Though an introduction may not seem necessary, we’re talking about comedian and member of satirist team The Chaser, Chas Licciardello.
Famous for his controversial pranks and amusing political banter, Licciardello gained popularity in 2006, starring on the ABC’s satirical comedy series ‘The Chaser’s War on Everything’.
“I still don’t really know how it happened,” the comedian said.
“One year we were making comedy on the ABC late at night and no one was paying any attention at all; the year after, we were making basically the same comedy and people decided they liked it.”
Produced by Licciardello and fellow members of The Chaser, Charles Firth, Dominic Knight, Chris Taylor, Julian Morrow, Craig Reucassel and Andrew Hansen, the hit series saw the group perform sketches mocking social and political issues and contentious publicity stunts.
Licciardello’s most outrageous and memorable prank on the series was when he breached a restricted zone at the “high-security” APEC Australia 2017 summit, in an episode viewed by almost 3 million Australians.
Travelling in a fake motorcade, the comedian managed to pass through two security checkpoints without being stopped by security or asked for identification, reaching a point 10 metres from the hotel where former US President George W. Bush was staying.
Police only realised that the motorcade was a hoax when Licciardello, dressed as Osama bin Laden, voluntarily stepped out of his limousine.
“I still can’t believe that went as well as it did; we thought it was going to be a complete failure,” Licciardello recalled.
“We only tried because we had nothing else to shoot that day and it worked terrifyingly well – we could’ve been partying with George W. Bush!”
No stranger to the court room, Licciardello explained that lawyers for the ABC had warned The Chaser that they were not to enter the restricted “red zone” under any circumstances.
“While we had the best of intentions, we were very incompetent and we ended up going way past the zone we were meant to stop at.”
Having admittedly racked up a pretty hefty legal bill for the ABC over the course of the series, Licciardello and other team members faced charges for the stunt, but they were later dropped because police had allowed their entry into the restricted zone.
Less politically charged but equally astounding was Licciardello’s final stunt, when he decided to test the effectiveness of cosmetic surgery for the show’s last episode.
“I left half of my body in its natural state and I tried to do everything I could to make the other half look like Daniel Craig,” Licciardello recalled.
The daring comedian subjected the latter half of his body to 34 Botox injections, eight Restylane lip injections, teeth whitening, four coats of spray tan, hair and eyebrow bleaching, and leg and chest waxing.
Born in Sydney, Licciardello is known as Chas to many and Charles to his family.
However, on his birth certificate, he is formerly known as Carmelo after his paternal grandfather, as is Italian tradition.
The 40-year-old comedian’s father is from Northern Queensland and his mother is from Sydney, but all four of his grandparents hail from Sicily.
“On one hand, I’m probably the worst Italian in the world; I can’t speak Italian, I’m not Catholic, and I married a woman who’s not Italian,” Licciardello explained.
“On a superficial level, it’s very difficult to see the Italian in me, but on a deeper level it’s quite evident, because my parents are very traditional and they really instilled those values in me.”
Licciardello’s parents were adamant that their two children received a good education, and worked tirelessly to send their only son to the prestigious Sydney Grammar School.
Licciardello met fellow Chaser members Firth and Knight within the walls of the school, and all three of them went on to study at The University of Sydney, where they met the rest of the crew.
“There were only about 10 or 15 people who preferred to write comedy than do school work and so we gravitated together because we all had equally poor priorities,” Licciardello laughed.
Despite devoting most of his time to his passion for comedy, Licciardello graduated with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Science.
“I really know the law of physics very well,” he joked.
Licciardello’s law degree helped him dodge many charges during ‘The Chaser’s War on Everything’, while his science studies proved to be an unlikely avenue for romance.
He met his wife Jocelyn Laurence in a science class and, though the two lost touch after university, they ended up reconnecting years later and now have two daughters.
Though it’s been almost eight years since ‘The Chaser’s War on Everything’ aired its last episode, the powerhouse team is far from finished and are still close friends and colleagues.
Licciardello is currently working on consumer affairs program ‘The Checkout’ alongside Morrow and Reucassel, while The Chaser have pitched several projects to the ABC which they hope to see on our screens in the coming year.
Licciardello also produces and co-hosts ‘Planet America’, a commentary on politics in the US under the leadership of Donald Trump.
“Trump is providing us with lots of material, but on the other hand, he satirises himself better than we ever could and makes us look obsolete,” Licciardello laughed.
While it’s hard to compete with the man who brought us fake news and “covfefe”, Licciardello lists Barnaby Joyce as his personal favourite when it comes to Australian politicians.
“He just doesn’t care, he’ll say anything,” Licciardello exclaimed.
“He’s a normal person who’s willing to say whatever comes into his head and that’s a real gift for a political comedian.”
It seems that Licciardello and his crew have plenty of inspiration to draw on both in Australia and abroad, and The Chaser are far from done with having their say in the most humorous way.
