Joshua Lawson (born 22 July 1981) is an Australian actor and filmmaker best known for his role as Doug Gugghenheim in ''

House of Lies ''House of Lies'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Matthew Carnahan. The show, which premiered on Showtime on January 8, 2012, is based on the book ''House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell ...

'', Tate in '' Superstore'' and as

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

in the 2021 film ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...

''.

Early life

Lawson was born and raised in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, and attended St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace. He graduated from the

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

in 2001. He also spent one year studying improvisation techniques in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre op ...

The Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improvisational theater techniques ...

ACME Comedy Theatre The ACME Comedy Theatre is an American sketch comedy and improvisational theater located near Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, on La Brea near Wilshire's "Miracle Mile".Bronstad, Amanda (2002)Laughing matter: M.D. Sweeney has turned a bug f ...

and I.O. West. His older brother is actor Ben Lawson. In 2003 Lawson was awarded a Mike Walsh Fellowship.

Career

Television

Lawson has had guest-starring roles in such popular Australian television programs as ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted the ever ...

'' and ''

Home & Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a tri ...

'', and is known for his appearances on the improv comedy program ''

Thank God You're Here ''Thank God You're Here'' is an Australian television improvised comedy program created by Working Dog Productions, which premiered on Network Ten on 5 April 2006, and aired for the first three seasons and on Seven for the fourth season. Each ...

'' and on the Australian drama ''

Sea Patrol ''Sea Patrol'' is an Australian television drama that ran from 2007 to 2011, set on board HMAS ''Hammersley'', a fictional patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The series focused on the ship and the lives of its crew members. Despi ...

'' and comedy '' The Librarians''. He also had a guest role in the comedy '' Wilfred'' and starred in several television commercials, including advertisements for

Coca-Cola Cherry Coca-Cola Cherry (originally marketed and stil commonly referred to as Cherry Coke) is a cherry-flavored version of Coca-Cola. It is produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers in the United States and some international m ...

and Gold Class cinemas. He portrayed Tate Staskiewicz, the pharmacist in the series' titular setting, on the sitcom '' Superstore'' for three seasons. Lawson also hosted ''

Wipeout Australia ''Wipeout'', presented on air as ''Wipeout Australia'', is an Australian game show, which is based on the U.S. game show of the same name. The game show premiered on the Nine Network on Tuesday 3 February 2009 at 7:30 pm for an initial ...

'' with

James Brayshaw James Antony Brayshaw (born 11 May 1967) is an Australian media personality and retired cricketer working in television for the Seven Network and radio for Triple M. For Seven Sport, he hosts and calls Test cricket during summer and Australian F ...

. Lawson played Ben in the American pilot ''

Spaced ''Spaced'' is a British television sitcom created, written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright, about the (comedic and sometimes farcical and action-packed) misadventures of Daisy Steiner and Tim Bi ...

'' and Shawn on ''

Romantically Challenged ''Romantically Challenged'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from April 19, 2010, to May 17, 2010. The series is set in Pittsburgh and was created by Ricky Blitt, who is also the show's head writer. It stars Alyssa Milano. ...

'' for

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 ...

. Since its inception in 2012, he has played management consultant Doug Guggenheim on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's ''

''. In 2017 he played the title role in '' Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story''.

Film

In 2006, Lawson made his feature film debut in ''

BoyTown ''BoyTown'' is a 2006 Australian comedy film, directed by Kevin Carlin and starring an ensemble cast of prominent Australian comedians, including Glenn Robbins, Mick Molloy, Bob Franklin, Wayne Hope and Gary Eck. It was filmed in Melbourne, Vi ...

''. He had the starring role in the 2012 Australian comedy film ''

Any Questions for Ben? ''Any Questions for Ben?'' is a 2012 Australian comedy film created by Working Dog Productions, directed by Rob Sitch. It stars Josh Lawson, Rachael Taylor, Felicity Ward, Daniel Henshall, and Christian Clark. It was written by Santo Cilauro ...

'', created by

Working Dog Productions Working Dog Productions (originally Frontline Television Productions Pty. Ltd.) is a film and television production company based in Melbourne, Australia. It was formed in 1993 by actors Santo Cilauro, Rob Sitch, Jane Kennedy, Tom Gleisner, ...

. He also appeared alongside

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...

and

Zach Galifianakis Zachary Knight Galifianakis (born October 1, 1969) is an American actor and comedian. He appeared in ''Comedy Central Presents'' special and presented his show ''Late World with Zach'' on VH1. Galifianakis has starred in films including ''Th ...

in the 2010 comedy film '' The Campaign'', as well as '' Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues'' and '' Crave''. His feature directing debut '' The Little Death'' which he also wrote and starred in, was released in 2014. Lawson was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under various names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, "Best Short Subject, One- ...

in 2018 for ''

The Eleven O'Clock ''The Eleven O'Clock'' is a 2016 Australian live-action short film directed by Derin Seale. It was inspired by a sketch from the television series ''A Bit of Fry and Laurie''. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film ...

'', a short film he wrote and starred in. In 2018, Lawson portrayed "Dave Johnson" in the comedy pilot for the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

series ''Here Comes the Neighborhood'' (later '' The Neighborhood''), but was replaced by actor

Max Greenfield Max Greenfield (born September 4, 1979) is an American actor. He appeared in recurring roles in ''Veronica Mars'' and ''Ugly Betty''. He co-starred as Schmidt in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'', for which he received nominations at the Primetime Em ...

before the series was picked up by the network. In August 2019, Lawson was cast in the ''Mortal Kombat'' reboot as

Other work

During 2006 and 2007, Lawson was a regular guest co-host on the Australian radio comedy show ''

Get This ''Get This'' was an Australian radio comedy Radio programming, show which aired on Triple M and was hosted by Tony Martin (comedian), Tony Martin and Ed Kavalee, with contributions from panel operator, Richard Marsland. A different guest co-hos ...

'' which aired on

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to th ...

. In 2013, he voiced the role of Bob in the Cartoon Hangover short film ''Rocket Dog''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Josh 1981 births 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors Australian expatriate male actors in the United States Australian male child actors Australian male comedians Australian male film actors Australian male soap opera actors Living people Male actors from Brisbane National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni People educated at St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace