Damian Callinan is an acclaimed comedian, actor & writer. A three-time nominee for Most Outstanding Show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, TV & film audiences may recognise him for his roles in Skithouse, Spicks & Specks, Rosehaven, Backyard Ashes & The Merger, the beloved film adaption of his award-winning solo show of the same name. The dual AACTA nominated film about a rural, Australian Rules football club who recruit refugees to make up the numbers, was awarded Best Film & Screenplay at the 2019 Ozflix Independent Film Awards and is now enjoying an acclaimed second life on Netflix. Callinan’s prolific output of theatrical live shows including The Lost WW1 Diary, Swing Man, Mayor for a Day & The Wine Blus, has seen him forge a reputation as ‘one of the best character comedians in the country’ (Herald Sun) Callinan’s cult Bodgy Creek Community Podcast recently took out the Silver Medal at the Australian Podcast Awards & his debut children’s fiction book, Weird School was recently published by Penguin Random and was shortlisted for the State Library of NSW Russell Prize. His critically acclaimed new solo show, Double Feature, based on his mother’s 1946 diary, is touring nationally in 2023/24. On screen you can currently catch Damian as Floor Manager Frank, in the second series of The Newsreader [ABCTV] and as the lead in the feature film, The Emu War [Hot Dad], which just took out Best Film at Monster Fest, ahead of its 2024 release.
