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About Wil Anderson
He may share some similarities with The Last Leg’s Adam Hill, but Wil Anderson is a unique talent on the world comedy stage. Best known as host and producer of ABC’s most popular show Gruen, Aussie funny man Wil Anderson’s high energy comedy and insanely high joke count makes him one one world-class act you won’t want to miss.
Riding the atmosphere of the sold out international rooms that he commands, it is on stage where Will feels most at home. Astute and fresh with just the right amount of attitude, Will has won the People’s Choice Award for a record six times at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, selling more tickets than any other act and cementing himself as Australia’s comedian of choice.
Touring Australia and the world at every opportunity, performing more than a hundred shows a year, Wil Anderson’s stand up is a densely written, high- speed ride through a most wonderful comedic imagination. Politics, pop culture and the banal come together in a Wil Anderson routine, always delivered with more conviction and enthusiasm than any man’s vocal chords can take.
WATCH WIL ANDERSON’S FIRE AT WIL
Aussie funny guy and TV sensation Wil Anderson delivers a barrage of gags at the firing rate of an AK47 in this cunningly written comedy special that illuminates current political and social issues. From lefty hipsters to stuffy conservatives, no-one is safe from this sharp stand-up’s inimitable wit and comic sucker punch.
Reviews and Awards
Will has won the People’s Choice Award for a record six times at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. His has received multiple nominations for the Helpmann Award’s Best Comedy Performer, and in 2010 was named Winner of GQ’s “Media Personality” Man Of The Year.
‘Dry, self-deprecating, politically incorrect and crude…in his hands pretty much everything has a funny side’
Daily Telegraph
‘Surprisingly heartfelt, regularly courageous and consistently funny’
The Age
‘Superbly crass, irreverent, smart, manic, soulful and consistently hilarious’
The Sun-Herald
‘A sharp and pacy torrent of jokes delivered with a skill that’s worth savouring’
The List, Edinburgh
‘Like Adam Hills on speed… an hour in his company flies by all too quickly’
The Stage
Wil Anderson Tickets
The latest news on Will Anderson’s live gigs and upcoming shows can be found here.
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Biography
Born in 1974 in Sale, Victoria, Wil Anderson grew up on a dairy farm and later studied journalism at the University of Canberra. From 2000 to 2004, Wil Anderson co-hosted the Triple J breakfast radio show with Adam Spencer before going on to host the comedy talk-show The Glass House. Broadcast on ABC, alongside Corinne Grant and Dave Hughes, Wil was nominated for the “Most Popular Presenter” award at the Logies for his role on the show.
Since 2008 Wil has hosted ABC TV’s highest rating program The Gruen Transfer series. Wil explains to the British Comedy Guide – “It’s actually named after a psychological phenomena that happens when you go shopping and your brain clicks over into unthinking shopping drone. Ever gone out for milk and nappies and come home with beer and a flatscreen TV? That’s The Gruen Transfer. Either that, or you are just a very bad father.”
His role in the show saw him nominated for a Gold Logie in 2010, and spawned spin offs, Gruen Nation, Gruen Sweat and Gruen Planet. In 2013, Gruen Nation did a 4 week special, looking in depth into the Australian Election Campaign. The latest series of Gruen has been a smash hit, consistently being one of the most watched television programs in Australia and a critical success.
The last few years have really seen Wil Anderson’s return to stand up. He has performed in every corner of the USA, as well as Canada, Ireland, Edinburgh, and in London’s West End. In 2013, Wil was invited to perform at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal hosted by Sarah Silverman, performing alongside some of the world’s best comedians. Whilst there, he hosted a television special for Channel 7, Wil Does Montreal, giving us behind the scenes access to this prestigious festival and some of its performers. He performed at the festival three years running.
In conjunction with his live work, Wil discovered another love – podcasting. His very popular TOFOP Podcast, which he hosts with friend Charlie Clausen, has one of the highest download rates for a comedy podcast. The podcast’s success gained them a request to attend and participate in the invite only LA Podcast Festival. Wil has also started up a second podcast Wilosophy – where he gets interesting guests on the show to talk about their philosophy on life. Guests have included Adam Spencer, Dr Karl, Judith Lucy and Todd Sampson.
After an epic year of live shows across the globe in 2014, Wil Anderson ended his tour with two sell-out shows in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall where he received standing ovations each night. The following year marked Wil’s 20th year at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, as well as winning his 5th People’s Choice Award. So he celebrated by adding to his schedule and doing two shows. Only an idiot would attempt two brand-new shows in one festival, and Wil is just that idiot. It ran for three shows only, or as Wil liked to call it – Preview, Opening Night and Closing Night. His latest live show, Fire At Wil, has played at every major comedy festival in the country and received some of his highest critical acclaim to date.
Get More Wil Anderson
Want more of Wil Anderson? You’re in luck – his full stand-up comedy special is available to watch on NextUp – a digital comedy club where you can stream instantly over 120 comedy specials from some of the exciting names in comedy. Start watching free, no credit card needed.