Bennett, Steve. "Greg Larsen: Revolting". Chortle. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  2. ^ "Greg Larsen Is One Man In A Semi-Autobiographical Play". Scenestr. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Staff Writer. "Zoe Coombs Marr Takes Home MICF Barry Award". themusic.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Ronny Chieng: International Student: Season 1, Episode 4 - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Esposito, Brad (10 August 2018). "A Report Has Found It Was Actually Entirely OK To Call This Political Candidate A "C*nt"". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  12. ^ Ballard, Tom (22 March 2023). "Tom Ballard: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  13. ^ 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./
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ a b 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.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Melbourne Comedy Festival announces its 2022 award nominees". Chortle. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Greg Larsen: Slurp's Up!!". Chortle. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ Story, Hannah (5 December 2024). "Some of Australia's favourite comedians are without local representation after management goes insolvent". ABC News. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  25. ^ Neill, Alexandra (21 April 2025). "Greg Larsen: Geggy review – a very funny standup on why he's quitting comedy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  26. ^ "'Wave a flag and fall in line': Former ABC comedian Greg Larsen on why he doesn't celebrate Anzac Day". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 28 April 2025. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  27. ^ "Most Outstanding Show Award Nominees". Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  28. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Melbourne Comedy Festival announces its 2022 award nominees". Chortle. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  29. ^ a b c "Awards". Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  30. ^ Kornits, Dov (26 August 2017). "AWGIEs Wrote This: Winners Announced". FilmInk. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.