Grant Piro is an Australian actor. He is best known as the host of the children's television show Couch Potato on the ABC. He also appeared as Captain Schnepel in Escape From Pretoria.
Personal life Piro is married to Australian soprano and musical theatre icon Marina Prior. They have five children in a blended family. Two of the children (Jackson and Madison) are biologically Piro's from a former relationship, while three are biologically Prior's, from a former relationship.
Career Piro began his career in 1983 in the Australian television soap opera Sons and Daughters.
After completing George Miller's film Bushfire Moon (Miracle Down Under) in 1987, a chance meeting with British comedy legend Ray Cooney led to a three-year stint in the UK where he appeared in several of Ray's plays: It Runs in the Family, Wife Begins at Forty, the latter alongside the great Jimmy Edwards, as well as TV programs such as Casualty and Shelley.
He returned to Australia in 1990 to become the host of the ABC children's television program Couch Potato. During the 1990s, Grant appeared in a large number of Australian television dramas that included Janus, Correlli, G.P., Halifax f.p., Blue Heelers, SeaChange, Wildside, Good Guys Bad Guys, McLeod's Daughters, The River Kings, The Territorians, Stingers, Twisted Tales, Tales of the South Seas, Witch Hunt, and more. This trend continued beyond 2000 with appearances in Blue Heelers and Stingers again, Marshall Law, Crashburn, Headland, Rain Shadow, The Librarians, The Elephant Princess, Sea Patrol, and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.
Grant Piro became one of Australia's most respected theatre actors, with performances in Under Milk Wood, Whose Life Is It Anyway, Moby Dick, The Merry Widow, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, The Producers, The 39 Steps, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Drowsy Chaperone, Hairspray, His Girl Friday, and Hate.
His performance in the MTC's production of Realism saw him critically acclaimed for his display of the acting technique known as biomechanics. He appeared as several characters in the Rolf de Heer cult film Bad Boy Bubby, worked with film director Scott Hicks on his films Call Me Mr. Brown and Sebastian and the Sparrow, with Paul Hogan in Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles, appeared in the French feature L'Amour En Embuscade (Love in Ambush) for Carl Shultz, and the films The Outsider, Darkness Falls, The Condemned, Save Your Legs, and Crime & Punishment.
Filmography
Television + Year Title Role notes Ref 1983-84 Sons and Daughters Tony Parker TV series, 119 episodes 1986Push StartTV movie 1987 Pals Rocky TV series 1988Captain JohnnoKevinTV movie 1989 Casualty Glenn Buchanan TV series, 1 episode Shelley George TV series, 1 episode 1990Second ChildhoodMr CruikshankTV movie 1991 Couch Potato Host/Presenter TV series 1991 Finders Keepers (aka The Finder) Max TV series, 10 episodes 1991 The River Kings Spud TV miniseries, 3 episodes 1994 Janus Cassidy TV series, 2 episodes 1995 Glad Rags Warren Hamm TV series, 6 episodes 1995 Correlli Toby Miller TV miniseries, 8 episodes 1996The Devil GameCostelloTV movieMcLeod's DaughtersSteve CreeleyTV movie The Territorians Danny Leydon TV movie The Bite Miles TV miniseries Twisted Tales Merrill TV series, 1 episode1997Love in Ambush Jon KincaidTV movie 1997 Good Guys Bad Guys Gavin 'The Goat' La Rousse TV series, 1 episode 1998 SeaChange Bryce Reardon TV series, 3 episodes Halifax f.p. Terry Lansdown TV series, Season 3, episode 2 Tales of the South Seas TV series Driven Crazy Wobbly Gurgle TV series, 1 episode 1999 Wildside Peter Gilmour TV series, 1 episode Witch HuntConlonTV movie Airtight Freddy TV movie 2002 MDA David Smith TV series, 1 episode 1999-2003 Stingers Brian Dennison / Tony Tennant || TV series, 2 episodes 2002 Marshall Law Hallion TV miniseries, 4 episodes 2003 CrashBurn Adam TV series, 13 episodes 2006 Headland Doctor Baker TV series, 1 episode 2007 Rain Shadow James Campbell TV miniseries, 6 episodes The Librarians Piero Chiappi TV series, 5 episodes 2007-10 City Homicide Craig Pierce / Wayne Styles TV series, 3 episodes 2008-09 The Elephant Princess Jim Wilson TV series, 18 episodes 2009 Sea Patrol Jay Fennelly TV series, 1 episode 2012 Winners & Losers Mime Evans TV series, 1 episode 2014 INXS: Never Tear Us Apart Molly Meldrum TV miniseries, 2 episodes 2015 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Mighty Merve MacKenzie TV series, 1 episode 2016 Jack Irish Senator Mackie TV series, 5 episodes 2017 Sherazade: The Untold Stories Porter / Ali Baba (voice) TV series, 22 episodes Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story Dustin Hoffman TV miniseries, 1 episode Newton's Law Sergeant Robert Malouf TV miniseries, 5 episodes The Ex-PM Bambino TV series, 1 episode 2018 Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You Grossman TV miniseries, 1 episode Wentworth Doctor Chamberlain TV series, 1 episode True Story with Hamish & Andy Gordon TV series, 1 episode Wanted Gary TV series, 2 episodes How to Stay Married Michael Fassmember TV series, 1 episode 2019 My Life is Murder Bob nNble TV series, 1 episode 2023 Utopia Patrick TV series, 1 episode Warnie Graham HalbishTV miniseries:1 episode2025The NewsreaderWayneTV series: 4 episodes
Film + Year Title Role Notes Ref 1984 Abduction... Who's Next? Ben Short film 1986 Playing Beatie Bow Pino Feature film Call Me Mr. Brown Mt. Isa Miner Feature film 1987 The Lighthorsemen Charlie Feature film Bushfire Moon Angus Watson Feature film 1988 Sebastian and the Sparrow Feature film Wife Begins at 40 Leonard Harper 1993 Bad Boy Bubby Salesman Feature film 1996 The Big Maybe Husband Short film 1997 Amy PC Franklin Feature film 1997 Joey John O'Bannon Feature film 2000 Mr. Accident Lyndon Feature film 2001 Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles Guide Feature film 2002 The Outsider Woodrow Wharton Feature film 2003 Darkness Falls Larry Fleishman Feature film 2007 The Independent Bradley Evans Feature film The Condemned Moyer Feature film 2010 Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Creature (voice) Feature film The Adjustable Cosmos Emperor Frederick (voice) Short film 2012 Save Your Legs Punter Feature film 2014 Predestination Boxing Commentator / News Report Announcer Feature film The Mule Professor Dylan Kanarakis Feature film 2015 Sneezing Baby Panda: The Movie Voice Crime & Punishment Quincey Feature film 2016 Spirit of the Game Ken Watson Feature film 2020 Escape from Pretoria Captain Schnepel Feature film2025SacrificeCharlie Hunter
Theatre + Year Title Role Notes Ref 1986 Pravda Cartoonist / Bewildered Walking Man / Reporter / Photographer Playhouse Adelaide 1987 It Runs in the Family 1987 Much Ado About Nothing Boy / Messenger / Hugh Oatcake Playhouse Adelaide 1988 Wife Begins at Forty Leonard Harper Playhouse Adelaide, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne 1993 Taking Steps Playhouse Adelaide 1993 Under Milk Wood Playhouse Adelaide 1994 Short Blacks with Shepard Pie: Red Cross Promethean Theatre, Adelaide 1994 Whose Life is it Anyway? Price Theatre, Adelaide 1996 Station 2: Eye of Another Nick / Jed / Dominic / Frank 251 Wakefield Street, Adelaide 1999 The Merry Widow Njegus State Theatre Melbourne, Festival Theatre Adelaide, Lyric Theatre Sydney 2002 Hello, Dolly! Ambrose Kemper / Rudolph Reisenweber State Theatre, Melbourne 2002 Laughter on the 23rd Floor Playhouse Melbourne 2004–05 The Producers Carmen Ghia Princess Theatre Melbourne, Lyric Theatre Brisbane, Lyric Theatre Sydney 2007 The Madwoman of Chaillot Playhouse Melbourne 2008 Whose Life is it Anyway? Lion Arts Centre, Adelaide 2008 The 39 Steps Playhouse Melbourne, Geelong Performing Arts Centre 2008 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Gooper Playhouse Melbourne 2008 Gala Southbank Theatre 2009 Realism Southbank Theatre with Melbourne Theatre Company 2009 Master of the Revels Southbank Theatre 2009 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Andre Thibault State Theatre Melbourne 2010 The Drowsy Chaperone Gangster Playhouse Melbourne 2010-11 Hairspray Wilbur Turnblad Princess Theatre Melbourne, Lyric Theatre Sydney 2012 His Girl Friday Playhouse Melbourne 2013 Hate Malthouse Theatre 2016 Around the World in 80 Days Detective Fix 2017 Hello, Dolly! Horace Vandergelder Playhouse Melbourne 2018 Oklahoma! Ali Hakim State Theatre, Melbourne 2022 Girl from the North Country Reverend Marlowe Theatre Royal, Sydney, Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Civic Theatre, Auckland, Wellington Opera House, Canberra Theatre, Lyric Theatre Brisbane 2022 When the Rain Stops Falling Space 28, Southbank Moby Dick 2024A Christmas CarolFezziwigComedy Theatre2025FolliesPalais Theatre
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