WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.339 Welcome back to The Deep Dive. Today, we're really 00:00:03.339 --> 00:00:05.919 digging into the sources we've got on Tom Gleason, 00:00:06.099 --> 00:00:09.580 an Australian comedian, writer, presenter, quite 00:00:09.580 --> 00:00:11.580 the figure. Yeah, and our goal here is to chart 00:00:11.580 --> 00:00:14.220 his past pretty quickly, but, you know, thoroughly. 00:00:14.500 --> 00:00:17.600 How does someone go from studying science to, 00:00:17.739 --> 00:00:20.960 well, winning the gold Logie? We're looking for 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:22.600 those connections. And the thing that just grabs 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:25.179 you straight away, the core of it all, really, 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:28.079 is this huge contradiction. You've got this guy 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:30.600 known for being, well, Cutting, sharp, almost 00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:33.060 aggressive in his comedy, hard quiz, taskmaster, 00:00:33.340 --> 00:00:36.579 gold Loki winner. Right. And yet his foundation, 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:40.500 pure logic, science. Exactly. Thomas Francis 00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:43.820 Cleason, born June 2nd, 1974, so he's 51 now. 00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:46.340 His degree from the University of Sydney is a 00:00:46.340 --> 00:00:48.659 Bachelor of Science. And not just science, but 00:00:48.659 --> 00:00:51.179 specifically maths and physics. Wow. Maths and 00:00:51.179 --> 00:00:53.320 physics. Well, it's almost jarring, isn't it? 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:54.920 How does that kind of think, you know, objective 00:00:54.920 --> 00:00:57.359 proofs, universal laws. Yeah. Calculus, gravity. 00:00:57.460 --> 00:00:59.259 Right. How does that feed into making people 00:00:59.259 --> 00:01:01.820 laugh, which is so subjective? Well, maybe it's 00:01:01.820 --> 00:01:03.899 not about whimsy for him. Maybe it's about structure. 00:01:04.760 --> 00:01:07.359 System. like maths and physics. They're about 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:09.980 finding patterns, right? Finding the most efficient 00:01:09.980 --> 00:01:12.599 path to a solution. Okay. And good stand -up, 00:01:12.620 --> 00:01:14.780 well, it's kind of similar, isn't it? You take 00:01:14.780 --> 00:01:17.939 an idea, you structure the setup with real precision, 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:20.859 like an equation, and the punchline has to land 00:01:20.859 --> 00:01:23.480 at exactly the right moment, the most efficient 00:01:23.480 --> 00:01:25.920 point. So you're saying he might be applying 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:28.780 that scientific method to joke writing? Could 00:01:28.780 --> 00:01:31.620 be. Maybe he sees the audience less as a random 00:01:31.620 --> 00:01:35.650 crowd and more like a system. You input the right 00:01:35.650 --> 00:01:38.170 variables, structure it correctly, and you get 00:01:38.170 --> 00:01:41.510 the desired output. Laughter. Solving for laughs. 00:01:42.109 --> 00:01:44.609 Okay, that premise makes this whole thing fascinating. 00:01:44.870 --> 00:01:47.310 Let's unpack how he got there, because it wasn't 00:01:47.310 --> 00:01:49.650 a straight line. No, definitely not. Those early 00:01:49.650 --> 00:01:52.150 foundations are key when you see such a big pivot 00:01:52.150 --> 00:01:54.349 later on. So let's look at those unexpected foundations. 00:01:54.670 --> 00:01:56.909 It wasn't just the university lab. He started 00:01:56.909 --> 00:01:59.689 out in rural New South Wales, born in Gunnedah, 00:01:59.810 --> 00:02:02.109 lived near Tambar Springs. Right, that regional 00:02:02.109 --> 00:02:05.290 background. Then a shift to the city. and a very 00:02:05.290 --> 00:02:08.710 structured environment. Boarding school, St. 00:02:08.770 --> 00:02:11.069 Joseph's College, Hunter's Hill, and Sydney. 00:02:11.250 --> 00:02:14.250 That contrast itself, country freedom versus 00:02:14.250 --> 00:02:16.870 city structure that can shape you. But yeah, 00:02:16.990 --> 00:02:19.169 the academic path is the really defining part 00:02:19.169 --> 00:02:21.449 here. That Bachelor of Science in Maths and Physics, 00:02:21.729 --> 00:02:24.650 you don't just fall into that. No, you choose 00:02:24.650 --> 00:02:26.830 that because you like solving complex problems. 00:02:27.110 --> 00:02:30.830 You like clarity. Ambiguity isn't really the 00:02:30.830 --> 00:02:34.419 goal in physics, is it? Ha! No, definitely not. 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:37.099 It was a serious commitment. Years of rigorous 00:02:37.099 --> 00:02:39.520 training and thinking logically. And think about 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:41.659 what that teaches you. Physics is cause and effect. 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:45.400 Maths is about efficiency, elegance sometimes. 00:02:45.659 --> 00:02:47.240 Okay, I see where you're going. When you watch 00:02:47.240 --> 00:02:49.439 Gleason now, especially in hard quiz or hard 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:52.340 chat, every word feels deliberate, calculated. 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:56.180 There's no waffle. True. It's very lean. So that 00:02:56.180 --> 00:02:59.080 intellectual discipline. maybe ironically, lets 00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:01.639 him pull off this persona that seems really loose 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:04.639 and aggressive, but is actually underneath incredibly 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:07.319 controlled. But wait, before comedy took over 00:03:07.319 --> 00:03:09.199 completely, there was another detour, wasn't 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:12.479 there? Something musical. Ah, yes. The sources 00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:14.460 mentioned a band he was in during university. 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:17.939 The Fantastic Leslie. The Fantastic Leslie, okay. 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:20.599 And he wasn't the frontman. No, he played the 00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:22.719 drums. Apparently sang backup sometimes, too. 00:03:22.819 --> 00:03:24.819 Drums. Okay, that fits, doesn't it? The rhythm 00:03:24.819 --> 00:03:27.319 section. It's perfect. The drummer's all about 00:03:27.319 --> 00:03:30.780 timing, structure. keeping everything together. 00:03:30.860 --> 00:03:33.099 It's like a physical version of the mental discipline 00:03:33.099 --> 00:03:35.599 from his degree. Keeping that internal rhythm. 00:03:35.819 --> 00:03:38.039 Exactly. Which is precisely what a stand -up 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:40.740 needs, right? For delivering a complex routine, 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:43.219 hitting those beats, the structure from music, 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:46.460 the logic from science. They seem to merge right 00:03:46.460 --> 00:03:49.340 into his comedy career starting around 96. Okay, 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:51.000 so he takes that sense of timing and structure 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:54.020 and dives into stand -up. Which brings us to, 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:58.210 well, the grind. Section two, the stand -up grind 00:03:58.210 --> 00:04:01.050 and unique experiences. And he didn't just sort 00:04:01.050 --> 00:04:03.750 of ease in telling jokes as himself. No, he went 00:04:03.750 --> 00:04:06.210 straight into a character. Malcolm. Malcolm. 00:04:06.289 --> 00:04:08.189 Tell us about Malcolm. Well, this is his first 00:04:08.189 --> 00:04:10.330 stage persona and he stuck with it for two years. 00:04:10.430 --> 00:04:13.250 So a serious commitment again. Two years as Malcolm. 00:04:13.430 --> 00:04:15.650 And what was the look? The sources describe it 00:04:15.650 --> 00:04:18.149 pretty vividly. Flannelette shirt, tracksuit 00:04:18.149 --> 00:04:21.689 pants, and a wig. Okay, so a recognizable type. 00:04:21.970 --> 00:04:25.149 A bit of an Aussie caricature, maybe. Seems like 00:04:25.149 --> 00:04:28.199 it. Yeah. But the key thing is the commitment 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:31.360 to the character for so long. Why is that significant, 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:33.519 do you think, starting with a character like 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:36.399 that? Well, it's arguably harder than just doing 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:38.759 observational stuff as yourself. You have to 00:04:38.759 --> 00:04:40.860 build rules for the characters with a specific 00:04:40.860 --> 00:04:43.980 voice, stay within those boundaries. Right. Maintain 00:04:43.980 --> 00:04:48.000 the illusion. Exactly. And that discipline. Performing 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:50.279 behind a mask? Maybe that's what paved the way 00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:52.639 for those later character -driven bits on TV, 00:04:52.839 --> 00:04:55.740 like the Australian fast bowler or even the hard 00:04:55.740 --> 00:04:58.459 chat persona itself. So he learned early how 00:04:58.459 --> 00:05:01.560 to inhabit a very specific, maybe abrasive persona 00:05:01.560 --> 00:05:05.040 and make it work logically, like field testing 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:07.459 a comedic variable. Yeah, something like that 00:05:07.459 --> 00:05:09.560 for two whole years. It shows he was thinking 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:11.560 about the performance side, the theatricality 00:05:11.560 --> 00:05:13.759 right from the start. And he didn't just test 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:16.660 Malcolm in local pubs. He hit the festival circuit. 00:05:17.230 --> 00:05:19.529 Hard. Oh, yeah. The list is impressive. All the 00:05:19.529 --> 00:05:22.689 big Australian ones. Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide 00:05:22.689 --> 00:05:27.149 Fringe, Brisbane, Perth Fringe World. But internationally, 00:05:27.350 --> 00:05:30.009 too. Right. Edinburgh Fringe, that's the big 00:05:30.009 --> 00:05:32.470 one globally. And Montreal's just for last festival. 00:05:32.610 --> 00:05:35.029 That's a huge amount of stage time. Thousands 00:05:35.029 --> 00:05:37.569 of hours, probably, refining materials, seeing 00:05:37.569 --> 00:05:39.649 what works with different crowds, different cultures. 00:05:40.009 --> 00:05:42.170 It's the ultimate apprenticeship, really. Testing, 00:05:42.389 --> 00:05:45.110 refining, adapting. That scientific approach 00:05:45.110 --> 00:05:48.199 again, maybe? Could be. But then came an experience 00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:50.500 that wasn't on a festival stage, something pretty 00:05:50.500 --> 00:05:53.240 unique and probably quite formative. Ah, you 00:05:53.240 --> 00:05:55.600 mean the tours for the troops? Exactly. December 00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:59.199 2007, he went to Iraq and Afghanistan to perform 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:01.480 for Australian soldiers on active duty. Yeah, 00:06:01.540 --> 00:06:04.300 that's a world away from the Edinburgh Fringe, 00:06:04.339 --> 00:06:06.579 isn't it? Performing for an audience under that 00:06:06.579 --> 00:06:09.480 kind of constant, intense stress. Totally different 00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:12.480 stakes. You'd need to be fearless, but also smart 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:15.420 about it. Can't be dull, can't seem scared yourself. 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:17.540 You know, that experience might have been crucial 00:06:17.540 --> 00:06:21.000 in forging that really confident, almost bulletproof 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:24.040 persona we see later. Making soldiers laugh in 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:26.720 a war zone. That takes a certain kind of, well, 00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:29.980 calculated boldness. A kind of hard chat before 00:06:29.980 --> 00:06:33.379 hard chat? Maybe. That willingness to push boundaries, 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:36.879 but do it effectively? It translates. And characteristically, 00:06:36.980 --> 00:06:39.180 he didn't just have the experience. He processed 00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:41.000 it, structured it, and turned it into something 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:44.019 else almost immediately. Right. The book, Playing 00:06:44.019 --> 00:06:46.959 Poker With His Hay, A Comedy Tour of Iraq and 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:50.040 Afghanistan. Came out less than a year later, 00:06:50.139 --> 00:06:52.800 October 2008. That's quick. It shows that writer's 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:54.939 discipline again, doesn't it? Observe, analyze, 00:06:55.259 --> 00:06:58.220 articulate, produce. Yeah, it really reinforces 00:06:58.220 --> 00:07:00.459 that image of him structuring his own experiences 00:07:00.459 --> 00:07:03.319 into material, constantly processing. So all 00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:06.439 that grinding, performing, writing, experiencing, 00:07:06.579 --> 00:07:09.259 it starts to pay off in terms of recognition, 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:11.720 which leads us nicely into section three, critical 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:14.279 acclaim versus popular wins, two sides of the 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:17.879 coin. Exactly. First, you see the industry recognition 00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:20.779 starting to build, the serious nods from peers. 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:23.980 He got nominated three times for the Helpman 00:07:23.980 --> 00:07:26.420 Award for Best Comedy Performer. And let's just 00:07:26.420 --> 00:07:28.600 remind people, the Helpmans are a big deal in 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:30.899 Australian arts, like the Tonys or the Olivias. 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:33.620 It's about critical artistic merit judged by 00:07:33.620 --> 00:07:36.079 the industry. Right. So his nominated shows were 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:41.019 Tom On. Back in 2007, then up himself in 2011, 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:45.060 and quality in 2014. So over a seven -year span, 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:47.240 his live shows are consistently hitting that 00:07:47.240 --> 00:07:50.240 high standard, evolving beyond just Malcolm, 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:53.000 getting more refined, critically acclaimed work 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:55.699 out there. Definitely. But critical success doesn't 00:07:55.699 --> 00:07:57.939 always mean mass popularity, does it? No, but 00:07:57.939 --> 00:08:00.480 he managed to crack that code, too. Later on, 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:02.560 he starts winning awards driven more by audience 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:04.839 votes and ticket sales. Yeah, the Fringe Awards. 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:07.439 His show Joy won Best Comedy. comedy at Perk 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:10.360 Fringe Worlds in 2019. OK. And in the very next 00:08:10.360 --> 00:08:13.439 year, 2020, his show Lighten Up won bus comedy 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:15.459 at the Adelaide Fringe. Those are significant 00:08:15.459 --> 00:08:17.720 wins showing he could really connect with big 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:19.860 festival crowds across the country. So he's got 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:22.879 the critics and the crowds and that show joy. 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:25.259 Its success didn't just stop on stage, did it? 00:08:25.639 --> 00:08:28.100 No, it translated to audio, too. It got an ARIA 00:08:28.100 --> 00:08:31.120 nomination. That's the Australian Recording Industry 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:33.759 Award for Best Comedy Release in 2020. Which 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:36.460 is fascinating. It means the jokes, the structure, 00:08:36.539 --> 00:08:39.039 the timing, it all worked even without seeing 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:42.200 him perform it live. It holds up just as audio. 00:08:42.539 --> 00:08:45.220 Which makes you think, why does his stuff work 00:08:45.220 --> 00:08:49.080 so well across different formats? Live, TV. Audio 00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:51.139 recording. It has to be that structure, right? 00:08:51.179 --> 00:08:53.860 That underlying logic. A joke relying purely 00:08:53.860 --> 00:08:56.399 on a silly face might die on audio, but one built 00:08:56.399 --> 00:08:58.919 on a clever setup and precise timing. That mathematical 00:08:58.919 --> 00:09:01.639 precision. Yeah. It just works, regardless of 00:09:01.639 --> 00:09:03.460 the medium. It's got substance, not just style. 00:09:03.620 --> 00:09:06.139 Though he has style, too. He does. And all this 00:09:06.139 --> 00:09:08.299 success in live comedy paved the way for a much 00:09:08.299 --> 00:09:10.940 bigger presence in mass media. Section four, 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:14.539 the rise on air. Starting with radio. Right. 00:09:14.580 --> 00:09:16.840 Radio was a key stepping stone, building that 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:21.220 national voice. From 2004 to 2005, he was doing 00:09:21.220 --> 00:09:23.519 evenings on Triple M in Sydney and Melbourne. 00:09:23.860 --> 00:09:27.100 Tom and Subby with Subby Valentine. That's often 00:09:27.100 --> 00:09:29.320 where comics sharpen their quick banter. But 00:09:29.320 --> 00:09:32.279 then a bigger leap into Breakfast Radio in 2009. 00:09:32.659 --> 00:09:35.360 Yeah, Mixed Mornings on Mix 101 .1 in Melbourne 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:38.159 with Brigitte Duclos. And Breakfast Radio is 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:39.820 a different beast altogether, isn't it? Oh, yeah. 00:09:40.220 --> 00:09:43.179 Much broader audience. Relentless pace. Gotta 00:09:43.179 --> 00:09:45.899 be on for hours every single morning. Family 00:09:45.899 --> 00:09:48.220 friendly, but still funny. It's a real test of 00:09:48.220 --> 00:09:50.159 consistency and adaptability. Shows he could 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:52.899 package his wit for the mainstream. And around 00:09:52.899 --> 00:09:54.799 the same time his face starts popping up more 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:58.139 on TV. Early sketch comedy work. Yes, Skithouse. 00:09:58.299 --> 00:10:01.960 He was in that in 2003 and 2004. Ah, Skithouse. 00:10:02.179 --> 00:10:03.820 Right. Playing various characters. It let him 00:10:03.820 --> 00:10:05.940 flex those character muscles he'd built up as 00:10:05.940 --> 00:10:09.169 Malcolm. The sources mention one standout, the 00:10:09.169 --> 00:10:11.669 Australian fast bowler. A parody of Dennis Lally, 00:10:11.809 --> 00:10:13.889 apparently. Yeah, shows that observational skill, 00:10:13.970 --> 00:10:16.009 too. And that character discipline just keeps 00:10:16.009 --> 00:10:17.909 showing up. Then, showing off the smarts again, 00:10:18.029 --> 00:10:21.269 he won Australia's brainiest radio star in 2006. 00:10:21.950 --> 00:10:24.809 Huh. Yeah. Bit of fun. But it plays into that 00:10:24.809 --> 00:10:27.649 competitive, sharp mind image. Good under pressure. 00:10:27.870 --> 00:10:30.330 He was also becoming a familiar face on panel 00:10:30.330 --> 00:10:32.789 shows, which were huge back then. Definitely. 00:10:32.909 --> 00:10:35.350 He was on Big Brother's Big Mouth briefly in 00:10:35.350 --> 00:10:37.809 2008 and then quite a few appearances on Good 00:10:37.809 --> 00:10:40.710 News Week between 2008 and 2011. Those shows 00:10:40.710 --> 00:10:43.570 were vital for comedians to get national exposure, 00:10:43.929 --> 00:10:46.269 hone that quick, punchy style. Absolutely. And 00:10:46.269 --> 00:10:48.309 then came that big advertising campaign in 2009, 00:10:48.690 --> 00:10:50.870 the Red Rooster one. Oh, yeah. They don't get 00:10:50.870 --> 00:10:52.659 it in Australia where he's. in America asking 00:10:52.659 --> 00:10:55.120 people about Red Rooster. Exactly. That campaign 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:57.799 was everywhere. It really cemented him as this 00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:01.899 sort of dry, unmistakably Australian voice observing 00:11:01.899 --> 00:11:04.179 the world. Great for his commercial profile. 00:11:04.419 --> 00:11:07.320 So by 2013, he's ready for a bigger hosting gig. 00:11:07.850 --> 00:11:10.009 This Week Live. Yeah, co -hosting that comedy 00:11:10.009 --> 00:11:12.830 chat show with Tommy Little, Dave Thornton, and 00:11:12.830 --> 00:11:14.889 Masha Laurie. That felt like the final piece 00:11:14.889 --> 00:11:16.610 of the puzzle falling into place, didn't it? 00:11:16.990 --> 00:11:19.809 Handling structured chat, reacting live, delivering 00:11:19.809 --> 00:11:22.929 opinions week after week. It's the perfect lead 00:11:22.929 --> 00:11:25.049 -in to what came next. Which is really where 00:11:25.049 --> 00:11:28.629 everything exploded. Section 5. The hard chat 00:11:28.629 --> 00:11:31.570 era and peak popularity. This is where that specific 00:11:31.570 --> 00:11:34.490 persona really crystallizes. It all kicks off 00:11:34.490 --> 00:11:37.320 with The Weekly. with charlie pickering on the 00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:40.779 abc starting in 2015. he wasn't just a contributor 00:11:40.779 --> 00:11:43.460 he created signature segments right he did this 00:11:43.460 --> 00:11:45.980 is what you think go away but the one that really 00:11:45.980 --> 00:11:50.159 landed the game changer was Hard chat. Hard chat. 00:11:50.299 --> 00:11:53.340 Describe the genius of hard chat. It was, well, 00:11:53.460 --> 00:11:55.179 weaponized interviewing, wasn't it? This guy 00:11:55.179 --> 00:11:57.519 has a casual chat, but every question was incredibly 00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:00.019 pointed, designed purely to needle the celebrity 00:12:00.019 --> 00:12:02.399 guest. Calculated conflict. Totally calculated. 00:12:02.539 --> 00:12:04.559 The aggression wasn't random. It was the tool. 00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:06.840 The controlled variable, like you said before, 00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:09.580 designed to provoke a reaction, which became 00:12:09.580 --> 00:12:11.960 the comedy. It was analytically hostile, not 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:15.639 genuinely mean -spirited. It was so popular, 00:12:15.659 --> 00:12:18.059 so effective, it basically demanded its own show. 00:12:18.340 --> 00:12:22.039 Instantly. Hard Quiz spins off in 2016. The brilliance 00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:24.460 was realizing that same abrasive interrogating 00:12:24.460 --> 00:12:26.679 style worked just as well, maybe even better, 00:12:26.779 --> 00:12:28.840 on ordinary people talking about their obscure 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:30.960 passions. Yeah, it shouldn't work, should it? 00:12:31.080 --> 00:12:34.480 A quiz host being mean to the contestants. But 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:36.620 they seem to love it, and the audience definitely 00:12:36.620 --> 00:12:39.259 does. It's that perfectly judged boundary pushing 00:12:39.259 --> 00:12:42.769 again. He knows exactly how far to go. It became 00:12:42.769 --> 00:12:46.149 and still is one of the ABC's biggest hits. And 00:12:46.149 --> 00:12:48.509 his hosting profile just kept growing. He's now 00:12:48.509 --> 00:12:51.769 the taskmaster on Taskmaster Australia. Yeah, 00:12:51.809 --> 00:12:54.190 working with Tom Cashman as his assistant. And 00:12:54.190 --> 00:12:56.330 the taskmaster role, it's kind of the ultimate 00:12:56.330 --> 00:12:59.110 evolution of that persona, isn't it? The inscrutable, 00:12:59.309 --> 00:13:02.470 all -powerful judge setting these absurd tasks. 00:13:02.850 --> 00:13:05.110 The scientific mind setting the parameters again. 00:13:05.429 --> 00:13:08.649 Exactly. And his influence became pretty tangible. 00:13:09.100 --> 00:13:11.259 There's that anecdote in the sources about Sophie 00:13:11.259 --> 00:13:13.799 Monk in 2017. Right. The speculation that his 00:13:13.799 --> 00:13:16.039 hard chat interview with her was so good showed 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:18.600 off her personality so well. That it basically 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:20.879 got her the gig as the bachelorette Australia. 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:23.279 Which is incredible. That's not just being a 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:25.240 funny interviewer. That's actually shaping casting 00:13:25.240 --> 00:13:28.019 decisions in the media landscape. Real influence. 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:29.960 He wasn't just reacting to the media anymore. 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:33.129 He was becoming a force within it. And all this 00:13:33.129 --> 00:13:35.509 momentum from the science degree, the drumming, 00:13:35.549 --> 00:13:39.169 Malcolm, the troop tours, radio, hard chat, it 00:13:39.169 --> 00:13:42.789 all leads to the absolute peak in 2019. The Gold 00:13:42.789 --> 00:13:45.309 Logie, from his popular personality on television. 00:13:45.470 --> 00:13:47.110 Let's just sit with that for a second. The Gold 00:13:47.110 --> 00:13:49.789 Logie. It's the biggest popularity prize in Australian 00:13:49.789 --> 00:13:53.289 TV, voted for by the public. We talked about 00:13:53.289 --> 00:13:55.330 the help mens, that's industry respect. This 00:13:55.330 --> 00:13:59.100 is pure audience love. On a massive scale. And 00:13:59.100 --> 00:14:01.139 look at who else has won it over the years. Legends 00:14:01.139 --> 00:14:03.799 like Graham Kennedy, big stars like Lisa McKeown, 00:14:03.940 --> 00:14:06.419 Rove McManus, contemporaries like Hamish Blake. 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:08.399 Joining that list means you've connected with 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:10.600 the Australian public deeply. It's validation 00:14:10.600 --> 00:14:13.080 that the very specific, sometimes prickly persona 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:15.379 he crafted wasn't just critically interesting. 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:18.340 He was genuinely popular, widely loved even. 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:20.440 And he's shown he can work anywhere, too. He 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:22.539 did that roast of Paul Hogan in 2022. Yeah, that 00:14:22.539 --> 00:14:25.809 was on Channel 7. He moves between the ABC, commercial 00:14:25.809 --> 00:14:28.950 networks, radio, his brand, the Gleason persona. 00:14:29.149 --> 00:14:31.970 It transcends any single channel. Okay, let's 00:14:31.970 --> 00:14:33.629 try and pull this all together. It's quite a 00:14:33.629 --> 00:14:36.470 journey, isn't it? Gunneva, physics lab, band 00:14:36.470 --> 00:14:39.429 rooms, war zones, comedy stages, radio studios, 00:14:39.789 --> 00:14:43.529 TV sets. Ending up with the gold blogey. The 00:14:43.529 --> 00:14:46.330 big takeaway has to be adaptability, underpinned 00:14:46.330 --> 00:14:48.629 by that sense of structure. He took a background 00:14:48.629 --> 00:14:50.730 in logic and science, applied it through music, 00:14:50.830 --> 00:14:53.179 stand -up, writing, performing. And found this 00:14:53.179 --> 00:14:55.899 incredible success by honing that very sharp, 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:58.320 focused interview style that became hard chat 00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:01.019 and then hard quiz. It all comes back to structure 00:15:01.019 --> 00:15:03.799 and timing. And for you, the listener, think 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:06.299 about that adaptability. How does being a drummer 00:15:06.299 --> 00:15:09.580 maybe inform comedic timing years later? How 00:15:09.580 --> 00:15:11.360 does thinking like a mathematician maybe help 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:13.360 you build a persona that can push boundaries 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:18.240 but still feel solid? Yeah, the aggression feels 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:20.379 like a strategy, not just random yelling. It's 00:15:20.379 --> 00:15:22.960 calculated. That mix of brainpower and popular 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:25.519 appeal is pretty rare, isn't it? Sometimes comedy 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:28.200 is all style, no substance or vice versa. He 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:29.759 seems to have married them using that foundational 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:33.240 training. He really has. Which leaves us with 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:36.100 one final thought for you to mull over. Gleason's 00:15:36.100 --> 00:15:38.519 had this incredibly varied career. He's won the 00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:41.100 biggest popularity award. But looking beyond 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:44.879 the gold logie itself. What part of his career 00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:46.899 best shows his connection with the Australian 00:15:46.899 --> 00:15:49.899 public? And thinking ahead, what's likely to 00:15:49.899 --> 00:15:53.000 be his defining legacy? Is it Hard Quiz? You 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:54.539 know, the show he created from his own segment? 00:15:55.059 --> 00:15:57.240 Perfectly tailored to his style, full of Aussie 00:15:57.240 --> 00:16:00.039 quirks and obsessions. Or is it Taskmaster Australia? 00:16:00.649 --> 00:16:03.549 taking on that huge global format, becoming the 00:16:03.549 --> 00:16:06.230 face of comedic authority in that context. The 00:16:06.230 --> 00:16:08.129 homegrown quiz master versus the international 00:16:08.129 --> 00:16:11.070 comedy judge. Where does that scientific structural 00:16:11.070 --> 00:16:13.110 brain make the biggest, most lasting impact? 00:16:13.389 --> 00:16:15.470 Something to think about. That was our deep dive 00:16:15.470 --> 00:16:17.330 into the surprisingly structured, incredibly 00:16:17.330 --> 00:16:19.909 successful comedic life of Tom Gleason. Thanks 00:16:19.909 --> 00:16:20.529 for joining us.