Tom Walker (comedian)
Tom Walker | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Education | École Philippe Gaulier |
Occupations |
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Spouse | Demi Lardner |
Website | tomwalkerisgood |
Twitch information | |
Channel | |
Years active | 2020–present |
Genre | Gaming |
Followers | 17.5 thousand |
Last updated: 30 September 2024 |
Tom Walker is an Australian comedian, podcaster, clown, mime, improvisor, and Twitch streamer. He is a winner of two Melbourne International Comedy Festival awards and a Sydney Comedy Festival Director's Choice award, and his comedy special Very Very was picked up by Amazon Prime Video.
Early life and education
Walker's improv awards include the 2007 Sydney School Theatresports Cup (Senior Division)[1][2] as well as the 2011 National Theatresports Championship and Cranston Cup Championship.[1] Walker trained in clowning at the École Philippe Gaulier in 2014 for two years,[3][4] after initially attending the school for a one-month summer intensive course. He was directly taught by Gaulier, who is known for his insults, though Walker has said he got off comparatively lightly on that front, stating he "like[d] the honesty of the negativity".[4]
Career
Walker won the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's Best Newcomer and Director's Choice awards in 2016 for his show Beep Boop[5][better source needed] and appeared in Whose Line Is It Anyway? Australia in 2016.[6] He participated in the comedy group Feeble Minds with Sam Campbell, Craig Anderson and Aaron Chen for the 2016 show Zanzoop.[7] His show Bee Boo, which featured less audience participation than Beep Boop,[8] was nominated for the 2017 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award, then known as the Barry Award;[9] he tattooed the words "Barry Award Winner 2017" on his arm in joking anticipation of the award.[10] Walker was long-listed for the 2021 AACTA Awards.[11] The Herald Sun called Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk, his 2018 show, an "unforgettable collection of physical and prop comedy marred by a few forgettable sequences."[12]
His 2019 show Very Very, directed by Zoë Coombs Marr, was picked up as an Amazon Prime Video special and released in May 2020.[13] With the show largely based around the concept of mime, Paste praised Walker's "impeccable timing" and "combination of sweat and talent".[14] Walker and Demi Lardner's 2019 show We Mustn't won the Sydney Comedy Festival's Directors Choice award in 2019.[15] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Walker said he and Lardner had "pretty much moved everything online", particularly using livestreaming platform Twitch, as well as making more sketch comedy.[16] They also co-host the podcast bigsofttitty.png.[17]
He created his 2022 show Javelin, about a hypothetical career in which he had spent 12 years as a professional javelin thrower; The Guardian said the show had "lots to enjoy, even if the central conceit [did] not soar."[18] Walker was selected as part of the 2023 lineup of International New Faces of Comedy by Just for Laughs.[19] His 2024 show My Treasures My Beautiful Treasures departed from his usual absurd and physical comedy and instead involved a simple stand-up presentation about communities of "pathetic men who aren’t hurting anyone" on the internet, such as groups of men with micropenises.[20] Livestreaming on Twitch, Walker embarked on a months-long play through of Grand Theft Auto IV with the Warp Eleven mod, in which the speed of the cars in the game were increased to "warp speed".[21][22] Aftermath called the video series "a slapstick spectacle for the ages."[23]
Personal life
Walker is married to Demi Lardner.[24][better source needed]
References
- ^ a b "Whose Line is it Anyway? Australia: Meet the cast". Foxtel. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ "Theatresports 2007 Schools Competition – Results". Impro Australia.
- ^ Boon, Maxim (29 January 2018). "Down To Clown: Demi Lardner, Tom Walker and Zoe Coombs-Marr On The Art Of Being Silly". The Music. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ a b Reich, Hannah (19 March 2024). "These Australian performers survived vicious insults from a French master clown. They'd do it again". ABC News. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Tom Walker". Creative Representation. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ "Cast announced for Whose Line Is It Anyway? Australia". MediaWeek. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ Bennett, Steve (12 April 2016). "Zanzoop: Feeble Minds". Chortle. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ Bennett, Steve (14 April 2017). "Tom Walker: Bee Boo : Reviews 2017". Chortle. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ "Melbourne International Comedy Festival announce nominations for 2017 Barry Award". Beat. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ Bennett, Steve (18 April 2017). "Tat's tempting fate... : Punching Up 2017". Chortle. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ "Best Short Form/Online Entertainment - Contenders". AACTA TV. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- ^ Cahill, Mikey (16 April 2018). "Comedy Festival 2018: Tom Walker returns with his unhinged ways in Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk". Herald Sun. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ Bennett, Steve (9 March 2020). "Amazon reveals its Australian stand-up release schedule". Chortle. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ Martin, Clare (11 May 2020). "Tom Walker Proves that Mimes Can Be Very Very Funny on His New Amazon Special". Paste. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ Wild, Stephi (19 May 2019). "Sydney Comedy Festival Announces 2019 Award Winners". Broadway World. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ Blake, Elissa (16 September 2020). "'I go out to the beach to dance': Australian artists contemplate their lives – and careers – post Covid". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ "An interview with Demi Lardner". Pelican. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ Logan, Brian (4 September 2022). "Tom Walker: Javelin review – lots to enjoy, even if the central conceit does not soar". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ "Just for Laughs Reveals the List of the Esteemed 2023 New Faces". Just For Laughs. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ Bennett, Steve (10 April 2024). "Tom Walker: My Treasures My Beautiful Treasures". Chortle. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ Stanton, Rich (8 August 2024). "I've been watching this dude play Grand Theft Auto 4 with the traffic at 9999999 'warp speed' and it's both hilarious and some sort of surrealist masterpiece". PC Gamer. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ Koselke, Anna (15 August 2024). "GTA 4 fan taking on unwise challenge of beating the game with traffic amped up to "warp speed" explains why: "If life is suffering, why not choose more suffering - and more life?"". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ Grayson, Nathan (14 August 2024). "Streamer Playing Through GTA IV With Traffic Speed At Max: 'If Life Is Suffering, Why Not Choose More Suffering – And More Life' - Aftermath". Aftermath. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ "Demi Lardner". Century Artists. Retrieved 28 October 2024.