Michael Balk

Michael grew up in the Clarence Valley in Northern Rivers New South Wales.[2] He attended primary and secondary school in Grafton[3] before moving to Brisbane to study Arts/Law at Queensland University of Technology.[4]

Balk is the nephew of acclaimed filmmaker Philip Hearnshaw,[5] and grandson of Australian Liberal Politician Eric Hearnshaw.[6]

Balk is best known for his original television roles, notably scrapboy in dirtgirlworld[7][8] & Get Grubby TV,[9] Glen Goosebump in SMASHHDOWN!,[10] and various characters on BrainBuzz.[11]

Michael appears in musicals,[12] theatre productions[13] and television commercials.[14][15]

Between 2006 and 2010 Michael was Lead Presenter and Producer at Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo.[16]

Michael is the Vice-President[17] of the Australian charity the Actors & Entertainers Benevolent Fund of Queensland.[18] He is also President of Actors Equity Queensland.[19]

Michael was nominated for Best Emerging Artist at the Matilda Awards in 2005 and 2006.[20]

In 2010 dirtgirlworld was nominated for a Logie Award in the Outstanding Children’s Program category.[21] The creators of the show dedicated the nomination to key creatives on the team citing Michael Balk among them.[22]

The stars of dirtgirlworld were recognized with an AFI Award in Melbourne, Australia in 2010.[23]

dirtgirlworld also received nominations for a BAFTA[24] and Prix Jeunesse Award[25] in 2010, and for Outstanding Preschool Programme at the 2011 JAPAN prize[26] in Tokyo.

In 2013, Balk and the team from the ABC went on to win the International Digital Emmy Award in Cannes for their work on dirtgirlworld.[27]

Balk was voted in the Clarence Valley's Most Influential People of 2019.[28]

• Michael Balk at IMDb
• Michael Balk Official Website