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Tom GleesonTurn on your television, day or night, and the chances are you'll see Tom Gleeson. A perpetual guest on morning show panels and music based quiz and comedy improv shows, and on a current series of high rotation adverts to flog the concept of roast, not fried chooks to a group of unsuspecting New Yorkers, the ever formidable Gleeson is on the phone and ready to promote his rightful place on the comedy circuit. "The thing that I do the best is stand up," claims Gleeson, "and outside the Gala and on 'Rove' where you get to perform, there's no real way of showing people what you actually do," he suggests. "So as a result, you get to do all these short spots on various TV programs but more often than not it's like a square peg in a round hole. If someone sees you on 'The Morning Show' with Kylie and Larry, they might decide that you're a nice person but that doesn't mean they're going to think that you're the funniest thing ever," he continues, "but what I've come to accept is, when you perform live the people that come to see you will then tell their friends that you were good live. "And no matter whatever else I'm doing on radio or television, I still like performing live because it keeps me accountable," Gleeson avows. "When I'm doing a stand up gig someone can at any point yell out, 'You Red Rooster whore', or whatever because I'm always open to criticism and I like that." A regular visitor to Adelaide this time each year, Gleeson is best known for telling a good yarn, whether it be his time spent entertaining the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan or buying a new car, this Fringe he's got a different tail, erm... tale to tell. "The big thing that flavours the show this year is I've now got a dog," he says, momentarily pausing to await my reaction. "And the reason why it's all curious is that I grew up on a farm and my dad had dogs," he picks up, "but since then we've never had a dog in the house or the yard and now I've got a cute little dog in my bed. So it's about me and my relationship with this little pooch." With last year's main topic being getting married, why should having a household pet now come as a surprise? "Maybe I've just become that little bit more suburban," he ponders. "And being on radio does that to you because you end up staying in the one place, but it's not like any of my comedy shows are about anything but something fairly simple," asserts Gleeson. "And it's also such an unlikely dog," he adds. "I bought it for my wife for her birthday; it's a King Charles Cavalier spaniel. It was the ideal present because she loves dogs and I don't, so it was a completely selfless gift. So the image I'm painting is me, you know? With a farm background, walking this fluffy dog down the street and people constantly stopping me to ask its name..." Which is? "Poppy," answers Gleeson, before elaborating, "Poppy Parker, and this dog has taken over my life, and surprisingly I have enjoyed his company. Which sounds a bit wrong, but anyway the dog has changed me." Steve Jones |