Michael Balk

Michael grew up in the Clarence Valley in Northern Rivers New South Wales.[3] He attended primary and secondary school in Grafton[4] before moving to Brisbane to study Arts/Law at Queensland University of Technology.[5]

Balk is the nephew of acclaimed filmmaker Philip Hearnshaw,[6] and grandson of Australian Liberal Politician Eric Hearnshaw.[7]

Balk is best known for his original television roles, notably scrapboy in dirtgirlworld[8][9] & Get Grubby TV,[10] Glen Goosebump in SMASHHDOWN!,[11] and various characters on BrainBuzz.[12]

Michael appears in musicals,[13] theatre productions[14] and television commercials.[15][16]

Between 2006 and 2010 Michael was lead presenter and producer at Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo.[17]

Michael is the president[18] of the Australian charity the Actors & Entertainers Benevolent Fund of Queensland.[19] He served as president of Actors Equity Queensland for many years and is a board director for the MEAA.[20]

Michael was nominated for Best Emerging Artist at the Matilda Awards in 2005 and 2006.[21]

In 2010 dirtgirlworld was nominated for a Logie Award in the Outstanding Children's Program category.[22] The creators of the show dedicated the nomination to key creatives on the team citing Michael Balk among them.[23]

The stars of dirtgirlworld were recognized with an AFI Award in Melbourne, Australia in 2010.[24]

dirtgirlworld also received nominations for a BAFTA[25] and Prix Jeunesse Award[26] in 2010, and for Outstanding Preschool Programme at the 2011 JAPAN prize[27] in Tokyo.

In 2013, Balk and the team from the ABC went on to win the International Digital Emmy Award in Cannes for their work on dirtgirlworld.[28]

Balk was voted in the Clarence Valley's Most Influential People of 2019.[29]

• Michael Balk at IMDb
• Michael Balk Official Website