Samuel George Campbell (born September 19, 1991)[2][3] is an Australian stand-up comedian and actor. He won the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award in 2018 and the main prize at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in 2022.
| Sam Campbell | |
|---|---|
 Campbell wearing a motion capture suit, 2017 | |
| Born | September 19, 1991[1] Atherton Tableland, Queensland, Australia |
| Medium |
|
| Alma mater | Queensland University of Technology (BFA) |
| Genres | Surrealism, absurdism, observational |
Career edit
Campbell performs stand-up comedy live as well as creating comedy web shows. He made a short series that was broadcast on Comedy Central Australia and guested on ABC TV's The Checkout.[1] In 2015 Campbell won Best Newcomer, then in 2018 the Most Outstanding Show award, at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.[4]
Campbell was the winner of the main prize at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards at the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe with his show simply entitled Comedy Show.[5] It was praised by the judges for its originality, surrealism and unexpected jokes.[6] The show was also well received by The Times who described "a nutball, but he controls his loopiness with deceptive precision” and also said that the show was "exhausting, exhilarating and a touch of genius".[7] Brian Logan in The Guardian said "Campbell's imagination produces wonderfully adhesive images... there is now and then a core of robust observational comedy beneath Campbell's loopiness... None of it has anything to do with anything: it's the incongruity, taken to uncommon lengths, that's funny".[8] Logan highlighted the fact that Campbell's award-winning show was only performed after midnight and only in the second half of the Edinburgh Fringe which displays an attitude which "signals nonmainstream".[9] The Daily Telegraph review mentioned "one-liners and absurdist whorls of madcap" delivered "with a casual, just-passing-the-time insouciance" that means the "amusement motors along so quickly, with such handbrake-turns of tone and for-the-hell-of-it bouts of recircling emphasis, it attains a runaway uncontrollable hilarity".[10]
Campbell is part of the YouTube collective Skills In Time, with comedians Greg Larsen and Henry Stone.[11]
In February 2023, Campbell was nominated at the UK National Comedy Awards in the Best Stand-up category for his show Comedy Show.[12]
In June 2023, Campbell was confirmed as a contestant on the sixteenth series of long-running Channel 4 comedy gameshow Taskmaster.[13] Campbell won the series.[14]
In October 2023, Campbell announced his 2024 tour in the UK named Wobservations.[15]
In February 2024, Campbell was nominated in the Best TV Comic category and Best Breakthrough Act category at the Chortle Awards.[16] He won in the Best Breakthrough Act category and was voted Comedian's Comedian by his peers.[17]
In March 2024, British Comedy Guide revealed Campbell is piloting a Channel 4 series called Make That Movie!, in which he will create films based on the dreams of strangers.[18]
Since 2024, Campbell has co-hosted the Lucy & Sam's Perfect Brains podcast with Lucy Beaumont.[19]
Personal life edit
Campbell told Taskmaster: The People's Podcast that he was born in the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland, Australia;[20] on the Trusty Hogs podcast with Catherine Bohart and Helen Bauer, he mentioned the town of Lake Eacham, Queensland.[21] On the Welcome to Meet You podcast, Campbell mentioned growing up around the regions of Yungaburra and Atherton. He went to high school in Bundaberg.[22] He was a small child growing up, and his parents considered placing him under growth hormone therapy.[23]
Campbell is from Queensland; he lived in Brisbane from the ages of 17 to 21,[21] and in 2011 he was a Queensland finalist for the national Raw Comedy competition.[24] By 2015 he had relocated to Sydney.[25] He later moved to the United Kingdom, having acquired a Global Talent visa in 2022.[23]
In his 2018 MICF show "The Trough", Campbell joked that although he has never been tested, he might be autistic.[26]
On the British panel show Would I Lie To You?, Campbell stated he was a body double for an Australian headlice comb advert called 'Nitbusters' as a child.[27]
On the Off Menu podcast with James Acaster and Ed Gamble, Campbell stated he has been vegetarian for 3 years.[28] He also said that he previously lived with fellow comedian Mark Silcox.
Filmography edit
Film edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Red Christmas | Cletus | Horror film |
| 2018 | Working Out - Donny Benet | Self | Music Video |
| 2023 | Eggerson Keaveney[29] | Eggerson Keaveney | Music video, also writer |
| The 2IC | Candidate | Short film |
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Small Town Hackers | Devon Gout | Series |
| 2018 | The Trough | Self | Stand-up special |
| 2019 | Stath Lets Flats | Nile | Series 2, episode 3 |
| The Paddock | Self | Online comedy show | |
| Get Real Dude - Comedy Blaps | Self | Online comedy sketch | |
| 2021 | Pls Like | Lesley | Series 3 |
| The Hundred with Andy Lee | Self | Series 1 | |
| 2021–2022 | Bloods | Darrell | Series |
| 2022 | Companion | Brother Samuel | Stand-up Special |
| Don't Hug Me I'm Scared | Writer / ID Card / Green Apple | 2 episodes | |
| Red Flag | Writer | Sketch series | |
| 2023 | 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown | Self | Series 24, episode 2 |
| Never Mind the Buzzcocks | Self | Series 31, episode 3 | |
| Taskmaster | Self | Series 16 | |
| Guessable?[30] | Self | Series 4, episode 9 | |
| 2024 | Would I Lie to You?[31] | Self | Series 17, episode 9 |
References edit
- ^ a b "Sam Campbell wins Melbourne comedy festival's prestigious Barry Award". theage.com.
- ^ Hands Off Panky, Please! | Taskmaster: The People's Podcast, 9 June 2023, retrieved 18 February 2024
- ^ Ep110. SAM CAMPBELL / Plato, Purses & Palm Readings, retrieved 18 February 2024
- ^ "Sam Campbell wins Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Award for best show". Chortle.
- ^ "Edinburgh festival's funniest performers for 2022 are revealed". The Guardian.
- ^ "Australian comic wins Edinburgh comedy award". BBC.
- ^ "Sam Campbell at Edinburgh festival review — exhausting, exhilarating and a touch of genius". The Times.
- ^ "Sam Campbell review – loopiness underpinned by sharp observations". The Guardian.
- ^ "Sam Campbell once joked about killing me – but the Aussie comedian's Edinburgh win is well-deserved". The Guardian.
- ^ "Edinburgh Fringe comedy reviews: the best shows of 2022, from Sam Campbell to Lara Ricote". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "Skills In Time - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ "Joe Lycett and Mo Gilligan to receive National Comedy Awards". Chortle.
- ^ Vickers-Green, Laura (1 June 2023). "Taskmaster Series 16 Line-Up Confirmed (And It's Another Good One)". Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- ^ "Taskmaster season 16 winner revealed after grand final". Radio Times. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
- ^ "Home | Sam Campbell Tour 2024". Sam Campbell Tour 20. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ "Final Chortle Award nominees revealed". Chortle. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ Bennett, Steve. "Taskmaster, Sam Campbell and Kiri Pritchard-McLean scoop double Chortle Awards : News 2024 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ Richardson, Jay (26 March 2024). "Sam Campbell pilots Channel 4 guerilla film series 'Make That Movie!'". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
- ^ Bennett, Steve. "Sam Campbell and Lucy Beaumont's podcast is finally here : Other news 2024 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ Hands Off Panky, Please! | Taskmaster: The People's Podcast, 9 June 2023, retrieved 14 August 2023
- ^ a b Trusty Hogs (30 November 2023). "Ep110. SAM CAMPBELL / Plato, Purses & Palm Readings". YouTube.
- ^ WTF w Sam Campbell, retrieved 6 January 2024
- ^ a b Logan, Brian (25 October 2022). "'My parents wanted to give me horse hormones' – Sam Campbell, comedy's new champion". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ Bennett, Steve. "Raw Comedy National Final 2011 : Reviews 2012 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ Bennett, Steve. "Sam Campbell: Cambo's On Top : Reviews 2015 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ Bennett, Steve. "MICF – Sam Campbell: The Trough : Reviews 2018 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
- ^ "BBC One - Would I Lie to You?, Series 17, Episode 9". BBC. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ "Off Menu podcast with James Acaster and Ed Gamble - Episode 229". 2 March 2024.
- ^ "Eggerson Keaveney // Jazz Emu" YouTube
- ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Guessable? Series 4, Episode 9 - Uncle Cool". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Would I Lie To You? Series 17, Episode 9". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 23 February 2024.