Matt King
An unhurried club comic eclipsed by his legendary sitcom alter ego.
1 special · 1999
Get an email when there's a new special. You'll need a Google account.
Matt King builds his hours out of casual monologues that hop erratically between ideas. He avoids theatrical framing, preferring the rhythm of pub conversation. On stage, he might attempt to summarize the entire history of the world in a single hour, completely out of order, or lock into an extensive, meandering routine about a zebra. He delivers these bits with an unhurried cadence that makes the jokes sound like stray thoughts.
Specials
-
Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala 1999 with Rove McManus, Jeff Green & 20 more
A massive showcase of late-nineties comedians doing four minutes each.
Network Ten
On stage
To much of the viewing public, his live comedy is completely overshadowed by a single television role. King is etched into the British cultural memory as the erratic wildcard Super Hans from the sitcom Peep Show. The character essentially hijacked his public identity, to the point where King eventually mounted DJ tours performed entirely as his fictional counterpart, playing to crowds who just wanted to yell quotes from the show back at the stage.
When he performs as himself, King stays within the traditional boundaries of club comedy. He does not try to push formal limits. Instead, he takes familiar subjects and twists them just enough to find a new angle. He relies on an easygoing charm to carry the room, trusting his amiability to sell the material even when an audience expects him to act like a frantic television character.
Born in England, King moved to Australia in his twenties, working as a chef before spending fifteen years working the Australian comedy circuit. He eventually returned to the UK, where his focus shifted toward acting and writing for television.