This Week in Comedy is the official podcast of Hard Knock Knocks, and features a combination of news, gossip, history and interviews – all washed down with a new weekly beer. Hosted by Hard Knock Knocks founder, Morry Morgan, and ‘Comedy@‘ producer, Lily Geddes, the podcast puts to bed that myth that you ‘can’t say anything anymore’. Nothing is off the table.
Episode 30 welcomes Australian comedy favourite Hung Le into the studio. With a history spanning an incredible 45 years onstage, Hung has a wealth of experience and stories covering Edinburgh Festival to cruise ships, auditioning for Miss Saigon, starring in Wogboy and even culturally appropriating Irish gold miners.
A key part of the conversation is Hung Le’s book, The Crappiest Refugee. With characteristic humour and honesty, Hung discusses the personal history behind the title, his family’s journey from Vietnam to Australia, and why finding laughter in difficult experiences has always been central to his work.
The beer taste-test for episode 30 is Slow Lane Brewing’s “Before Dawn”, a Munich Dunkel Dark Lager at 5% ABV. And importantly it gets a great review, both on taste, and the hosts’ pet-peeve, size of the can (It’s gotta be 375 ml).
One of the episode’s highlights is Hung’s connection to Nick Giannopoulos and the enduring cultural footprint of Wog Boy, the movie. He revisits his memorable lines from the film, talks about joining Giannopoulos’s orbit after appearing on New Faces, and recounts the wild touring years of Wogarama. The conversation also examines how Australian comedy, casting and identity have evolved, always through the lens of personal experience rather than a lecture. Along the way, Hung pitches the roles he still wishes he had landed, including a very specific Wog Boy sequel appearance in Mykonos.
Elsewhere, the trio cover Shaun Micallef’s new game show, Spamalot, comedy roadshows, clown burlesque, a dark lager tasting, Ricky Gervais, Airplane (aka Flying High), and the kind of accidental public comedy that makes the show feel so local. It is a generous, rambunctious episode full of old-school showbiz insight and present-day comedy gossip, with plenty of room for Hung’s generosity and mischief. Whether you know him from stand-up, television, Wog Boy or The Crappiest Refugee, this is a chance to hear a true original in relaxed, hilarious form. Plus, Hung invites aspiring comics to join him at the August Hard Knock Knocks Comedy School course in Melbourne.