19 Facts About Shaun Micallef

Shaun Patrick Micallef is an Australian comedian, actor, writer and television presenter.

Shaun Micallef was the host of the satirical news comedy series Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell on the ABC.

Shaun Micallef is the author of several books: Smithereens, Preincarnate, The President's Desk, Tales from a Tall Forest, The Uncollected Plays of Shaun Micallef, Mad as Hell and Back, Happily Ever Afterwards and Tripping Over Myself, a memoir.

Shaun Micallef was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and is of Maltese and Irish descent.

Shaun Micallef's father worked for a company that sold parts for Volvos and his mother was employed at the Adelaide Bank.

Shaun Micallef studied law at the University of Adelaide, where he was frequently involved in comedy revues, often involving Francis Greenslade and Gary McCaffrie, with whom he continues to work.

In 1972, having three younger sisters taking ballet classes, ten-year-old Shaun Micallef was often asked to help out when a dance routine required a boy.

Shaun Micallef was a practising solicitor for ten years in the field of insurance law before making the decision to move to Melbourne and pursue a full-time career in comedy in 1993.

Shaun Micallef relates the story that, while working as a solicitor, he talked so much about making a career change and becoming a comedian that his wife Leandra gave him an ultimatum: she marked a date on a calendar and told him to quit his job and become a comedian by that date or never talk about it again.

In 1994, Shaun Micallef became a full-time cast member of Full Frontal, where he became well known for characters such as Milo Kerrigan, Nobby Doldrums and a send-up of Italian male model Fabio.

Shaun Micallef recalls that the show was a good introduction to television comedy because, with an ensemble cast, its success did not hinge on his performance and he had more freedom to make and learn from mistakes.

Shaun Micallef has had acting roles in the television series SeaChange, Through My Eyes and Offspring as well as supporting roles in the films Bad Eggs, The Honourable Wally Norman, The Extra, Aquamarine and The King.

In 2007, along with partners McCaffrie and Michael Ward, Shaun Micallef developed the satirical comedy program Newstopia, which he hosted.

Also that year, Shaun Micallef signed on to voice the artificially intelligent robot RE3F in the Australian feature length science fiction film Arrowhead.

In September 2005, Micallef began hosting the breakfast show "Shaun, Beverley and Denise" on Melbourne radio station Vega 91.5 FM with comedian Denise Scott and television presenter Beverley O'Connor.

Shaun Micallef released a book, Smithereens, which was published in 2004 and contains a collection of prose, poetry and plays.

Shaun Micallef describes it as a collection of "all sorts of bits and pieces I have written".

In October 2014, Shaun Micallef released his third book, The President's Desk: An Alt-History of the United States; a semi-fictitious history, told from the perspective of the Resolute desk.

Shaun Micallef published an autobiography in 2022, Tripping Over Myself, A Memoir of a Life in Comedy.