Australian comedian Sam Campbell, known for his breakout appearances on Taskmaster and Last One Laughing UK, has launched a new Channel 4 series titled Make That Movie. The show, a deeply strange sitcom, features Campbell as a pompous director whose creative well has run dry. He invites the public to share their bizarre movie ideas, which he and his dysfunctional crew then develop into feature films, all within the framework of a shonky reality programme.
Campbell, 34, moved to the UK from Australia in the early 2020s and quickly became a standout on the British comedy circuit. His stand-up style, which swings between hammy overacting and childish belligerence, won him the Edinburgh comedy award in 2022. He returned the following year for a single 10-minute victory lap performance titled Bulletproof Ten.
His recent high-profile gig on Last One Laughing UK saw him pitted against comedians like Alan Carr, David Mitchell, and Bob Mortimer. Campbell's unconventional antics—including duck impressions and claiming to have dined with 'mole people'—made him a leftfield presence. His deadpan manner proved unbreakable, leading producers to change the rules; he ultimately lost to David Mitchell by making marginally fewer contestants crack up.
Campbell's new show was given a hands-off approach by the production company, partly due to their focus on an animated Ricky Gervais series about cats. Channel 4's head of comedy, Charlie Perkins, a longtime champion of Campbell's, was trusting of the concept. Co-star Lara Ricote, who plays his assistant Jess, admitted she didn't fully understand the script but trusted Campbell's comedic instincts.
Despite his on-stage persona, Campbell is described as relatively poker-faced in real life. He recently took a break at his parents' house in Tasmania after filming back-to-back episodes of an Australian panel show. He is currently reading Ben Lerner's novel Transcription.
