Stephen Hall

Stephen Hall (born 17 May 1969) is an Australian actor, writer and producer.

Career Television Hall's career in television includes acting, writing and production duties. He was the host of Under Melbourne Tonight, a weekly live variety hour television program produced by RMITV that broadcast on C31 Melbourne from 1993 to 1998. He has appeared in the long-running television series Neighbours, and in 2008 he performed the role of Warren in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television comedy series The Hollowmen

He has also appeared in telemovies, including The King (2007), playing the role of Bert Newton.

As a producer, he worked on the Australian version of the game show Deal or No Deal.

As a TV writer he has worked on many Australian comedy and light entertainment TV productions, such as BackBerner, Big Bite, Full Frontal, and Spicks and Specks. He was a writer on the third series of the weekly satirical comedy programme Newstopia, broadcast on SBS in 2008. From 2009 to 2012, Hall served as head writer on the comedy game show Talkin' 'bout Your Generation. In 2013, he wrote for ABC-TV's weekly satirical comedy show Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell, and Adam Hills Tonight series 2, of which he was also the Studio Producer.

As of 2014, Hall is a regular cast member on Shaun Micallef's Mad As Hell, with popular characters including the political spokesman Darius Horsham.

Film Hall's movie career includes appearances in Romper Stomper, The Wog Boy, Now Add Honey, That's Not My Dog! and Fraud Festival.

Theatre Hall starred in the original Australian professional production of Monty Python's Spamalot in 2007, playing the roles of Lancelot, The French Taunter, Tim The Enchanter and The Head Knight of "Ni".

In 2011, Hall co-wrote (with Michael Ward) the comedy stage show Bond-A-Rama! Every James Bond Film Live On Stage, in which he played the roles of Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan. The show sold out, prompting a second season in 2012.

In 2013, Hall wrote, produced and performed in the one man stage show Raiders of the Temple of Doom's Last Crusade; One Man Performs Three Indiana Jones Movies in One Hour, for the Melbourne Fringe Festival. The show was then revived for a successful season in the 2014 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

In March 2016, John Cleese cast Hall as Basil Fawlty in Cleese's own stage adaptation of his TV series Fawlty Towers. Fawlty Towers Live opened in Sydney at the Roslyn Packer Theatre in August 2016, and toured Australia, running for 157 performances before finishing in Brisbane on 22 January 2017. The show received favourable reviews in each city it played in.

In 2023, Hall wrote, produced and performed in the one man stage show LETTERS FROM MY HEROES... if they'd actually bothered to write back, for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The show was then revived for a successful tour of regional Victoria in June and July of 2024.

Cartoon voice actor Hall is an experienced voice actor for animation, playing characters in Cartoon Network's Monster Beach and Exchange Student Zero, along with roles in Kitty Is Not a Cat, Get Ace and Pacific Heat... as seen in this showreel.

Author

In September 2015, Hall released his first eBook How To Win Game Shows, which is a 197-page compilation of winning tips, hints and techniques plus interviews with game show champions, hosts, producers and question writers.

From May 2019 to May 2020, Hall wrote the first draft of his science fiction adventure novel Symphony Under Siege, releasing a new chapter online each week, at www.TheStephenHall.com/novel-chapters. During its writing, he also kept a weekly video diary chronicling the experiment. Symphony Under Siege is now available as a paperback on Amazon, as an audiobook on Audible and as an eBook on a number of platforms.

In September 2022, he released his third book 50 Things To Be Seriously Grateful For Today* *and 50 not-so-serious things to illustrate them , which he describes as "a very sincere, very silly non-fiction book... that also happens to be chock full of fiction".

Radio From 1989 - 1993, Hall was one of the members of the late night (/ very early morning) comedy show The Marta Thripp Druidic Building Society Show TSP (in colour), on the Melbourne community radio station 3RRR.

In 2015, he guest starred in the second series of Australian science fiction audio drama Night Terrace, playing the dual roles of Francisco de Cuellar and Sir Francis Drake in the episode "The Retirement of Horatio Gray". Originally available only as a digital download, the series was later broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra as part of their "7th Dimension" programme.

Quiz show champion In August 2005, Hall completed seven nights on the quiz show Temptation, becoming the program's second Grand Champion, and the second largest quiz or game show winner in Australian television history (at that time), winning $672,357 in cash and prizes. The following year, he won the title of "Australia's Brainiest Quiz Master" on the Australian TV program of the same name and donating $20,000 to RSPCA, and appeared as part of The Brains Trust on The Einstein Factor.

Since 2013, he has run the blog www.HowToWinGameShows.com, which aims to provide tips and hints for winning game shows.

Filmography

Television Year Title Role Notes 1988 All the Way Richard Dodds TV series 1989 The Flying Doctors Constable Pat Chandler TV series 1990 Neighbours Gary "Boof" Head TV series 1993 RFDS Keith Bainbridge TV series 1993-98 Under Melbourne Tonight Host TV series 1994 A Country Practice Dennis Chubb TV series 1994 The Damnation of Harvey McHugh Smedley TV miniseries 1995 The Last Bullet Fitzgerald TV movie 1999 BackBerner Various characters TV series 2000 Russell Gilbert Live Various characters TV sketch series 2003 Welcher & Welcher Security guard TV series 2003 After the Deluge Maggie's husband TV miniseries 2003 Big Bite Various characters TV sketch series 2004 2004 AFI Awards James Killarney TV special 2004-09 The Einstein Factor The Brains Trust panel member (regular) TV game series 2005 Temptation Contestant (winner) TV game series 2006 Australia's Brainiest Contestant (Australia's Brainiest Quiz Master) TV game series 2008 Newstopia William Shatner TV series 2008 The Hollowmen Warren TV series 2010 Offspring Grown Up Man TV series pilot 2010 Tangle Dr Ian Hill TV series 2010 Killing Time Ken Garland TV series 2011 Beaconsfield Howard Sacre TV miniseries 2011 The Slap Jim, the Businessman TV miniseries 2011-22 Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell Darius Horsham & various characters TV series 2012 Get Ace Jack Union (voice) Animated TV series 2013 The Time of Our Lives Bam Bam TV series 2014 Upper Middle Bogan Digby Nolan TV series, season 2 2015 Exchange Student Zero Voice Animated TV series 2016 The Wrong Girl Graeme the Coin Guy TV series 2016-17 Pacific Heat Voice Animated TV series 2017 When TV Was Awesome Narrator TV special 2017-19 Kitty is Not a Cat The Nazz / Lucky Chuck (voice) Animated TV series 2017-19 Mustangs FC Kev TV series 2018 True Story Dr Santos TV series, season 2 2019 Monster Beach Butterfield (voice) Animated TV series 2020 Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell - Christmas Special Various characters TV special 2022 We Interrupt This Broadcast Guest TV sketch series

Film Year Title Role Notes 1992 Romper Stomper Flea Feature film 2000 The Wog Boy Sergeant Feature film 2007 The King Bert Newton TV movie 2015 Now Add Honey Concierge Feature film 2018 That's Not My Dog! Himself Feature film Fraud Festival Feature film

Writer/producer Year Title Role Notes Deal or No Deal Producer TV game series BackBerner Writer TV series Big Bite Writer TV series Full Frontal Writer TV series Spicks and Specks Writer TV game series 2008 Newstopia Writer TV series, season 3 2009-12 Talkin' 'bout Your Generation Head writer TV game series 2012 Adam Hills Tonight Writer / Studio producer TV series, season 2 2013 Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell Writer TV series

Theatre Year Title Role Notes 2001 I Said I Said Phineas Witt Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2007 Monty Python's Spamalot Lancelot, The French Taunter, Tim The Enchanter & The Head Knight of "Ni" Ozalot Pty Ltd 2011-12 Bond-A-Rama! Every James Bond Film Live On Stage Sean Connery, Roger Moore & Pierce Brosnan 2013/14 Raiders of the Temple of Doom's Last Crusade; One Man Performs Three Indiana Jones Movies in One Hour Performer Melbourne Fringe Festival / Melbourne International Comedy Festival (also writer & producer 2016-17 Fawlty Towers Live Basil Fawlty Roslyn Packer Theatre & Australian tour, 157 performances 2017 Brigadoon Archie Beaton The Production Company

Books

Year Title Notes 2015 How To Win Game Shows eBook 2019-20 Symphony Under Siege Paperback & eBook 2022 50 Things To Be Seriously Grateful For Today* *and 50 not-so-serious things to illustrate them

Radio