MIKE MCLEISH

Mike famously played Paul Keating in Keating! The Musical. He is an actor, writer, voice artist, MC, singer, musician, song writer, one-time artistic director and full-time comedian.

Mike has been a familiar face on Australian stages and screens since his star turn in Casey Bennetto’s smash hit Keating! The Musical. Other stage credits include Eddie Perfect’s Shane Warne The MusicalGeorgy Girl: The Seekers Musical, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and David Bowie’s Lazarus. He has toured nationally and internationally with renowned musical improvisation troupe, Spontaneous Broadway, and has performed his own original cabarets around the country.

Off stage, Mike has appeared in numerous small screen productions including OffspringThe LibrariansBed Of RosesMiss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, LowdownWentworthMustangs FC and most recently in a recurring role across four seasons of the ABC’s hit political satire, Utopia. Behind the scenes, he has worked in a range of creative roles for television, including story consultant, song writer, composer, music consultant and dramaturg. Mike is also an in-demand voice artist with over fifteen years’ experience.

With his wife and collaborator, Fiona Harris, Mike has co-written two published novels, The Drop-off and The Pick-up, both of which were based on their comedy web series, The Drop Off, which won over a dozen Best Web Series awards internationally and was broadcast as a telemovie on Channel 9. Fiona and Mike currently have a third novel in the works.

Mike has enjoyed exploring a diverse career path alongside his work as a performer and creative, including stints as Artistic Director of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival, Head Scriptwriter for the nationally broadcast Helpmann Awards and Director of Creative Development for Michael Cassel Group.