Meet Sam Taunton, who adds a touch of comedy to the evening news bulletin

It can be challenging picking the right moment to deliver a joke live on air between a series of confronting news stories, but rising Aussie comedy star Sam Taunton is proving how it’s done.

In the evolving career of comedian Sam Taunton, sometimes there’s little space to be funny. But that’s just fine with the rising star of Australian comedy.

“The Project is the only show on TV where, as the comedian, you bomb. And you do it regularly because it’s live and it’s reactional to what’s going on in the day,” Taunton says of his gig on Network Ten’s current affairs flagship show. 

“Every other comedy show, you have a bit of time to think about what you’re going to do, whereas often we’re dealing with a heavy story, and then we’re trying to do something funny.

“I feel like that’s part of the fun. I’ll regularly have a show where I’m being not funny and I like to call it out and be like, well, you can’t win them all and then that becomes funny.”

Moves to bring Taunton on board The Project began last year when long time comedy panellist decided it was his time to move on. With Carrie Bickmore also leaving weekday duties and Lisa Wilkinson vacating her Sunday host seat, 2023 brought a fresh new look with Taunton and Sarah Harris joining Waleed Aly on the weekday desk.

Questions were raised about the show’s future. But even in the first moments of Taunton’s exclusive sit-down with VWeekend at Melbourne’s Comedy Republic, it’s obvious why he was hand-picked to help the show start a new chapter.

Comedian Sam Taunton on The Project panel. Picture: Supplied

There’s an unnervingly natural quick wit to him, a tendency to lean into self-deprecation, and an innate talent to get along with just about anyone – just ask the photographer on this very shoot.

He effortlessly breezes in and out of meaningful conversation, casually peppering in some humour – a difficult balance that clearly appealed to Network Ten bosses.

“I got a call from my manager and she was like, I don’t understand this but they want you … I was shocked, completely shocked,” Taunton recalls.

“They told me I had to relocate to Melbourne and I said, what if you relocate the show to Sydney? And they said, ‘I think it’s easier if you move to Melbourne’.

“It was pretty nuts, none of us had ever worked together and we’d never hung out or anything. I feel like it was a gamble from Ten but I think it paid off,” Taunton says.

Sam Taunton, 33, was somewhat of an emerging talent when approached for the co-host role. Picture: David Caird

Crucially, he’s at ease rolling with the punches of live television, a talent that was honed during his many years traversing the global stand-up scene.

The 33-year-old was somewhat of an emerging talent when asked to come aboard the broadcaster’s legacy show, albeit with some impressive radio and television stints under his belt.

He’s a renowned YouTuber, who was a RAW National Finalist in 2015 and then really burst onto the stand-up comedy scene in 2017 when he was nominated as Best Newcomer at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

He won the festival’s prestigious Pinder Prize in 2019, which gave him a ticket to Edinburgh Fringe where he performed to sellout audiences.

“When I started comedy, I just wanted to be a professional comedian,” Taunton says.

“I just wanted to make a living from doing comedy because that in itself, I think, is just a huge success, especially in Australia, just because our comedy industry isn’t as big as the UK or America.”

Comedian Sam Taunton has clocked up some big interviews since joining the panel, including the PM and Margot Robbie. Picture: David Caird

So to become the voice entrusted to deliver laughs between potentially distressing news stories – for instance, the Israel-Palestine conflict – is no small undertaking.

“It’s really hard because I mean, comedy is a thing that people want to get a release from,” Taunton concedes, touching on the show’s delicate balance.

“You’ve got to pick your moments a bit more than I thought, because there’s gear shifts in the show, but I think that’s the real strength of the show, that it can do a lot more than other shows.”

A gag that perhaps didn’t quite hit the mark with viewers was a fake nosebleed which he pulled on fellow comedian and mate Celia Pacquola, generating international headlines.

“I maintain that is why Thank God You’re Here had such a great run. We put it on the map,” he says, revealing he’d hoped to throw Pacquola into his very own version of the improvisation comedy show she hosts.

“I suggested that I pretend to be sick and we’ll be like, ‘Thank God you’re here Dr Pacquola!’ but Kate Langbroek, she likes to think outside the box and said I should have a bleeding nose. What we didn’t know was that the fake blood was going to look really realistic.

“Celia handled it very well and I thought it was very funny. And then it made all the news; in the UK it’s like news presenter has a nosebleed on-air.”

Sam Taunton credits Tom Gleeson for helping to shape his approach. Picture: David Caird

Taunton, who holds a degree in political science, is unafraid to weigh in on the serious stuff – but only if necessary.

“It’s not that I’m averse to it or that I think I need to steer clear of that,” he says, explaining how Hard Quiz host Tom Gleeson helped shape his approach.

“He once told me that your ideology should always be comedy first, then your real opinion because opinions change, and I kind of agree with that.

“I’d say my allegiances are to comedy first, and then whatever my real opinion is. And also, I don’t know if anyone’s ever turning to me for a real opinion.”

Of all the plot twists to come this past year, he says, Hollywood legend Adam Sandler praising his good looks during a malfunctioning Zoom interview was by far one of the best.

“I love Adam Sandler. He’s like a hero of mine, and during the Zoom he couldn’t see me but then I popped up on screen. And then he goes, ‘There he is! That’s a good-looking kid, that was worth the wait’, and that’s like the highlight of my life.

“I’m putting that on my comedy festival poster next year: Worth the wait, he’s a good-looking kid.”

Taunton’s also clocked up interviews with some other big names, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Aquaman’s Jason Momoa and homegrown megastar actor Margot Robbie – not once but twice.

“She loves me, she’s a big fan,” Taunton says, his flair for humour shining through once more.

“I keep telling people that she touched me, we were doing the interview and she leaned over and she touched my arm. That’s the only time my girlfriend has ever come to watch a taping.

“But she touched me and I still think about that all the time.”

One of his favourite spots in Melbourne is Comedy Republic. Picture: David Caird

Taunton says the personal chemistry betweenhimself, Aly and Harris has been strong, and outside of work they catch up for “secret dinners” to build on their personal bonds.

“The show is such a small part of our days together,” Taunton said, touching on whether the co-hosts have finally found their groove.

“I think we gel now, we know each other’s things and about bits and pieces of each other’s lives. I think that definitely comes across in the show.

“It takes time (to build that connection), that’s the thing, and now I can’t imagine not talking to them as much. They’re so in my life now and we’re always chatting so it would seem very foreign for it not to be like that.

“My biggest enemy is (Sunday Project comedian) Michael Hing though, because he’s like me on the weekend show. He’s also sledging me heaps at the moment which seems out of order. I don’t like it.”

Another pressing matter, evident by long-time host Aly’s running gag on the show, is the state of Taunton’s love life … specifically, when he’s planning to propose on-air to his girlfriend.

“Oh, f– king hell! So, the issue is not me proposing, the issue would be her saying yes. I don’t think she would say yes, in fact, I know she won’t say yes,” he says.

“I’m happy to propose but it’s not going to be fun for everyone to watch. She breaks my heart and then I have to tell a joke and go ‘Anyway, here’s a man in Frankston who slipped on a banana peel.”

That said, Taunton knows his chances of defeating his dressing room buddy in a debate over his relationship status – or any other topic – are slim to none.

“Are you kidding me? Waleed’s, like, the smartest guy in the country. I honestly think he is the smartest guy in the country,” he says.

“He’s so smart that you can’t debate with him. The other day I asked whether he thinks Sydney or Melbourne is better, and he goes, ‘I reject the premise of the question’. What does that even mean?”

Sam Taunton moved to Melbourne to take up comedy before returning to Sydney, but has since returned for The Project gig.

Taunton, who first moved to Melbourne forfour years to take up comedy before returning north to Sydney, playfully makes his preference known before offering a much more diplomatic response.

“If you break down the facts, Melbourne is objectively better; you have a better quality of life, living in Melbourne. Right? There’s more to do, the public transport, the infrastructure. It’s way better.

“I think they’re both great cities and we should embrace both of them because they’re two of the best cities in the world. We’re so lucky as Australians to have these two cities.”

Among some of his most cherished spots around town is Comedy Republic, where this interview took place the day after comedic legend Cal Wilson tragically died.

“Whenever something happens in comedy, someone gets married, or someone dies or something bad happens to someone, or during the Comedy Festival, everyone comes here and they meet and they have a drink,” Taunton says.

Taunton says late comedian Cal Wilson was “a real mother figure” to a lot of comedians. Picture: Matthew Farrell

“Cal was kind of like a real mother figure to a lot of comedians, especially new comedians, especially me when I first started.

“I was very lucky early on, the Comedy Festival took me under their wing and took me out on these tours, which I was not good enough to be doing but she never made me feel like I didn’t belong.”

Some of his best buddies with whom he regularly shoots the breeze – at comedy clubs across the city or on their juicy group chat – are Mike Goldstein, Tim Hewitt, Tom Cashman and Cameron James.

“This group chat has been going on forever, for like seven years and we are just gossiping about what other comedians are doing; I don’t know if it’s healthy or it’s toxic,” he says.

“No, we’re actually very supportive. The thing about the comedy industry is that, everyone is kind of friends and knows each other. I know that’s relevant of all industries, but everyone really is.

“If someone’s doing a show, even during Comedy Festival time, we’re all going to everyone’s show to see what they’re doing and then plugging it at the end of our shows.”

Speaking of shows, Taunton plans to return to the stage next year with a new stand-up show.

“I’ll keep doing The Project until they kick me out of the building, I reckon, which could happen? I don’t know,” he jokes.

“I’m going to tour next year with my new stand-up show, which is exciting because I haven’t done as much stand-up this year because of The Project, which has been an adjustment.

“I really want to go do some more, if I can find time, regional stuff. The country people often get overlooked by the city, and I think they’re good people and want to spend more time out there.”

Watch Sam Taunton on The Project, Monday to Thursday on Network Ten