Anthony Michael Ackroyd (born 30 June) is an Australian comedian, writer, musician, actor, speaker, and teacher. He is currently the CEO (Chief Enjoyment Officer) of his company The Laughter Advantage.
Biography
Ackroyd was born in
Hobart, Tasmania
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smalle ...
and grew up in the suburb of
Warrane
Warrane is a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, within the City of Clarence local government area. It is approximately from Hobart's CBD. It is located between Rosny Park and Mornington and runs parallel to the Tasman Highway.
Warrane ...
. He graduated from the
University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...
with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English Literature, European Literature and Philosophy.
Ackroyd began performing stand-up comedy at the Sydney Comedy Store in the 1980s. Television exposure followed with appearances on popular TV shows such as ''The Video Comedy Store'', ''
Hey Hey It's Saturday
''Hey Hey It's Saturday'' was a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 28 years on the Nine Network from 9 October 1971 to 20 November 1999, with a recess in 1978. Its host throughout its entire ...
'' and ''
The Midday Show
''Midday'' (commonly referred to as ''The Midday Show'') is an Australian award-winning daytime television program, based on the variety format that aired on the Nine Network on 11 February 1985 until 27 November 1998. The show aired, like its ...
''. From 1989 to 1991 he was a cast member on ABC TV's pioneering live comedy show ''
The Big Gig
''The Big Gig'' was a popular Australian television sketch comedy music/variety series based on the British TV series '' Saturday Live''. It was produced and broadcast on ABC TV in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was produced and directed by ...
''. During the 1990s he appeared on TV shows including ''
Good News Week
''Good News Week'' is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and 11 February 2008 to 28 April 2012. The show's initial run aired on ABC until being bought by Network Ten in ...
'', ''Tonight Live'', ''
Mornings with Kerri-Anne
''Kerri-Anne'' was an Australian morning television program shown on the Nine Network, hosted by Kerri-Anne Kennerley. It was broadcast on weekdays at 9am for two hours. The final episode of the series was on 25 November 2011. It was replaced by ...
'', and ''Pizza''. He performed the critically acclaimed comedy monologue "Karma Comedian" on ABC's ''The Smallest Room in the House'', which detailed with great honesty many aspects of his life to that point. Between 1996-2021 he was a cast member of the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
current events comedy show ''Thank God It's Friday!
Ackroyd performed for many years as a
clown doctor
Clown Care, also known as hospital clowning, is a program in health care facilities involving visits from specially trained clowns. They are colloquially called "clown doctors" which is a trademarked name in several countries. These visits to hosp ...
at the
Sydney Children's Hospital
Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, is an Australian children's hospital located in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales.
On 1 July 2010 it became part of the newly formed Sydney Children's Hospitals Network (Randwick and Westmead) ...
as well as working as a humour therapist in aged care facilities. He currently teaches the healing the power of laughter and humour to people with PTSD, trauma issues, serious and chronic illnesses at the Quest For Life Centre in the Southern Highlands of NSW.
Ackroyd's one man shows have included ''Anthony Ackroyd in His Own Little World'', ''Ecstasy and How To Get It'', ''At Last The Truth About Everything'', and ''The Fruit of My Lions''.
He has written for TV and film including the sketch show ''
The Comedy Company
''The Comedy Company'' was an Australian comedy television series first aired from 16 February 1988 until about 11 November 1990 on Network Ten, Sunday night and was created and directed by cast member Ian McFadyen, and co directed and produced ...
'' and two years writing for an internet sitcom spin off for
Jim Carrey
James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...
's
Ace Ventura
Ace Ventura is a title character created by screenwriter Jack Bernstein. Ace was performed by Jim Carrey in the films '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'', released in 1994, and '' Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'', released in 1995, and was voiced by ...
character. He has workshopped material with writer-performers such as
Billy Crystal
William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
and
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...
. Ackroyd's articles have appeared in the ''Sydney Morning Herald'', ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'', ''Vogue'', ''Life Etc.'', ''Studio'', ''Eco Magazine'', ''Parenting'', ''Men's Stuff'', the ''Good Weekend'' and ''Good Taste''. He has held the position of senior writer at Granada ITV. For 3 years he was the director of the ''Bowral Of Laughs Comedy Festival'' held in Bowral, NSW.
Ackroyd's film work includes roles in the movies ''
Reckless Kelly
''Reckless Kelly'' is a 1993 Australian comedy film produced, written, directed and starring Yahoo Serious. It co-stars Melora Hardin, Alexei Sayle and Hugo Weaving. The story is a satirical take on a modern-day Ned Kelly, a famous Australian out ...
'', ''Gino'', and ''
WillFull
''WillFull'' is a 2002 Australian film directed by Rebel Penfold-Russell and starring C. Thomas Howell.Magic Mountain''.
Ackroyd became a frequent impersonator of former Australian Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...
, and hosted his own show ''Political Bent''.
At the 2014 by-election for the seat of
Griffith
Griffith may refer to:
People
* Griffith (name)
* Griffith (surname)
* Griffith (given name)
Places Antarctica
* Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency
* Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land
* Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land
* Griffith Rid ...
, brought about following the retirement of
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...
from the
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia.
The term of members of the ...
, Ackroyd contested the poll representing the
Bullet Train
Bullet train may refer to:
Rail
* Shinkansen high-speed trains of Japan, nicknamed for their appearance and speed
* Other high-speed trains of a similar appearance to Japanese trains
* An ongoing project to build high-speed rail in India.
Rail to ...
Wentworth Wentworth may refer to:
People
* Wentworth (surname)
* Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder
* S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator
* Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...
, representing the Arts Party.
Ackroyd is a senior tutor teaching the Advanced Diploma comedy and improvisation courses at Screenwise Acting School in Sydney. He presents his keynote and workshop Stress Less Laugh More to businesses, universities and at public events.
Ackroyd created his company The Laughter Advantage which delivers information, inspiration, courses and events that help people learn how to leverage the power of humour, laughter, fun, play and positive energy so they can lead lives full of happiness, energy and success.
Personal life
Ackroyd is the father of two children, Michael and Brodie, and lives with his partner, Anna, in , on the NSW Southern Highlands.
He is an Ambassador for the
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...