Tom Ballard is an award-winning stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and broadcaster who always puts forth his best effort.
Recognized as one of Australia's hottest comic talents, Tom has performed and received acclaim globally. In 2009, he became the youngest ever recipient of the Melbourne Comedy Festival’s Best Newcomer Award for his debut hour, Tom Ballard Is What He Is. His 2015 show, Taxis & Rainbows & Hatred, earned him a Best Newcomer nomination at the Edinburgh Fringe, while his 2016 show, The World Keeps Happening, was nominated for Best Show in both Melbourne and Edinburgh. It also won the 2016 Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer and the inaugural John Pinder Prize at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. The show was later recorded at the Comedy Theatre for Stan Australia’s One Night Stan series.
In 2017, Tom's show Problematic won the Best Australian Show Award at the Sydney Comedy Festival and was one of the top three best-reviewed shows at the Edinburgh Fringe that year.
Tom has been invited to perform at the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival, had sold-out seasons at the famous Soho Theatre, and opened for comedians like Wanda Sykes, Stephen Merchant, and Danny Bhoy. He even roast-battled Jimmy Carr and survived.
A versatile broadcaster and satirist, Tom co-hosted the breakfast show on national youth radio station triple j with his friend Alex Dyson for four years. Their collection, Tom & Alex: The Bits We’re Least Ashamed Of, won the 2013 ARIA for Best Comedy Release. At just 24, Tom hosted his own ABC TV panel show, Reality Check, dissecting the world of reality television. He has guest-hosted the ABC discussion show Q&A, interviewed numerous political figures on his podcast Like I’m A Six-Year-Old, and featured on the race-focused social experiment series First Contact. For more than 150 episodes, Tom hosted his own satirical late-night show for ABC Comedy, Tonightly with Tom Ballard, which the conservative Australian government didn't like very much at all.
Tom Ballard is one of the country’s most exciting and insightful voices.
