Stephen Hall (actor)

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Stephen Hall
Born (1969-05-17) 17 May 1969 (age 54)
Melbourne, Australia
Years active1987−present

Stephen Hall (born 17 May 1969) is an Australian actor, writer and producer.

Contents

Career

Television

Hall's career in television includes acting, writing and production duties. He was the host of Under Melbourne Tonight, a weekly live variety hour television program produced by RMITV that broadcast on C31 Melbourne from 1993 to 1998. [1] He has appeared in the long-running television series Neighbours , and in 2008 he performed the role of Warren in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television comedy series The Hollowmen [2]

He has also appeared in telemovies, including The King (2007), playing the role of Bert Newton.

As a producer, he worked on the Australian version of the game show Deal or No Deal .

As a TV writer he has worked on many Australian comedy and light entertainment TV productions, such as BackBerner , Big Bite , Full Frontal , and Spicks and Specks . He was a writer on the third series of the weekly satirical comedy programme Newstopia , broadcast on SBS in 2008. [3] From 2009 to 2012, Hall served as head writer on the comedy game show Talkin' 'bout Your Generation . [4] In 2013, he wrote for ABC-TV's weekly satirical comedy show Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell , and Adam Hills Tonight series 2, of which he was also the Studio Producer.

As of 2014, Hall is a regular cast member on Shaun Micallef's Mad As Hell, [5] with popular characters including the political spokesman Darius Horsham. [6]

Film

Hall's movie career includes appearances in Romper Stomper, The Wog Boy , Now Add Honey , That's Not My Dog! and Fraud Festival.

Theatre

Hall starred in the original Australian professional production of Monty Python's Spamalot in 2007, playing the roles of Lancelot, The French Taunter, Tim The Enchanter and The Head Knight of "Ni". [7]

In 2011, Hall co-wrote (with Michael Ward) the comedy stage show Bond-A-Rama! Every James Bond Film Live On Stage, [8] in which he played the roles of Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan. The show was a sell out, prompting a second season in 2012. [9]

In 2013, Hall wrote, produced and performed in the one man stage show Raiders of the Temple of Doom's Last Crusade; One Man Performs Three Indiana Jones Movies in One Hour, for the Melbourne Fringe Festival. [10] The show was then revived for a successful season in the 2014 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. [11]

In March 2016, John Cleese cast Hall as Basil Fawlty in Cleese's own stage adaptation of his TV series Fawlty Towers . [12] Fawlty Towers Live opened in Sydney at the Roslyn Packer Theatre in August 2016, and toured Australia, running for 157 performances before finishing in Brisbane on 22 January 2017. The show received favourable reviews in each city it played in. [13] [14] [15] [16]

Cartoon voice actor

Hall is an experienced voice actor for animation, playing characters in Cartoon Network's Monster Beach and Exchange Student Zero , along with roles in Kitty Is Not a Cat , Get Ace and Pacific Heat ... as seen in this showreel.

Author

In September 2015, Hall released his first eBook How To Win Game Shows, which is a 197-page compilation of winning tips, hints and techniques plus interviews with game show champions, hosts, producers and question writers.

From May 2019 to May 2020, Hall wrote the first draft of his science fiction adventure novel Symphony Under Siege, releasing a new chapter online each week, at www.TheStephenHall.com/novel-chapters. During its writing, he also kept a weekly video diary chronicling the experiment.

Symphony Under Siege is now available as a paperback on Amazon and as an eBook on a number of platforms.

In September 2022, he released his third book 50 Things To Be Seriously Grateful For Today* *and 50 not-so-serious things to illustrate them , which he describes as "a very sincere, very silly non-fiction book... that also happens to be chock full of fiction".

Radio

From 1989 - 1993, Hall was one of the members of the late night (/ very early morning) comedy show The Marta Thripp Druidic Building Society Show TSP (in colour), on the Melbourne community radio station 3RRR.

In 2015, he guest starred in the second series of Australian science fiction audio drama Night Terrace , playing the dual roles of Francisco de Cuellar and Sir Francis Drake in the episode "The Retirement of Horatio Gray". Originally available only as a digital download, the series was later broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra as part of their "7th Dimension" programme. [17]

Quiz show champion

In August 2005, Hall completed seven nights on the quiz show Temptation , becoming the program's second Grand Champion, and the second largest quiz or game show winner in Australian television history (at that time), winning $672,357 in cash and prizes. [18] The following year, he won the title of "Australia's Brainiest Quiz Master" on the Australian TV program of the same name and donating $20,000 to RSPCA, and appeared as part of The Brains Trust on The Einstein Factor .

Since 2013, he has run the blog www.HowToWinGameShows.com, which aims to provide tips and hints for winning game shows.

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1988All the WayRichard DoddsTV series
1989 The Flying Doctors Constable Pat ChandlerTV series
1990 Neighbours Gary "Boof" HeadTV series
1993 RFDS Keith BainbridgeTV series
1993-98 Under Melbourne Tonight HostTV series
1994 A Country Practice Dennis ChubbTV series
1994 The Damnation of Harvey McHugh SmedleyTV miniseries
1995 The Last Bullet FitzgeraldTV movie
1999 BackBerner Various charactersTV series
2000 Russell Gilbert Live Various charactersTV sketch series
2003 Welcher & Welcher Security guardTV series
2003 After the Deluge Maggie's husbandTV miniseries
2003 Big Bite Various charactersTV sketch series
2004 2004 AFI Awards James KillarneyTV special
2004-09 The Einstein Factor The Brains Trust panel member (regular)TV game series
2005 Temptation Contestant (winner)TV game series
2006 Australia's Brainiest Contestant (Australia's Brainiest Quiz Master)TV game series
2008 Newstopia William Shatner TV series
2008 The Hollowmen WarrenTV series
2010 Offspring Grown Up ManTV series pilot
2010 Tangle Dr Ian HillTV series
2010 Killing Time Ken GarlandTV series
2011 Beaconsfield Howard SacreTV miniseries
2011 The Slap Jim, the BusinessmanTV miniseries
2011-22 Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell Darius Horsham & various charactersTV series
2012 Get Ace Jack Union (voice)Animated TV series
2013 The Time of Our Lives Bam BamTV series
2014 Upper Middle Bogan Digby NolanTV series, season 2
2015 Exchange Student Zero VoiceAnimated TV series
2016 The Wrong Girl Graeme the Coin GuyTV series
2016-17 Pacific Heat VoiceAnimated TV series
2017When TV Was AwesomeNarratorTV special
2017-19 Kitty is Not a Cat The Nazz / Lucky Chuck (voice)Animated TV series
2017-19 Mustangs FC KevTV series
2018 True Story Dr SantosTV series, season 2
2019 Monster Beach Butterfield (voice)Animated TV series
2020 Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell - Christmas Special Various charactersTV special
2022 We Interrupt This Broadcast GuestTV sketch series

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1992 Romper Stomper FleaFeature film
2000 The Wog Boy SergeantFeature film
2007 The King Bert Newton TV movie
2015 Now Add Honey ConciergeFeature film
2018 That's Not My Dog! HimselfFeature film
Fraud FestivalFeature film

Writer/producer

YearTitleRoleNotes
Deal or No Deal ProducerTV game series
BackBerner WriterTV series
Big Bite WriterTV series
Full Frontal WriterTV series
Spicks and Specks WriterTV game series
2008 Newstopia WriterTV series, season 3
2009-12 Talkin' 'bout Your Generation Head writerTV game series
2012 Adam Hills Tonight Writer / Studio producerTV series, season 2
2013 Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell WriterTV series

[19]

Theatre

YearTitleRoleNotes
2001I Said I SaidPhineas Witt Melbourne International Comedy Featival
2007Monty Python's Spamalot Lancelot, The French Taunter, Tim The Enchanter & The Head Knight of "Ni"Ozalot Pty Ltd
2011-12Bond-A-Rama! Every James Bond Film Live On Stage Sean Connery, Roger Moore & Pierce Brosnan
2013/14Raiders of the Temple of Doom's Last Crusade; One Man Performs Three Indiana Jones Movies in One HourPerformer Melbourne Fringe Festival / Melbourne International Comedy Festival (also writer & producer
2016-17 Fawlty Towers Live Basil Fawlty Roslyn Packer Theatre & Australian tour, 157 performances
2017BrigadoonArchie Beaton The Production Company

[20]

Books

YearTitleNotes
2015How To Win Game ShowseBook
2019-20Symphony Under SiegePaperback & eBook
202250 Things To Be Seriously Grateful For Today* *and 50 not-so-serious things to illustrate them

Radio

YearTitleRoleNotes
1989-93The Marta Thripp Druidic Building Society Show TSP (in colour)Core cast member 3RRR
1999 Breakfasters Guest 3RRR
2005The Loading ZoneGuest panellist ABC Radio
2006Home with the HowardsJohn Howard ABC Radio
2015 Night Terrace Francisco de Cuellar & Sir Francis Drake Digital; Season 2, episode: "The Retirement of Horatio Gray" (later broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra

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  18. "Channel nine - Temptation". Archived from the original on 28 February 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. https://app.showcast.com.au/profile/StephenHall
  20. https://app.showcast.com.au/profile/StephenHall