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Lawrence Leung | |
|---|---|
 Leung speaking at theAustralian Skeptics National Convention 2017 | |
| Born | Melbourne, Australia |
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
| Occupation(s) | Comedian, writer, director, actor |
| Known for | Maximum Choppage Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure Lawrence Leung's Unbelievable |
| Website | lawrenceleung |
Lawrence Leung is an Australian comedian, writer, director and actor fromMelbourne. He is best known for his television seriesLawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure based his one-man shows on stories about his obsessions, such asbreakdancing, ghosts, theRubik's Cube, and his family.
Leung has performed in shows in London'sWest End and at theEdinburgh Fringe festival, as well as having toured Australia extensively. In 2001, his showSucker won Best Solo Show at theMelbourne Fringe Festival,[1] and in 2007, his showLawrence Leung Learns to Breakdance won the Age Critic's Award for best Australian show at theMelbourne International Comedy Festival[2] and the Best Local (Australian) Show at the 2008 Sydney Comedy Festival.[3] His other shows includedSkeptic,[4]The Marvellous Misadventures of Puzzle Boy[5] andLawrence Leung Wants A Jetpack.[6] He has also written pranks for the satirical comedy TV showThe Chaser's War on Everything.[7]
Leung has performed frequently withAndrew McClelland; the pair have been friends since school and started in comedy together in an improvised comedy group called the Improbables,[8] which also featured other young Melbourne comedians including Nick Caddaye (from sketch troupe Anarchist Guild Social Committee), Adam McKenzie (from comedy trio The Hounds) and UK-based comicYianni Agisilaou. Their collaborations includeThe Paradoxical Adventures of Lawrence Leung and Andrew McClelland: Time Ninjas in 2009,[9] which both parodied their usual comedy styles and explored their youth together.Time Ninjas won the Jury Award at the 2009 Sydney Comedy Festival.[10]
Leung was the writer and star ofLawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure, which aired onABC1 andABC2 in 2009. The show revolves around Leung attempting to re-live childhood ambitions and is described as "an imaginative documentary/comedy/adventure series where the innocence of childhood ambition clashes with the realities of adulthood, resulting in unexpected consequences that are hair-raising, heart-warming and hilarious."[11] In April 2009, he released a soundtrackEP from the show calledChoose Your Own Adventure: Music from the ABC TV Series, consisting of six tracks, mostly from the "Be a Rock Star" and "Find Love" episodes. The 2-disc complete series DVD ofLawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure was released on 7 May 2009.[12] Extras include deleted scenes, music videos and a 57min tutorial taught by Leung entitled "How To Solve The Rubik's Cube".
Leung returned to ABC1 in 2011 with a new six-part documentary series titledLawrence Leung's Unbelievable[13] which investigated supernatural phenomena such as aliens, psychic powers, magic, and ghosts – and why some people feel the need to believe in these things.
Maximum Choppage is an Australian television comedy series starring Lawrence Leung. The six-part series premiered in 2015 on ABC2. It is directed by Craig Melville and written by Leung, Duncan Sarkies and Josh Mapleston. It is produced by Julie Eckersley, Sophie Miller and Linda Micsko with executive producers Tony Ayres and Debbie Lee. The series is based on the film work of Timothy Ly which was developed into the TV series by Matchbox Pictures. Lawrence Leung stars as Simon Chan who has returned to his hometown of Cabramatta. Whilst everyone thinks he was studying at a legendary martial arts school in Beijing, the truth is he was at Marshall's Art School, in Melbourne. Skilful with a paintbrush but clueless in combat, Simon is the exact opposite of an action hero. However, due to his mother's boasting, everyone in Cabramatta thinks he is a kung fu master and the new saviour of their town.[14]
Leung has been a regular guest on breakfast radio (3RRR Breakfasters) and appeared on Tony Martin & Ed Kavalee'sGet This (3MMM) andLoose Ends (BBC).
Leung performed a guest stand-up set onRMITV'sThe Loft Live Episode 12 of Season 8 13 April 2000 broadcast onChannel 31 Melbourne.
He also co-hosted the Sunday morning breakfast show on Melbourne'sFox FM in 2005 and 2006 with Courteney Hocking and Andrew McClelland.
Leung wrote and presented regular off-beat mini-documentaries for Steve "The Sandman" Abbott's variety showIn Siberia Tonight (SBS TV, 2004).
He was a writer of pranks for two seasons of ABC TV'sThe Chaser's War On Everything and has appeared on a variety of television shows includingThe Today Show (Nine Network),Stand Up Australia (The Comedy Channel),The Edinburgh Show (BBC2),Open House (RTÉ).
On 4 April 2009, Leung was guest programmer onABC1's popular and long running overnight music video showRage.[15]
On 26 May 2009, Leung appeared as a guest on Australian game showTalkin' 'Bout Your Generation.
On 7 April 2013 Leung appeared on Australian television seriesOffspring as Dr. Elvis Kwan.
In 2017, Leung recorded Episode 1 of Series 2 ofABC KidsPlay School Story Time, readingLynley Dodd's "Hairy Maclary and Zachary Quack".[16]
Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure was nominated for a 2009AFI Award in the category of Best Television Comedy.
Leung has a Star Wars character named after him (Lar Le'ung, a Jedi Master) in the 2009 Star Wars comic book seriesStar Wars: Invasion, written byTom Taylor and illustrated byColin Wilson.[17]
He wonGQ Australia's Man of the Year 2009,[18] in the category of Comedic Talent of the Year.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Long Lunch | Ingnatius | |
| 2005 | Webster Say | Mam with Dog | Short film |
| 2006 | I Could Be Anybody | Felix | Short film |
| 2013 | Zero to Hero | Hero | Short film |
| 2013 | Nerds in Love | Emilio | Short film |
| 2015 | Sucker | The Real Lawrence Leung | |
| 2017 | Mother, Child | Alex | Short film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | House Husbands | Jasper | 2 episodes |
| 2013–17 | Offspring | Dr. Elvis Kwan | 32 episodes |
| 2015 | Maximum Choppage | Simon Chan | 6 episodes |
| 2017 | Newton's Law | Dr. Jarrod Renfree | Episode: "The Uncertainty Principle" |
| 2017 | Top of the Lake | Nate | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | St Francis | Dr. Elvis Kwan | Episode: "Webisode 4" |
| 2018; 2021 | Why Are You Like This | Daniel | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | My Life Is Murder | Ken | Episode: "Mirror Mirror" |