Andrew Hansen
Encyclopedia
Andrew John Hansen is an Australian comedian and musician, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser
. As a member of The Chaser, Hansen's television work includes co-writing and appearing in ABC Television
shows CNNNN (2002–2003), The Chaser Decides
(2004, 2007), Chaser News Alert
(2005), The Chaser's War On Everything
(2006–07, 2009), Yes We Canberra! (2010), and The Hamster Wheel
(2011). He has also co-written and performed in The Chaser's stage shows, Cirque du Chaser (2005) and The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour (2008). With Chaser colleague Chris Taylor
, Hansen starred in a scripted radio comedy series on triple j
titled The Blow Parade
, which was released on CD and through iTunes Store Australia.
in Kenthurst, New South Wales
and is a graduate of the University of Sydney
with honours in Australian literature
and Australian history.
In 1995 he appeared as a subject in Simon Target
's documentary Uni about three students studying at the University of Sydney (Hansen later satirised Target in CNNNN where he played the network's British correspondent who was also called Simon Target). Soon-to-be fellow Chaser
member Charles Firth was one of the other two students featured. During the documentary it was revealed that Hansen suffered from clinical depression while attending the university.
's satirical American news show CNNNN as the leader of the "newsband". He was also characters Rudi J Blass, director of "Newstainment", and Simon Target, an English reporter. Hansen's performance in the first season of CNNNN earned him the Australian Comedy Award for Outstanding Television Newcomer.
since the pilot episode. He is particularly known for composing and performing songs on the program. He is also known for his character pieces, which include Scenes from the Life of the Crazy Warehouse Guy, The Surprise Spruiker, Clive the Slightly Too-Loud Commuter, and Mr. Ten Questions. In the second part of the first season and the whole of the second and third, Andrew sported a different hairstyle every week. He has said that he likes to look entertaining with his clothes and his hair.
Hansen is a pianist and guitarist and in addition to his songwriting, Hansen composed the show's theme music
, which received the APRA
-AGSC Screen Music Award for Best Television Theme (2006).
In The Chaser's War on Everything DVD Volume 2's commentary, Hansen revealed that he is a fan of computer games and Doctor Who
. This may have sparked the inspiration for one of his songs sung on The Chaser's War on Everything Season 1, about Doctor Who. It is also stated on the commentary that about 3/4 of the Doctor Who props in the video clip were supplied by Andrew himself. On the Season 2 Volume 1 commentary, it was revealed jokingly that Hansen is a huge fan of U2
, which is why he chose not to imitate lead singer Bono
during a sketch. This allegation was possibly tongue-in-cheek, as Hansen did make fun of Bono by playing a Bono-like character in his radio show The Blow Parade.
For Season 1 of the program, he received the Australian Film Institute Award
for Best Performance in Television Comedy (2006).
's play Dead Caesar, with music by Hansen and lyrics by Taylor. On 17 October 2007 episode of The War, Hansen performed the song which satirised the lives of several deceased celebrities, including Peter Brock
, Stan Zemanek
, Princess Diana
, Donald Bradman
, Steve Irwin
, John Lennon
, Jeff Buckley
and Kerry Packer
, expressing the view that people with flaws during life are often disproportionately hailed as "top blokes" after death. The song became the target of significant media attention, with several radio and television personalities saying the song was in "bad taste", and both the then Prime Minister of Australia
John Howard
and then Leader of the Opposition
Kevin Rudd
expressing negative views.
Hansen composed and performed the music for the Sydney Theatre Company
's 2007 musical comedy Dead Caesar, which was written by Chaser
colleague Chris Taylor
. He also played the roles of Marc Antony and Lucius
. The Eulogy Song was originally written for and performed during this play.
In 2008, Hansen toured Australia with The Chaser's second stage show, The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour.
In October 2009, Hansen hosted The Goodies: Before, During and After, a live show by British comedy trio The Goodies
at Sydney's Riverside Theatre (Parramatta) and at the World's Funniest Island
comedy festival. The show involved Hansen interviewing Tim Brooke-Taylor
and Graeme Garden
, as well as performing a Goodies song with them.
In 2011, Hansen joined various combinations of The Chaser team's members for a series of live shows in Sydney entitled The Chaser's Empty Vessel.
. The Fantastic Leslie was composed of Cameron Bruce, Tom Gleeson, James Fletcher and Hansen. In July 1999 the band released their 6-track EP
A Tiny Mark which was distributed through MGM Distribution
. He was also a member of independent alternative band Mending.
Hansen co-wrote the short film Garbage Man with Charles Firth and British comedian Henry Naylor
. It was a Tropfest
finalist in 2005 and a prizewinner at Germany's Ohne Kohle festival. Hansen has also been known to feature on the musical comedy circuit, including a recorded performance of one of his more famous songs, 'I Wish I Was A Scottish Stand-Up Comedian', for the Laugh-A-Poolooza 2006 DVD release.
Hansen has had writer/performer contributions to the Nine Network
's Comedy Inc.
and the ABC
's My Favourite Album
. He also does the voice-over for the ABC's First Tuesday Book Club
and has voiced the ABC's Media Watch. He composed the music for Nickelodeon
's Sarvo
and Napman, and songs for the Sesame Street
character Ollie. Hansen appeared and presented at the 2007 MTV Australia Awards
and the 2007 ARIA Music Awards
. Also that year, he made a guest appearance on Nine's The Nation
. In 2008, he appeared in a sketch on SBS
's Newstopia
, as well as an episode of the Australian gaming TV show Good Game
on the ABC, challenging the hosts to a 'Roffle Cup'. He also made an appearance as a guest host on the program in 2010, filling in for host Steven O'Donnell and again in 2011 filling in for host Stephanie Bendixsen. In 2009, he made guest appearances on Network Ten
's Rove and Good News Week
. He appeared again on Good News Week in 2010, this time with Chris Taylor
, in the guise of characters from their radio show The Blow Parade. The same year, he was a guest on Top Gear Australia
, where he drove deliberately slowly around the celebrity track for humorous effect.
Hansen was the host of Strictly Speaking
, a speechmaking competition series, which aired on ABC1 in 2010.
He composed the music for and starred in The Blow Parade, a scripted radio comedy series he made with Chris Taylor
. It premiered on triple j on 28 April 2010. The series was released on CD and through the iTunes Store
with bonus tracks. This album won the 2010 ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release.
He played the character 'Dex' in the 3D movie Sanctum
, produced by James Cameron
and released in 2011.
The Chaser
The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedian group, known for their television programmes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation channel. The group take their name from their production of satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste...
. As a member of The Chaser, Hansen's television work includes co-writing and appearing in ABC Television
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
shows CNNNN (2002–2003), The Chaser Decides
The Chaser Decides
The Chaser Decides is a Logie Award-winning Australian political satire based comedy program produced by The Chaser. The show provides commentary on Australian federal elections and has been broadcast in 2001, 2004 and 2007 on ABC TV...
(2004, 2007), Chaser News Alert
Chaser News Alert
Chaser News Alert was an Australian satirical news program which ran in the form of ten 4-minute episodes produced by satire group The Chaser. It aired on ABC2 from 22 September 2005 to 24 November and was also available via the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's broadband...
(2005), The Chaser's War On Everything
The Chaser's War on Everything
The Chaser's War on Everything is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television station ABC1. It has won an AFI Award. The cast perform sketches mocking social and political issues, and often feature comedic publicity stunts...
(2006–07, 2009), Yes We Canberra! (2010), and The Hamster Wheel
The Hamster Wheel
The Hamster Wheel is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television station ABC1. It is presented by The Chaser team.-Production:...
(2011). He has also co-written and performed in The Chaser's stage shows, Cirque du Chaser (2005) and The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour (2008). With Chaser colleague Chris Taylor
Chris Taylor (comedian)
Christopher Thornton "Chris" Taylor is an Australian comedian, writer and former radio host from Sydney. As a member of The Chaser, he is best known for co-writing and appearing on satirical ABC Television shows CNNNN and The Chaser's War on Everything...
, Hansen starred in a scripted radio comedy series on triple j
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
titled The Blow Parade
The Blow Parade
The Blow Parade is a scripted radio program made and voiced by Australian comedians Chris Taylor and Andrew Hansen, and radio producer Craig Schuftan....
, which was released on CD and through iTunes Store Australia.
Early life
Hansen was School Captain of the The Hills Grammar SchoolThe Hills Grammar School
The Hills Grammar School is an independent, co-educational, non-sectarian, day school located in Kenthurst, a suburb in the Hills district of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
in Kenthurst, New South Wales
Kenthurst, New South Wales
Kenthurst is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kenthurst is located 39 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire and part of the Hills District region....
and is a graduate of the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
with honours in Australian literature
Australian literature
Australian literature is the written or literary work produced in the area or by the people of the Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding colonies. During its early western history, Australia was a collection of British colonies, therefore, its literary tradition begins with and is linked to...
and Australian history.
In 1995 he appeared as a subject in Simon Target
Simon Target
Simon Target is a British/Australian film-maker. He is best known for a series of self-filmed television documentaries he made for The Australian Broadcasting Corporation which include King's School , Flight for Life , The Academy , and...
's documentary Uni about three students studying at the University of Sydney (Hansen later satirised Target in CNNNN where he played the network's British correspondent who was also called Simon Target). Soon-to-be fellow Chaser
The Chaser
The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedian group, known for their television programmes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation channel. The group take their name from their production of satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste...
member Charles Firth was one of the other two students featured. During the documentary it was revealed that Hansen suffered from clinical depression while attending the university.
CNNNN
Hansen starred in The ChaserThe Chaser
The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedian group, known for their television programmes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation channel. The group take their name from their production of satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste...
's satirical American news show CNNNN as the leader of the "newsband". He was also characters Rudi J Blass, director of "Newstainment", and Simon Target, an English reporter. Hansen's performance in the first season of CNNNN earned him the Australian Comedy Award for Outstanding Television Newcomer.
The Chaser's War on Everything
Hansen has been a regular writer and performer on The Chaser's War on EverythingThe Chaser's War on Everything
The Chaser's War on Everything is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television station ABC1. It has won an AFI Award. The cast perform sketches mocking social and political issues, and often feature comedic publicity stunts...
since the pilot episode. He is particularly known for composing and performing songs on the program. He is also known for his character pieces, which include Scenes from the Life of the Crazy Warehouse Guy, The Surprise Spruiker, Clive the Slightly Too-Loud Commuter, and Mr. Ten Questions. In the second part of the first season and the whole of the second and third, Andrew sported a different hairstyle every week. He has said that he likes to look entertaining with his clothes and his hair.
Hansen is a pianist and guitarist and in addition to his songwriting, Hansen composed the show's theme music
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
, which received the APRA
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
-AGSC Screen Music Award for Best Television Theme (2006).
In The Chaser's War on Everything DVD Volume 2's commentary, Hansen revealed that he is a fan of computer games and Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. This may have sparked the inspiration for one of his songs sung on The Chaser's War on Everything Season 1, about Doctor Who. It is also stated on the commentary that about 3/4 of the Doctor Who props in the video clip were supplied by Andrew himself. On the Season 2 Volume 1 commentary, it was revealed jokingly that Hansen is a huge fan of U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, which is why he chose not to imitate lead singer Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
during a sketch. This allegation was possibly tongue-in-cheek, as Hansen did make fun of Bono by playing a Bono-like character in his radio show The Blow Parade.
For Season 1 of the program, he received the Australian Film Institute Award
Australian Film Institute Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
for Best Performance in Television Comedy (2006).
The Eulogy Song
The most controversial song that Hansen has performed was The Eulogy Song, which was originally written for Chris TaylorChris Taylor (comedian)
Christopher Thornton "Chris" Taylor is an Australian comedian, writer and former radio host from Sydney. As a member of The Chaser, he is best known for co-writing and appearing on satirical ABC Television shows CNNNN and The Chaser's War on Everything...
's play Dead Caesar, with music by Hansen and lyrics by Taylor. On 17 October 2007 episode of The War, Hansen performed the song which satirised the lives of several deceased celebrities, including Peter Brock
Peter Brock
Peter Geoffrey Brock, AM otherwise known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain" or simply as "Brocky" was one of Australia's best-known and most successful motor racing drivers. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, although he raced vehicles of other...
, Stan Zemanek
Stan Zemanek
Stan Zemanek was an Australian radio broadcaster who presented a popular night time show on 2UE Sydney and which was networked across parts of Australia via Southern Cross....
, Princess Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, Donald Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
, Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin , nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted...
, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
and Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
, expressing the view that people with flaws during life are often disproportionately hailed as "top blokes" after death. The song became the target of significant media attention, with several radio and television personalities saying the song was in "bad taste", and both the then Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
and then Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party not in government in a Westminster System of parliamentary government...
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
expressing negative views.
Stage Shows
Hansen co-wrote and appeared in the live show Cirque du Chaser, which toured Australia in 2005.Hansen composed and performed the music for the Sydney Theatre Company
Sydney Theatre Company
The Sydney Theatre Company is one of Australia's best-known theatre companies operating from The Wharf Theatre near The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Sydney Theatre and the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre....
's 2007 musical comedy Dead Caesar, which was written by Chaser
The Chaser
The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedian group, known for their television programmes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation channel. The group take their name from their production of satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste...
colleague Chris Taylor
Chris Taylor (comedian)
Christopher Thornton "Chris" Taylor is an Australian comedian, writer and former radio host from Sydney. As a member of The Chaser, he is best known for co-writing and appearing on satirical ABC Television shows CNNNN and The Chaser's War on Everything...
. He also played the roles of Marc Antony and Lucius
Lucius Antonius (brother of Mark Antony)
Lucius Antonius was the younger brother and supporter of Mark Antony, a Roman politician.Lucius was son of Marcus Antonius Creticus, son of the rhetorician Marcus Antonius Orator executed by Gaius Marius' supporters in 86 BC, and Julia Antonia, a cousin of Julius Caesar...
. The Eulogy Song was originally written for and performed during this play.
In 2008, Hansen toured Australia with The Chaser's second stage show, The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour.
In October 2009, Hansen hosted The Goodies: Before, During and After, a live show by British comedy trio The Goodies
The Goodies
The Goodies are a trio of British comedians who created, wrote, and starred in a surreal British television comedy series called The Goodies during the 1970s and early 1980s combining sketches and situation comedy.-Honours:All three Goodies now have OBEs...
at Sydney's Riverside Theatre (Parramatta) and at the World's Funniest Island
World's Funniest Island
World’s Funniest Island was an Australian comedy event held on the third weekend in October on Cockatoo Island, in Sydney Harbour. The first World’s Funniest Island event took place 17–18 October 2009...
comedy festival. The show involved Hansen interviewing Tim Brooke-Taylor
Tim Brooke-Taylor
Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE is an English comic actor. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at Cambridge University, and became President of the Footlights club, touring internationally with the Footlights revue in 1964...
and Graeme Garden
Graeme Garden
David Graeme Garden OBE is a Scottish author, actor, comedian, artist and television presenter, who first became known as a member of The Goodies.-Early life and beginnings in comedy:...
, as well as performing a Goodies song with them.
In 2011, Hansen joined various combinations of The Chaser team's members for a series of live shows in Sydney entitled The Chaser's Empty Vessel.
Other productions
Hansen was the guitarist and one of the vocalists for independent Sydney band The Fantastic LeslieThe Fantastic Leslie
The Fantastic Leslie were a four-piece band from Sydney, Australia and was the starting point for three of Australia's popular and successful comedians and musicians.-Biography:...
. The Fantastic Leslie was composed of Cameron Bruce, Tom Gleeson, James Fletcher and Hansen. In July 1999 the band released their 6-track EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
A Tiny Mark which was distributed through MGM Distribution
MGM Distribution
MGM Distribution is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise and was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase....
. He was also a member of independent alternative band Mending.
Hansen co-wrote the short film Garbage Man with Charles Firth and British comedian Henry Naylor
Henry Naylor
Henry Naylor is a British comedy writer and performer, best known for his work with comedy partner Andy Parsons in Parsons and Naylor's Pull-Out Sections....
. It was a Tropfest
Tropfest
Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival.Tropfest began in 1993 as a screening for 200 people in a cafe in Sydney but has since become the largest platform for short films in the world. Tropfest Australia takes place in February each year in front of a live audience of approximately...
finalist in 2005 and a prizewinner at Germany's Ohne Kohle festival. Hansen has also been known to feature on the musical comedy circuit, including a recorded performance of one of his more famous songs, 'I Wish I Was A Scottish Stand-Up Comedian', for the Laugh-A-Poolooza 2006 DVD release.
Hansen has had writer/performer contributions to the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
's Comedy Inc.
Comedy Inc.
Comedy Inc. was an Australian sketch comedy television series, which ran on the Nine Network from 1 February 2003 to 26 December 2007. The series was produced by Crackerjack Productions. It first premiered in February 2003 in the new wave of Australian sketch comedy shows being launched across the...
and the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
's My Favourite Album
My Favourite Album
My Favourite Album was a nation-wide poll conducted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to discover Australia's most popular album. Voting was by phone, SMS or over the ABC's website between 20 September 2006 to midnight on 18 October 2006. Much of the poll's promotion was through the ABC's...
. He also does the voice-over for the ABC's First Tuesday Book Club
First Tuesday Book Club
First Tuesday Book Club is an Australian television show that discusses books ostensibly in the style of a domestic book club. Hosted by journalist Jennifer Byrne, it uses the panel format made popular in The Glass House with two regular members–book reviewer Jason Steger and author/blogger Marieke...
and has voiced the ABC's Media Watch. He composed the music for Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon Australia
Nickelodeon is the Australian counterpart of the Nickelodeon network in the United States. It is operated by a joint venture of XYZnetworks and MTV Networks Australia.-History:...
's Sarvo
Sarvo
Sarvo was an after-school show for kids on Nickelodeon Australia, it was hosted by Maude Garrett and Kyle Linahan, until it was cancelled in Late 2007...
and Napman, and songs for the Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
character Ollie. Hansen appeared and presented at the 2007 MTV Australia Awards
MTV Australia Video Music Awards 2007
The MTV Australia Video Music Awards 2007 was broadcast live from Acer Arena on 29 April 2007 on MTV Australia. It was then repeated on the Ten Network on 6 May 2007....
and the 2007 ARIA Music Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
. Also that year, he made a guest appearance on Nine's The Nation
The Nation (TV series)
The Nation was an Australian satirical sketch comedy and discussion series covering the week's events across political and social spectrums, premiering on Tuesday 5 June 2007 at on the Nine Network....
. In 2008, he appeared in a sketch on SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
's Newstopia
Newstopia
Newstopia is an Australian half-hour satirical comedy programme hosted by Shaun Micallef. The first series premiered at on SBS TV on 10 October 2007 and concluded on 3 December 2007. A second season began on 27 February 2008 and concluded on 30 April 2008. A third season of the show screened from...
, as well as an episode of the Australian gaming TV show Good Game
Good Game
Good Game is an Australian video gaming talk show television programme created by Janet Carr and Jeremy Ray currently on ABC2. It premiered on ABC on 19 September 2006...
on the ABC, challenging the hosts to a 'Roffle Cup'. He also made an appearance as a guest host on the program in 2010, filling in for host Steven O'Donnell and again in 2011 filling in for host Stephanie Bendixsen. In 2009, he made guest appearances on Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
's Rove and Good News Week
Good News Week
Good News Week is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that initially aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and resumed on 11 February 2008 to 9 May 2011. The show aired first on ABC TV before it was bought by Network Ten in 1999...
. He appeared again on Good News Week in 2010, this time with Chris Taylor
Chris Taylor (comedian)
Christopher Thornton "Chris" Taylor is an Australian comedian, writer and former radio host from Sydney. As a member of The Chaser, he is best known for co-writing and appearing on satirical ABC Television shows CNNNN and The Chaser's War on Everything...
, in the guise of characters from their radio show The Blow Parade. The same year, he was a guest on Top Gear Australia
Top Gear Australia
Top Gear Australia was an Australian motoring television series based on the BBC series Top Gear.The show premiered on SBS One on 29 September 2008 at 7:30 pm AEST, with its first season consisting of 8 episodes...
, where he drove deliberately slowly around the celebrity track for humorous effect.
Hansen was the host of Strictly Speaking
Strictly Speaking (TV series)
Strictly Speaking is an Australian television series which began airing on 29 September 2010. The show is hosted by Andrew Hansen and is currently being aired on ABC1. After only 5 episodes, Strictly Speaking was removed from ABC's schedule after failing to attract viewers...
, a speechmaking competition series, which aired on ABC1 in 2010.
He composed the music for and starred in The Blow Parade, a scripted radio comedy series he made with Chris Taylor
Chris Taylor (comedian)
Christopher Thornton "Chris" Taylor is an Australian comedian, writer and former radio host from Sydney. As a member of The Chaser, he is best known for co-writing and appearing on satirical ABC Television shows CNNNN and The Chaser's War on Everything...
. It premiered on triple j on 28 April 2010. The series was released on CD and through the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
with bonus tracks. This album won the 2010 ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release.
He played the character 'Dex' in the 3D movie Sanctum
Sanctum (film)
Sanctum is a 2011 Australian 3D adventure drama film directed by Alister Grierson from a screenplay by John Garvin and Andrew Wight, and story by Wight...
, produced by James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
and released in 2011.