Marg Downey | |
---|---|
Born | Margaret Cecilia Louise Downey 5 May 1961 |
Occupation(s) | Actress, comedian, writer |
Years active | 1984−present |
Marg Downey (born 5 May 1961) is an Australian comedian and actress best known for her roles in The D Generation , Fast Forward and Full Frontal
Downey grew up in a middle-class Catholic family in the Melbourne suburb of East Malvern in an eight-child family. Her father worked as a chartered accountant. She attended Sacré Cœur School (with fellow comedian Jane Turner) in Glen Iris, and then studied Arts/Law at the University of Melbourne, where she resided at Newman College. At university, she began to perform in university revues, and auditioned for performing arts courses at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, the Victorian College of the Arts and the University of Melbourne, but was not successful in gaining entry to any of them. [1]
Downey first rose to prominence in the sketch comedy program The D-Generation on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in the late 1980s. She subsequently appeared in later sketch comedy series with other members of The D-Generation, including Fast Forward , Full Frontal and Something Stupid . In these, she was known for her portrayals of a news anchor, a stern SBS presenter and for her spot-on impression of current affairs host Jana Wendt. Her spoof of "The What's On SBS Presenter" satirised the eccentricity of SBS programming, displaying grim masochistic determination to "not miss a moment of this scintillating entertainment".
Downey starred in the 2001 Network 10 comedy series Sit Down, Shut Up , playing the role of Principal Sue which was played by American comedian Kenan Thompson in the 2009 American Fox television re-make of the original Australian series. The animated American version was produced and written by Mitch Hurwitz, of Arrested Development fame. [2]
In 2005, Downey was cast as a regular player in Seven's live comedy sketch show Let Loose Live , but the show was cancelled after just two episodes due to low ratings. The following year, she appeared in the sketch show Magda's Funny Bits alongside Magda Szubanski. In this show, she recreated her role as infomercial host Janelle, first developed on Fast Forward.
In 2018, she voiced Stanley "Stan" Stinkleton and the narrator in the kids TV series, Kitty Is Not a Cat .
In 2021 Downey joined the cast of ABC Drama The Newsreader in the role of Evelyn Walters, [3] Downey reprised the role for the second series of the show. [4]
Downey's television roles are often authority figures or professional women with slightly eccentric personalities, such as Principal Sue in Sit Down, Shut Up and the "relationship-counselor" Marion seen in comedy series Kath & Kim . On Fast Forward, Marg Downey appeared in a lot of sketches with Steve Vizard, such as Eyeball News, The Midday Show, Candid Camera, The Cosby Show and Get Smart . Downey also played Clancy in the Skippy send-up, and appeared in send-ups of I Dream Of Jeannie , Mr Ed and Bewitched .
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Jones Family Christmas [5] | Sandra | |
2021-23 | The Newsreader [6] | Evelyn Walters | 12 episodes |
2021-22 | Fisk (TV series) [7] | Lindy | 2 episodes |
2018-19 | Kitty Is Not a Cat [8] | Narrator/ Stanley | 82 episodes (voice) |
2018 | Back In Very Small Business [9] | Yvonne Giradoux | 5 episodes |
2017 | Get Krack!n | McCartney's Mum | 1 episode |
The Other Guy | Wilma | 1 episode | |
Top of the Lake | Isadore | 3 episodes | |
Newton's Law (TV series) | Melinda Whitley | 1 episode | |
The Birth | Midwife | Short | |
2016 | Dogstar: Christmas in Space [10] | Alice / Daina / Greta Clark (voice) | TV Movie |
2015 | Open Slather [11] | Various | 20 episodes |
2014-15 | The Doctor Blake Mysteries | Evelyn Toohey | 2 episodes |
2014 | The Flamin' Thongs | Crystal Woman (voice) | 1 episode |
2012 | Exchange Student Zero [12] | Happy Peach Flower / Peg (voice) | TV Movie |
Kath & Kimderella | Marion | ||
House Husbands | Principal Moon | 1 episode | |
2010-12 | Wakkaville | Various (voice) | 25 episodes |
2012 | Christmas Clay | Kate | Short |
2007-11 | Dogstar (TV series) [13] | Great / Alice / Daina | 52 episodes |
2010 | Us | Nell | Short |
Oranges and Sunshine | Miss Hutchinson | ||
City Homicide | Jane Clegg | 1 episode | |
Matching Jack | Nurse Celia | ||
2009 | The Wake | Ellen | Short |
2008 | Very Small Business (TV series) | Yvonne | 1 episode |
2007 | The Starter Wife | Proper Lady | 1 episode |
2006 | Nightmares and Dreamscapes | Judy Diment | 1 episode |
2005 | Let Loose Live | Various | 2 episodes |
2002-04 | Kath & Kim | Marion | 6 episodes |
2004 | Under the Radar | Maxine | |
2002 | The Merchant of Fairness | Mrs Rowe | |
The Real Thing | Psychologist | ||
Guru Wayne | Mrs Marsh | ||
1995-02 | Blue Heelers | Kaye / Kanga / Karen | 3 episodes |
2002 | Queen of the Damned | Talamascan | |
2001 | Horace and Tina | Mrs Belevedere | 1 episode |
The Bob Downe Show | Janelle | 1 episode | |
2000 | The New Adventures of Ocean Girl | Elgar/ Various | 10 episodes |
Sit Down, Shut Up (2001 TV series) [14] | Sue Dirkin | 13 episodes | |
The Magic Pudding | Various (voice) | ||
Gloria's House | Various (voice) | TV Series | |
Beware of Greeks....Bearing Guns | Policewoman | ||
1999 | The Late Report | Various | TV Series |
1998 | The Silver Brumby | Mrs Dingo/ Eee | 1 episode |
1997-98 | Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers | Janet Rig / Eileen | 26 episodes |
1998 | Something Stupid | Various | 6 episodes |
The Games | Radio Newsreader | 1 episode | |
Good Guys Bad Guys | Glynnis Filch | 1 episode | |
1997 | Get a Life | The Nanny | TV Series |
1996 | Zone 39 | Computer (voice) | |
1994 | Economy Class | Sue Atherton | TV Movie |
1993-94 | Full Frontal (Australian TV series) | Guest | 7 episodes |
1993 | The Making of Nothing | Diane Feust | TV Movie |
A Royal Commission into the Australian Economy | Dame Victoria Market | TV Movie | |
1989-92 | Fast Forward (Australian TV series) | Various | 90 episodes |
1922 | Bligh | Yvette / Frances | 2 episodes |
1991 | Turn it Up | Aggie | TV Movie |
1988-89 | The D-Generation Goes Commercial | Various | 4 episodes |
1986-87 | The D-Generation | Various | 16 episodes |
1986 | The Fast Lane | Nadene | 1 episode |
Year | Format | Award | Catergory | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Television | AACTA Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Drama | Nominated [15] |
2024 | Nominated [16] |
Fast Forward was Australia's highest-rating and most critically awarded commercial television sketch comedy show, broadcast for 90 one-hour episodes from 12 April 1989 to 26 November 1992.
Kath & Kim is an Australian sitcom created by Jane Turner and Gina Riley, who portray the title characters of Kath Day-Knight, a cheery, middle-aged suburban mother, and Kim, her self-indulgent daughter. The cast also includes Glenn Robbins, Peter Rowsthorn and Magda Szubanski as, respectively, Kath's metrosexual boyfriend Kel Knight, Kim's henpecked husband Brett Craig, and her lonely "second-best friend" Sharon Strzelecki. The series is set in Fountain Lakes, a fictional suburb of Melbourne, Victoria.
Shaun Patrick Micallef is an Australian comedian, actor, writer and television presenter. He was the host of the satirical news comedy series Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell on the ABC. He also hosted the game show Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation on Channel 10.
The D-Generation was a popular and influential Australian TV sketch comedy show, produced and broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for two series, between 1986 and 1987. A further four specials were broadcast on the Seven Network between 1988 and 1989. The show would also serve as a stepping stone for many early incarnations of iconic characters, including Lynne Postlethwaite, Gina Hard-Faced B***h, Eileen Maverick and Kelvin Cunnington.
Kitty Flanagan is an Australian comedian, writer and actress who works in Australia and the United Kingdom. She has also performed in France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Japan and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Montreal Just For Laughs festival.
Sit Down, Shut Up is a short-lived Australian sitcom broadcast by Network Ten. It ran from 16 February 2001 until 28 June 2001 for a total of 13 episodes.
Magda's Funny Bits was a television comedy featuring Magda Szubanski that was broadcast on the Nine Network, Australia in early 2006. The Nine Network commissioned five episodes, four of which were aired prior to the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Doris Younane is an Australian stage and screen actress notable for her role in McLeod's Daughters where she played Moira Doyle. She is of Lebanese descent.
Katherine Louise Stewart is an AACTA and Logie Award-winning Australian actress who has made numerous appearances in television series, movies and on-stage.
Sit Down, Shut Up is an American adult animated television series developed by Mitchell Hurwitz for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series focuses on a group of high school teachers in a small town in Florida "who don't care about teaching". The series premiered on April 19, 2009, in the Animation Domination block on Fox, but after four episodes aired, Fox removed the show from the block due to low ratings. The remaining nine episodes aired on Saturdays at midnight from later in the year. The show was cancelled on November 21, 2009.
Celia Pacquola is an Australian comedian, writer, presenter and actor who performs predominantly in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Open Slather is an Australian sketch comedy television series which first aired on The Comedy Channel on Foxtel on 24 May 2015. The 20 episode series is executively produced by Laura Waters and Rick McKenna. After the first ten episodes aired, the series experienced a hiatus while new episodes were in production. Replacing new episodes were 30 minute 'best of' episodes titled Open Slather Reopened. The second block of ten episodes began airing on 6 September, and concluded on 8 November 2015.
Michelle Lim Davidson is an Australian actress. She got her break in television starring on the skit show Ben Elton Live from Planet Earth in 2011. From 2012 she was a presenter on Play School, a long running Australian TV show and its spin off, Big Ted's Big Adventure. She also played the role of Amy in two seasons of the critically acclaimed comedy series Utopia. Davidson has also had roles in television series Doctor Doctor, Get Krack!n,The Newsreader and Top of the Lake China Girl. In 2022, she appeared in After the Verdict.
Henry Stone is an Australian comedian, writer, and director.
Fiona Choi is an Australian actress, singer and performer, best known for her lead role as Jenny Law in Benjamin Law's award-winning SBS Comedy The Family Law for which she received an AACTA Award nomination for Best Performance in a Television Comedy and 3 consecutive Equity Ensemble Awards for Outstanding Performance in a Comedy Series. Fiona is also known for her work on stage in Melbourne Theatre Company's Golden Shield and Torch The Place as well as her one-woman show Dragon Lady: The Many Lives & Deaths of Anna May Wong which premiered to much acclaim at the 2019 Adelaide Cabaret Festival
The Letdown is an Australian television comedy series first screened on the ABC in 2016. It follows the adventures of Audrey, including her struggles as a new mum in an oddball mothers' group. It ran for two seasons between 4 May 2016 and 3 July 2019.
Kate Box is an Australian stage, film, and television actress. She is known for her roles as Nicole Vargas in Rake, Lou Kelly in Wentworth, and as Dulcie Collins in Deadloch.
Nina Oyama is an Australian comedian, writer, actress and director. She is well known for her roles in Utopia, Taskmaster Australia, and Deadloch.
The Newsreader is an Australian television drama series created by Michael Lucas and broadcast on ABC Television. Starring Anna Torv and Sam Reid, the series, which explores the personal and professional lives of journalists and crew within a 1980s Australian newsroom, premiered on 15 August 2021.
Fisk is an Australian television comedy series on ABC Television, first airing on 17 March 2021. The series revolves around the life of lawyer Helen Tudor-Fisk, who leaves Sydney for Melbourne after her career and marriage fall apart. She finds work there at a small solicitors that does probate law.
Murdoch's Fox TV network this week debuted Sit Down, Shut Up - a show based on the short-lived 2000 Marg Downey - Paul Gleeson Australian comedy of the same name...The original plan was to shoot the US Sit Down, Shut Up as a regular sitcom, but when Fox executives told producer and co-creator Mitchell Hurwitz the script was "too broad" and to revise it, he came up with the animated version