Josh Thomas (comedian)

Josh Thomas
Thomas in 2012
Birth name Joshua Michael Thomas
Born (1987-05-26) 26 May 1987
Blackwater, Queensland
Medium Stand-up, television, radio
Nationality Australian
Years active 2005–present
Website JoshThomas.com.au

Joshua Michael Thomas (born 26 May 1987) is an Australian actor, writer and comedian living in Melbourne. In 2005, he won the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's Raw Comedy Competition.[1] He has since appeared on television numerous times, including as a regular and Generation Y team captain on Network Ten's Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation.[2] In 2013, Thomas created the award-winning ABC2 and Pivot television series Please Like Me, which he also co-wrote and starred in.[3]

Early life

Thomas was born in Blackwater, Queensland.[4] He lived in Chapel Hill and Westlake in Brisbane's western suburbs and attended Kenmore State High School, graduating in 2004. He studied for a Bachelor of Creative Industries, majoring in Television at the Queensland University of Technology, but dropped out after one year.

Career

In 2005 he won the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's RAW Comedy Award. He made the finals of So You Think You're Funny at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The following year, he was selected to perform in The Comedy Zone, a showcase of Australia's most promising up-and-coming comedians presented by the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.[5]

In 2007, Thomas' first solo show, "Please Like Me" debuted at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where it received the Melbourne Airport Award for Best Newcomer.[6] His live shows have toured both nationally and internationally, appearing in both Edinburgh and Montreal's comedy festivals.[7] In 2010, Thomas toured his coming-out themed stand-up show "Surprise", taking it to the Adelaide Fringe, Brisbane Comedy Festival and Melbourne International Comedy Festival.[8]

2011 saw him touring Everything Ever at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, among other locations.[9]

Podcast

Thomas has a podcast called Josh Thomas and Friend, available from iTunes, which features Thomas and his comedian friends Mel Buttle and Tom Ward. In November 2009 a second series of the podcast was released on iTunes, and the first series was deleted. The third series was released in 2011, and the second series was deleted as well.

Print

Thomas has also written articles for popular teen girls' magazine Girlfriend.[10] He had an opinion piece published in The Age newspaper in 2010.[11]

Television

Thomas has made guest appearances on the Australian television shows The Sideshow, Stand Up Australia, Ready Steady Cook, Good News Week, Rove Live, Celebrity Splash, The Project and Hughesy, We Have a Problem.[10]

In 2009, Thomas became a regular and Generation Y team captain on Network Ten's Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation.[10] He also competed in Celebrity MasterChef Australia, but lost in the first heat to Kirk Pengilly of INXS.[12]

In March 2011, Thomas hosted the 2011 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala event, which is held annually in support of Oxfam.[13]

Thomas has appeared several times on the ABC discussion panel program Q&A. In a program exploring mental health issues in rural areas, he challenged Federal MP Bob Katter's views on homosexuality and his previous declaration that there are no homosexuals in his electorate. Katter's refusal to consider the issues of gay young people in a discussion of suicide and mental health problems was received poorly by the audience and fellow panelists.[14]

Please Like Me

In February 2013, the television series Please Like Me, written by Thomas, debuted on ABC2. Participant Media's television network Pivot acquired the series for the US and premiered all six episodes as a binge marathon on 1 August 2013 to celebrate the channel's launch after premiering the first episode online.[15] The initial six-part series is based on his stand-up comedy shows and stars Thomas as himself.[3]

In 2014, the series was nominated for an International Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series.[16] For his work on the series, Thomas has won various accolades, including an AACTA Award for Best Television Screenplay in 2015.[17]

On 2 February 2017 Josh Thomas announced on social media that season 4 was the last, stating that "we are really happy with what we've made and feel like it is complete".[18]

References

  1. ↑ Stephens, Andrew (2007-04-08). "Did you hear the one about the comedian who broke even?". The Age. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  2. ↑ Talking Bout Your Generation – Josh Thomas. Ten.com.au (2009-04-06). Retrieved on 2011-08-20.
  3. 1 2 ABC2 Homepage for 'Please Like Me' TV series
  4. ↑ "Panellist: Josh Thomas". Q&A. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  5. ↑ Slattery, Annette (2006-04-28). "Comedy Zone". The Groggy Squirrel. Archived from the original on 2007-03-21. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  6. ↑ Ziffer, Daniel (2007-04-30). "Jokes aside, Kitson is the best". The Age. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  7. ↑ Slattery, Annette (2008-02-07). "Brisbane gets a dose of Festival Spirit". The Groggy Squirrel. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  8. ↑ Josh Thomas web page. joshthomas.com.au
  9. ↑ Melbourne Comedy Festival webpage Archived 15 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. 1 2 3 "Josh Thomas: Comedian/Writer". Token Artists. January 2008. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  11. ↑ "A sure-fire way Kevin can win: break a leg". The Age. 12 June 2010. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  12. ↑ AAP (1 October 2009). "INXS' Kirk Pengilly wins MasterChef heat". The Age. Fairfax. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  13. ↑
  14. ↑ Kembrey, M. (7 October 2014). "Bob Katter struggles for words on Q&A about mental health problems faced by gay community". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  15. ↑ "'Please Like Me,' Australian TV Series, Explores Coming-Of-Age And Sexuality (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "Please like Josh's show for an Emmy". NewsComAu. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
  17. ↑ "Josh Thomas". IMDb. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
  18. ↑ http://www.facebook.com/officialjoshthomas/posts/10155094048974701
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