Dan Antopolski
A literate comic building elaborate linguistic traps for juvenile punchlines.
2 specials · 2002–2003
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Dan Antopolski stands on stage looking like an unkempt academic. He speaks with a gentle, considered rhythm that suggests he is about to make a serious point. Instead, he uses the tone of a philosophical argument to set up a joke about a bodily function. He builds winding paragraphs with a massive vocabulary, only to pull the rug out with a punchline that is unapologetically stupid. When a pun gets a groan instead of a laugh, he just smiles, entirely unbothered, and starts quietly assembling the next trap.
Specials
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Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala 2003 with James Galea, Dave Hughes & 6 more
A televised charity gala featuring rising Australian and international comedians from 2003.
ABC (Australia)
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The World Comedy Tour: Melbourne 2002 with Dom Irrera, Al Murray & 13 more
An international lineup of working comics performing tight festival sets.
65 min
On stage
He is a fixture of the UK circuit and the Edinburgh Fringe, though his career operates on its own strange timeline, punctuated by years-long hiatuses. He won the 2009 Joke of the Fringe with a one-liner about hedgehogs, which gave him a reputation as a rapid-fire gag merchant. In the room, his act is far weirder and looser than a list of jokes. He is a patient comic who likes to let the silence stretch before a punchline lands.
Older shows were pure nonsense. His newer sets let his actual life onto the stage, dealing with divorce and the deaths of his parents. Yet he refuses to do a straight-faced theatrical hour. He will talk earnestly about clearing out his mother’s house, let the room get genuinely quiet, and then break the tension with a wildly offensive pun he clearly wrote just to see if he could get away with it. He values a silly joke over a profound moment every time.
Outside of standup, he has accumulated a strange acting resume. He hosted a children’s show on CBBC and played Jesus in the film adaptation of The Da Vinci Code.
Turning points
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Wins BBC New Comedy Award
Antopolski won the prestigious BBC New Comedy Award in 1998, accelerating his emergence onto the national UK comedy circuit.
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2000–2001
Triple Perrier Award Nominations
Earned nominations for Perrier Best Newcomer in 2000 with Second Coming, Best Show with Lee Mack and Catherine Tate in 2000, and Best Show for Antopolski 2000 in 2001.
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Wins Dave Joke of the Fringe
His hedgehog one-liner won Dave's Funniest Joke of the Edinburgh Fringe, sparking a viral craze that prompted cease-and-desist letters to bootleg merchandise sellers.
At a glance
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Also on screen
- It's All Gone Pete Tong
- AD/BC: A Rock Opera
- 2006–2007
- Hyperdrive
- 2013–2015
- The Dare Devil
- Paddington 2
A clip to start with
Dan Antopolski - The Lyricmaster