Andrew Hansen

Hansen was School Captain of The Hills Grammar School in Kenthurst, New South Wales, and is a graduate of the University of Sydney, with honours in Australian literature[4] and Australian history.[5]

In 1996, he appeared as a subject in Simon Target's documentary Uni about three students studying at the University of Sydney (Hansen later satirised Target in CNNNN, where he played the network's British correspondent who was also called Simon Target). Soon-to-be fellow Chaser member Charles Firth was one of the other two students featured, with Craig Reucassel and Chas Licciardello also making occasional background appearances.[6] During the documentary it was revealed that Hansen suffered from clinical depression while attending the university.[7]

Hansen composed the music for and starred in The Blow Parade, a scripted radio comedy series he made with Chris Taylor.[13] It premiered on triple j on 28 April 2010. The series was released on CD and through the iTunes Store with bonus tracks.[14] This album won the 2010 ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release.[15]

Hansen co-presented Radio Chaser, a daily comedy show on Triple M, throughout 2017–19. The show spawned an album of 100 sketches, released in 2020.[16]

He currently co-presents the comedy podcast The Chaser Report, produced by NOVA Entertainment.[17]

Hansen has occasionally hosted programs on ABC Radio Melbourne, including the summer and Easter seasons of its Breakfast show in 2019–20.[18]

Hansen co-wrote and appeared in the live show Cirque du Chaser, which toured Australia in 2005.

Hansen composed and performed the music for the Sydney Theatre Company's 2007 musical comedy Dead Caesar, which was written by Chaser colleague Chris Taylor. He also played the roles of Marc Antony and Lucius.[19] The Eulogy Song was originally written for and performed during this play.

In 2008, Hansen toured Australia with The Chaser's second stage show, The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour.[20]

In October 2009, Hansen hosted The Goodies: Before, During and After, a live show by British comedy trio The Goodies at Sydney's Riverside Theatre (Parramatta) and at the World's Funniest Island comedy festival.[21] The show involved Hansen interviewing Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden, as well as performing a Goodies song with them.

In 2011, Hansen joined various combinations of The Chaser team's members for a series of live shows in Sydney entitled The Chaser's Empty Vessel.[22]

In 2014, Hansen and Chris Taylor toured Australia with a revue show of new songs and sketches entitled One Man Show.[23] In 2015, they toured In Conversation with Lionel Corn, a parody of writers festival sessions.[24]

In 2017, Hansen co-starred in a production of the play Neville's Island by Tim Firth at Sydney's Ensemble Theatre, playing 'Roy'.

In 2020, Hansen began touring Solo Show, a set of sketches and songs about people going it alone, performed on guitar, piano and iPad.[25] He presented the show in Adelaide and Brisbane before postponing the remaining dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hansen has appeared in multiple versions of the live quiz show, Good Game Live at the EB Games Expo.[26]

Hansen was the guitarist and one of the vocalists for independent Sydney band The Fantastic Leslie. The Fantastic Leslie was composed of Cameron Bruce, Tom Gleeson, James Fletcher and Hansen. In July 1999 the band released their 6-track EP A Tiny Mark which was distributed through MGM Distribution.[27][28] He was also a member of independent alternative band Mending.[29]

Hansen co-wrote the short film Garbage Man with Charles Firth and British comedian Henry Naylor. It was a Tropfest finalist in 2005 and a prizewinner at Germany's Ohne Kohle festival.[30] Hansen has also been known to feature on the musical comedy circuit, including a recorded performance of one of his more famous songs, 'I Wish I Was A Scottish Stand-Up Comedian', for the Laugh-A-Poolooza 2006 DVD release.

Hansen has had writer/performer contributions to the Nine Network's Comedy Inc. and the ABC's My Favourite Album. He has performed occasional voice-overs for ABC programs including First Tuesday Book Club[31] and Media Watch. He composed the music for Nickelodeon's Sarvo and Napman, and songs for the Sesame Street character Ollie.[32] Hansen appeared and presented at the 2007 MTV Australia Awards and the 2007 and 2011 ARIA Music Awards. In 2007, he made a guest appearance on Nine's The Nation.[33] In 2008, he appeared in a sketch on SBS's Newstopia, as well as an episode of the Australian gaming TV show Good Game on the ABC, challenging the hosts to a 'Roffle Cup'.[34] He also made an appearance as a guest host on the program in 2010, filling in for host Steven O'Donnell,[35] again in 2011 filling in for host Stephanie Bendixsen and 2012 filling in for O'Donnell. He also made an appearance as a special guest in Good Game 10th year birthday special in 2016.[36] In 2009, he made guest appearances on Network Ten's Rove and Good News Week.[37] He appeared again on Good News Week in 2010, this time with Chris Taylor, in the guise of characters from their radio show The Blow Parade.[38] The same year, he was a guest on Top Gear Australia, where he drove deliberately slowly around the celebrity track for humorous effect. With Chris Taylor, he co-hosted the Australian Commercial Radio Awards four times (2016-2019). In 2020 he was a guest on Whovians.

Hansen was the host of Strictly Speaking, a speechmaking competition series, which aired on ABC1 in 2010.[39]

He was a producer and regular panellist on the comedy show The Unbelievable Truth, a TV version of the BBC Radio 4 program of the same name. It aired on Australia's Seven Network in 2012.

He played the character 'Dex' in the 3D movie Sanctum, produced by Andrew Wight and released in 2011.

Hansen played 'Mr Mudwasp' and the Australian version of 'Alex the Stinkbug' in the Netflix animated series Beat Bugs.

Hansen was a guest star in the Australian science fiction audio drama Night Terrace, playing the role of Horatio Gray in the second season, following a brief cameo appearance in the first season. Originally available only as a digital download, the series was later broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra as part of their "7th Dimension" programme.[40]

Hansen has worked with Benjamin Maio Mackay twice, once on stage in 2016's Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Live and again in 2017 as a supporting role in the audio drama adaptation of The Phoenix Files.[41]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Andrew Hansen.

• Andrew Hansen on Twitter
• Andrew Hansen at IMDb
• Andrew Hansen on Last.fm