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Craig Anderson is an Australian director, producer and actor best known for his comedic turns in the Australian television series' Double the Fist, Review with Myles Barlow, Laid, and award-winning short films Life in a Datsun, Demon Datsun, and Life in a Volkswagen. He directed the horror feature film Red Christmas.
Craig Anderson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 November 1978 |
| Alma mater | University of Western Sydney |
| Occupation(s) | Director, Actor, Producer |
Anderson is a physical media enthusiast and notably has an VHS collection with over 8500 tapes.
Anderson grew up in St Clair, New South Wales, a suburb of Western Sydney.[1]
Anderson has a First Class Honors in Performance and Theory from the University of Western Sydney.[2]
Anderson first gained success as a filmmaker in 1999, when he collaborated with university friend Brian Moses to create the short film Life in a Datsun. The short was screened at the Tropfest and St Kilda Film Festival[3] to great acclaim. In 2000, they followed it up with Life in a Volkswagen.
The success of Anderson's short films with Moses lead to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation commissioning their late night TV series Double the Fist. The show is a satire of lifestyle television and features the characters pursuing the "most extreme lifestyle choices they can make".[4] Anderson was frustrated with representation on Australian television and wanted the show to be "lower-class people having cool fantasies and action adventures".[5] In a shock upset, the series beat Kath & Kim to win the 2004 Australian Film Institute award for best comedy series.[6] The series returned for a second season in 2008.
In 2008, Anderson also featured in three episodes of the ABC TV show Review With Myles Barlow. Anderson served as associate producer and first assistant director on the series [7]
In 2013, Anderson was the subject of a six-part Observational Documentary series Next Stop Hollywood, which followed him around Hollywood during pilot season.[8] In 2014, he shared directing duties on Australia's first Indigenous sketch Comedy series Black Comedy. Anderson and fellow director Bec Cole won the AACTA award for Best Direction in TV Light Entertainment or Reality Series for the series. [9]
Between directing television projects, in 2016, Anderson directed his first feature film, Red Christmas. The film was inspired by Tony Kaye's exploration of abortion in Lake of Fire.[10] Gary Doust's documentary Horror Movie: A Low Budget Nightmare depicts Anderson's journey creating the film.[11]
In 2023, Anderson started an analytical film podcast called Film Versus Film with Bruce and Herschel Isaacs from The University of Sydney. The hosts compare two wildly different films each episode, in an effort to understand cinematic trends and what defines iconic films. The first season also features a series of reflections on what media influenced them growing up in Western Sydney working-class families during the late 80s and early 90s.
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Life in a Datsun | Craig | Short film |
| 2000 | Life in a Volkswagen | Short film | |
| 2000 | Bootmen | Huey's Mate | Feature film |
| 2010 | Miscast | Slacker Director 2 | Short film |
| 2012 | Sparkle | Short film | |
| 2012 | Sparkle | Short film | |
| 2013 | The Tenant | The Tenant | Short film |
| 2015 | Damsel | John | Film |
| 2016 | The Tail Job | Trevor | Feature film |
| 2016 | Tay Man | Paul | Tropfest short film |
| 2016 | Baby Planet Juice | Short film | |
| 2016 | Hitnan Pervert | Hitnan | Short film |
| 2017 | Horror Movie: A Low Budget Nightmare | Documentary film (the making of Red Christmas) | |
| 2027 | Spell | Short film | |
| 2018 | Huff to Huff | Short film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Video Dare | TV series | |
| 2004–08 | Double the Fist | Steve Foxx | TV series, 16 episodes |
| 2008 | Downtown Rumble | Master | TV series |
| 2008–10 | Review with Myles Barlow | Graham / Customer / Clown | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 2010 | Charity Hurts | Cop | Video |
| 2011 | Laid | Russ | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2011 | Bernie | Web series | |
| 2011 | Late Night Angel Weenie Baby | Web series | |
| 2011 | Dating Emergency 101 | Greg | Web series |
| 2012 | Office Correctness | Greg | Video |
| 2012 | A Moody Christmas | Counsellor | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 2013 | Next Stop Hollywood | Himself | Documentary TV series |
| 2013 | The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting | Various characters | TV miniseries, 6 episodes |
| 2014 | The Moodys | Dean | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 2014 | Black Comedy | Guest cast | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Alt Tab | Voice | Video |
| 2015 | Dirty Bird | Cop | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2015 | Maximum Choppage | Policeman Phil | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2015 | Miso Hungry | Documentary | |
| 2017 | The Lost Tapes | Baba | TV miniseries |
| 2017 | Jays of Our Lives | Security Guard | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2017 | Tiger Cops | Superintendent Anderson | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2018 | Sando | Another Vic | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 2018 | Nippers of Dead Bird Bay | Turtle Poacher | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Fresh Blood: Pilot Season | Lou | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2021 | The Moth Effect | Bartender / Miffed Bekchman / Fan / Benchman | TV miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2025 | Westerners | Sleeping Uncle | TV series, 1 episode |
Film
| Year | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Life in a Datsun | Short film |
| 2000 | Life in a Volkswagen | Short film |
| 2016 | Red Christmas | Feature film |
Television
| Year | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 2004–08 | Double the Fist | TV series |
| 2014 | Black Comedy | TV series |
| 2015 | How Not to Behave | TV series |
| 2021 | The Moth Effect | TV miniseries |
| 2021 | History Bites Back | Documentary TV series |
| 2023 | We Interrupt This Broadcast | TV series |
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