Grant Piro

Last updated

Grant Piro is an Australian actor. He is best known as the host of the children's television show Couch Potato on the ABC. He also appeared as Captain Schnepel in Escape From Pretoria .

Contents

Personal life

He is married to Australian soprano and musical theatre icon Marina Prior. They have 5 children in a blended family. Two of the children are biologically Piro’s from a former relationship (Jackson and Madison), while three are biologically Prior’s from a former relationship.

Career

He began his career in 1983 in the Australian television soap opera Sons and Daughters .

After completing George Miller's film Bushfire Moon (Miracle Down Under) in 1987, a chance meeting with British comedy legend Ray Cooney led to a three-year stint in the UK where he appeared in several of Ray's plays: It Runs in the Family, Wife Begins at Forty, the latter alongside the great Jimmy Edwards, as well as TV programs such as Casualty and Shelley .

He returned to Australia in 1990 to become the host of the ABC children's television program Couch Potato . During the 1990s, Grant appeared in a large number of Australian television dramas that included Janus , Correlli , G.P. , Halifax f.p. , Blue Heelers , SeaChange , Wildside , Good Guys Bad Guys , McLeod's Daughters , The River Kings , The Territorians , Stingers , Twisted Tales , Tales of the South Seas , Witch Hunt , and more. This trend continued beyond 2000 with appearances in Blue Heelers and Stingers again, Marshall Law , Crashburn , Headland , Rain Shadow , The Librarians , The Elephant Princess , Sea Patrol , and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries .

Grant Piro became one of Australia's most respected theatre actors, with performances in Under Milk Wood , Whose Life Is It Anyway , Moby Dick , The Merry Widow , Laughter on the 23rd Floor , The Producers , The 39 Steps , Cat On A Hot Tin Roof , Dirty Rotten Scoundrels , The Drowsy Chaperone , Hairspray , His Girl Friday , and Hate .

His performance in the MTC's production of Realism saw him critically acclaimed for his display of the acting technique known as biomechanics . He appeared as several characters in the Rolf de Heer cult film Bad Boy Bubby , worked with film director Scott Hicks on his films Call Me Mr. Brown and Sebastian and the Sparrow , with Paul Hogan in Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles , appeared in the French feature L'Amour En Embuscade (Love in Ambush) for Carl Shultz, and the films The Outsider , Darkness Falls , The Condemned , Save Your Legs , and Crime & Punishment.

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRolenotesRef
1983-84 Sons and Daughters Tony ParkerTV series, 119 episodes
1986Push StartTV movie
1987PalsRockyTV series, 10 episodes
1988 Captain Johnno KevinTV movie
1989 Casualty Glenn BuchananTV series, 1 episode
Shelley GeorgeTV series, 1 episode
1990Second ChildhoodMr CruikshankTV movie
1991 Couch Potato Host/PresenterTV series
1991 Finders Keepers (aka The Finder)MaxTV series, 10 episodes
1991 The River Kings SpudTV miniseries, 3 episodes
1994 Janus CassidyTV series, 2 episodes
1995 Glad Rags Warren HammTV series, 6 episodes
1995 Correlli Toby MillerTV miniseries, 8 episodes
1996The Devil GameCostelloTV movie
McLeod's Daughters Steve CreeleyTV movie
The TerritoriansDanny LeydonTV movie
The Bite MilesTV miniseries
Twisted Tales MerrillTV series, 1 episode
1997Love in AmbushJon KincaidTV movie
1997 Good Guys Bad Guys Gavin 'The Goat' La RousseTV series, 1 episode
1998 SeaChange Bryce ReardonTV series, 3 episodes
Halifax f.p. Terry LansdownTV series, Season 3, episode 2
Tales of the South Seas TV series
Driven Crazy Wobbly GurgleTV series, 1 episode
1999 Wildside Peter GilmourTV series, 1 episode
Witch Hunt ConlonTV movie
AirtightFreddyTV movie
2002 MDA David SmithTV series, 1 episode
1999-2003 Stingers

Brian Dennison / Tony Tennant || TV series, 2 episodes

2002 Marshall Law HallionTV miniseries, 4 episodes
2003 CrashBurn AdamTV series, 13 episodes
2006 Headland Doctor BakerTV series, 1 episode
2007 Rain Shadow James CampbellTV miniseries, 6 episodes
The Librarians Piero ChiappiTV series, 5 episodes
2007-10 City Homicide Craig Pierce / Wayne StylesTV series, 3 episodes
2008-09 The Elephant Princess Jim WilsonTV series, 18 episodes [1]
2009 Sea Patrol Jay FennellyTV series, 1 episode
2012 Winners & Losers Mime EvansTV series, 1 episode
2014 INXS: Never Tear Us Apart Molly Meldrum TV miniseries, 2 episodes
2015 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Mighty Merve MacKenzieTV series, 1 episode
2016 Jack Irish Senator MackieTV series, 5 episodes
2017Sherazade: The Untold StoriesPorter / Ali Baba (voice)TV series, 22 episodes
Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story Dustin Hoffman TV miniseries, 1 episode
Newton's Law Sergeant Robert MaloufTV miniseries, 5 episodes
The Ex-PM BambinoTV series, 1 episode
2018 Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You GrossmanTV miniseries, 1 episode
Wentworth Doctor ChamberlainTV series, 1 episode
True Story with Hamish & Andy GordonTV series, 1 episode
Wanted GaryTV series, 2 episodes
How to Stay Married Michael FassmemberTV series, 1 episode
2019 My Life is Murder Bob nNbleTV series, 1 episode
2023 Utopia PatrickTV series, 1 episode
Warnie Graham HalbishTV miniseries:1 episode
2025 The Newsreader WayneTV series: 4 episodes

Film

YearTitleRoleNotesRef
1984Abduction... Who's Next?BenShort film
1986 Playing Beatie Bow PinoFeature film
Call Me Mr. Brown Mt. Isa MinerFeature film
1987 The Lighthorsemen CharlieFeature film
Bushfire Moon Angus WatsonFeature film
1988 Sebastian and the Sparrow Feature film
Wife Begins at 40Leonard Harper
1993 Bad Boy Bubby SalesmanFeature film
1996The Big MaybeHusbandShort film
1997 Amy PC FranklinFeature film
1997 Joey John O'BannonFeature film
2000 Mr. Accident LyndonFeature film
2001 Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles GuideFeature film
2002 The Outsider Woodrow WhartonFeature film
2003 Darkness Falls Larry FleishmanFeature film
2007 The Independent Bradley EvansFeature film
The Condemned MoyerFeature film
2010 Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Creature (voice)Feature film
The Adjustable CosmosEmperor Frederick (voice)Short film
2012 Save Your Legs PunterFeature film
2014 Predestination Boxing Commentator / News Report AnnouncerFeature film
The Mule Professor Dylan KanarakisFeature film
2015Sneezing Baby Panda: The MovieVoice
Crime & Punishment QuinceyFeature film
2016 Spirit of the Game Ken WatsonFeature film
2020 Escape from Pretoria Captain SchnepelFeature film
2025SacrificeCharlie Hunter [2]

Theatre

YearTitleRoleNotesRef
1986 Pravda Cartoonist / Bewildered Walking Man / Reporter / PhotographerPlayhouse Adelaide
1987It Runs in the Family
1987 Much Ado About Nothing Boy / Messenger / Hugh OatcakePlayhouse Adelaide
1988Wife Begins at FortyLeonard HarperPlayhouse Adelaide, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
1993 Taking Steps Playhouse Adelaide
1993Under Milk WoodPlayhouse Adelaide
1994Short Blacks with Shepard Pie: Red Cross Promethean Theatre, Adelaide
1994 Whose Life is it Anyway? Price Theatre, Adelaide
1996Station 2: Eye of AnotherNick / Jed / Dominic / Frank251 Wakefield Street, Adelaide
1999 The Merry Widow Njegus State Theatre Melbourne, Festival Theatre Adelaide, Lyric Theatre Sydney
2002 Hello, Dolly! Ambrose Kemper / Rudolph Reisenweber State Theatre, Melbourne
2002 Laughter on the 23rd Floor Playhouse Melbourne
2004–05 The Producers Carmen Ghia Princess Theatre Melbourne, Lyric Theatre Brisbane, Lyric Theatre Sydney
2007 The Madwoman of Chaillot Playhouse Melbourne
2008 Whose Life is it Anyway? Lion Arts Centre, Adelaide
2008 The 39 Steps Playhouse Melbourne, Geelong Performing Arts Centre
2008 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Gooper Playhouse Melbourne
2008Gala Southbank Theatre
2009 Realism Southbank Theatre with Melbourne Theatre Company
2009Master of the Revels Southbank Theatre
2009 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Andre Thibault State Theatre Melbourne
2010 The Drowsy Chaperone Gangster Playhouse Melbourne
2010-11 Hairspray Wilbur Turnblad Princess Theatre Melbourne, Lyric Theatre Sydney
2012 His Girl Friday Playhouse Melbourne
2013 Hate Malthouse Theatre
2016 Around the World in 80 Days Detective Fix
2017 Hello, Dolly! Horace Vandergelder Playhouse Melbourne
2018 Oklahoma! Ali Hakim State Theatre, Melbourne
2022 Girl from the North Country Reverend Marlowe Theatre Royal, Sydney, Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Civic Theatre, Auckland, Wellington Opera House, Canberra Theatre, Lyric Theatre Brisbane
2022 When the Rain Stops Falling Space 28, Southbank
Moby Dick
2024A Christmas CarolFezziwigComedy Theatre [3]
2025FolliesPalais Theatre [4]

References

  1. "The Elephant Princess – Cast". Jonathan M. Shiff Productions. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008.
  2. "Richard Norton, Lisa McCune, Marina Prior, Grant Piro and James Mason to star in Aussie gay drama 'Sacrifice'". FilmInk. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  3. Theatre, Aussie (18 September 2024). "First cast announced for A Christmas Carol including Alison Whyte, Tim Wright, Aisha Adara, Sarah Morrison & Kaya Byrne". AussieTheatre.com. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  4. Review, Arts (31 January 2025). "FOLLIES set to open at the Palais Theatre this Saturday". Australian Arts Review. Retrieved 22 March 2025.