Jonathan Biggins
Quick Facts
Biography
Jonathan Biggins (born 14 September 1960), is an Australian actor, singer, writer, director and comedian. He has appeared on film, stage and television, as well as in satirical sketch comedy television programs.
He was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, attended Newcastle Boys' High School in the mid-1970s and says it was a "fairly intimidating place to be if you weren’t great at sports or maths. However once [I] joined the debating team, and went on to win the state finals, things started looking up."
Stage appearances include The Importance of Being Earnest (as John Worthing, replacing Geoffrey Rush), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Orpheus in the Underworld, and the Gilbert and Sullivan operas Ruddigore and The Mikado .
His television appearances include The Dingo Principle and Three Men and a Baby Grand, satirical sketch television comedy programs for which he was a writer/performer with Phillip Scott and Drew Forsythe. He also presented the arts panel program "Critical Mass".
His film appearances include Thank God He Met Lizzie and Gettin' Square. He also co-wrote, with Phillip Scott, some of the dialogue for The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular, a stage musical based on the poem "The Man from Snowy River". Biggins also played Peter Sellers in Ying Tong, a play about Spike Milligan and The Goons and an Australian-wide hit.
Jonathan Biggins has directed the Wharf Revue since 2000, written for the Sydney Morning Herald weekly magazine Good Weekend for seven years, and directed the Australian production of Avenue Q. He hosted the New Year's Eve Gala Concert in 2010 at the Sydney Opera House.
He is married to Ayrshire-born Australian actress Elaine Smith, best known as Daphne Clarke in the soap opera Neighbours. He and Smith have twin daughters born in February 2000, Charlotte Elisabeth and Imogen Rebecca.