The TV WEEK Logie Awards stage is set to look a little different come August. For the past three years, Sam Pang has walked out to a ballroom of rapturous applause before roasting half the audience in it. Now, as the former host returns to the prestigious event as a first-time Gold Logie nominee, it’s likely he’ll be among those on the receiving end of jokes.
That’s more than OK by Sam: “I hope so!” he says as we sit down for a conversation. Like many, the comedian is keen to see what his successor, first-time host Robert Irwin, brings to the night.
A golden run
“I think he’ll be great,” Sam, 52, says of the popular conservationist. “He’s very talented and likeable, and he’ll do a good job. It might be slightly different to the way I did it… maybe with more animals. I’m looking forward to it.”
Having elected to pass on hosting the awards, Sam didn’t expect to be centre stage again. And although he’s one of the most in-demand talents on Australian TV, the Gold nomination came as a “bit of a shock”.
For much of Sam’s career, he’s been the everyman of entertainment, navigating his way by tapping into the quintessential traits of Aussie humour. From working in a bottle shop to an early start in radio and now hosting his own TV show, it’s a success story people want to hear.
“Who would’ve thought?” he says with a smile. “It’s the first time I’ve been nominated [for Gold], and I’ve never felt any entitlement, so it was a surprise.”
While it’s unlikely Sam, who often deflects attention, will lobby for votes, he recognises the honour of being among such a strong field of nominees.
“I’m very much a supporter of the night, coming together and celebrating an industry I’m lucky to be part of,” he says. “It’s important to a lot of people.”
Sam is a man in demand
In the past 12 months, Sam has worked across multiple shows, including Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Front Bar and his own talk show, Sam Pang Tonight, all of which he is being recognised for at the Logies. He also played the lead role in comedy Ground Up earlier this year.
“Too many [shows]… it feels like too many. I can cut back,” he jokes. “I am on a few shows at the moment, but they’re all good shows. I’m proud to be part of them.”
Ground Up came off the back of smaller roles in series such as Fisk and Urzila, so it felt like a natural fit to lead his own sports comedy… well, sort of.
“I almost single-handedly brought down Fisk with one day of shooting,” Sam jokes of his small appearance. “To cast me as anything on that hit show, that mistake is on Kitty [Flanagan]. I don’t feel any shame there. But the experience on Ground Up was everything I hoped it would be. I had to learn lines, and I think the ABC ran out of film doing it, but it came out alright. I’m very proud.”
While a second season of Ground Up is yet to be announced, Sam is keeping busy on HYBPA? and Sam Pang Tonight, which will return later this year. But does the gold nod earn him higher status with his HYBPA? colleagues, Ed Kavalee and Tom Gleisner? Probably not. But perhaps joining the circles of past Gold Logie icons, including Graham Kennedy and Bert Newton, is certainly impressive.
“But they won,” he responds with a laugh. “I’m just nominated. I can’t really put myself in that rarified air, but it’s genuinely thrilling to be nominated, and we’ll see what happens after that.”
The TV WEEK Logie Awards will air Sunday August 16 on Channel Seven and 7plus
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