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Michael Balk
Australian actor and producer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Michael Balk is an Australian actor, television presenter, radio announcer[1] and producer.[2]
Personal life
Michael grew up in the Clarence Valley in Northern Rivers New South Wales.[3] He attended primary and secondary school in Grafton[4] before moving to Brisbane to study Arts/Law at Queensland University of Technology.[5]
Balk is the nephew of acclaimed filmmaker Philip Hearnshaw,[6] and grandson of Australian Liberal Politician Eric Hearnshaw.
Career
Balk is best known for his original television roles, notably scrapboy in dirtgirlworld[7][8] & Get Grubby TV,[9] Glen Goosebump in SMASHHDOWN!,[10] and various characters on BrainBuzz.[11]
Michael appears in musicals,[12] theatre productions[13] and television commercials.[14][15]
Between 2006 and 2010 Michael was lead presenter and producer at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo.[16]
Michael is the president[17] of the Australian charity the Actors & Entertainers Benevolent Fund of Queensland.[18] He served as president of Actors Equity Queensland for many years, and as a board director for the MEAA.[19] Michael is currently the Federal President of the Media Entertainment Arts Alliance.[20]
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Awards and nominations
Michael was nominated for Best Emerging Artist at the Matilda Awards in 2005 and 2006.
In 2010 dirtgirlworld was nominated for a Logie Award in the Outstanding Children's Program category.[21] The creators of the show dedicated the nomination to key creatives on the team citing Michael Balk among them.[22]
The stars of dirtgirlworld were recognized with an AFI Award in Melbourne, Australia in 2010.[23]
dirtgirlworld also received nominations for a BAFTA[24] and Prix Jeunesse Award[25] in 2010, and for Outstanding Preschool Programme at the 2011 JAPAN prize[26] in Tokyo.
In 2013, Balk and the team from the ABC went on to win the International Digital Emmy Award in Cannes for their work on dirtgirlworld.[27]
Balk was voted in the Clarence Valley's Most Influential People of 2019.[28]
References
External links
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