Leigh Hart

Leigh Hart (born 20 July 1970) is a New Zealand comedian, radio announcer (Radio Hauraki, where he hosts the drive show called 'Bhuja', alongside Jason Hoyte) and performance artist who is also known as "That Guy". He has made various appearances on New Zealand television, including SportsCafe and his own show, Moon TV.

Leigh Hart
PseudonymThat Guy
Birth nameChristopher Leigh Hart[1]
Born20 July 1970
Greymouth, New Zealand
Years active2001–present

Early life and education

Hart was born in Greymouth, and lived outside of New Zealand, with four years spent in Peru,[2][3] until the age of eleven when his family returned to New Zealand.[4] He attended Christ's College in Christchurch before spending a year at the University of Canterbury. After working on the Channel Tunnel for two-and-a-half years in the early 1990s, he returned to Christchurch and the founded the rock band "Wild Turkey" with his brother Greg and friend Matt Johnson.[4] The band suspended activities in 1994 after being briefly jailed in France for visa irregularities and then deported.[5] Returning to Christchurch, Hart enrolled in film and television school, where he began a newspaper titled Moon.

Career

SportsCafe

Hart moved to Auckland, where he was working in television production for Greenstone Pictures when producer Marc Ellis recruited him for a vacant guest spot on a 1996 episode of SportsCafe, in which he appeared as an "international snail trainer."[4]

Moon TV

Beginning in 2002, Hart produced and starred in Moon TV, a late night comedy show.[6] Hart also wrote a column for the Herald on Sunday, and worked for the television show Fair Go.

Screaming Reels

Hart's television career reached a climax with his internationally successful fishing show Screaming Reels. The show also featured Jason Hoyte, who co-hosted the educational show that saw the dynamic duo take the loyal viewership around various secret fishing locations in and around Auckland Harbour. The show especially took off in Australia as Channel 7 featured the show on a weekly basis in the popular Sunday morning slot. Although the duo never managed to catch a fish, the knowledge and experience they were able to share with the viewers was next to none and as a result, they made their mark in the global game fishing sector.

Appearances

Television series
  • SportsCafe (screened 1996–2006 and 2008, starred 2001–2006 and 2008)
  • Moon TV (2002–present)
  • The Great New Zealand Spelling Bee (2006)[7]
  • Shock Treatment (2006), with April Bruce (one episode)[8]
  • Pulp Sport (2007)
  • That Guy's World Cup (2007) on TVNZ OnDemand[9]
  • Leigh Hart's Mysterious Planet (2008–2009), a mockumentary series in which he travels the world attempting to solve the world's greatest mysteries including Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, UFOs, the Bermuda Triangle, Lost Inca Gold, the pyramids and Stonehenge.[10]
  • Rugby Mundo (2011): a 12 episode comedic 2011 Rugby World Cup show.[11]
  • Olympico (2012) on Comedy Central NZ: a three episode series with Jeremy Wells and Jason Hoyte which lampooned the London Olympics.[12]
  • Descent from Disaster: (2013) Leigh looks back at the Strongman Mine disaster in 1967 which shook New Zealand, particularly the West Coast and many of Leigh's friends and family.
  • 7 Days (2013–2015) on TV3
  • Late Night Big Breakfast (2014–2016) with Jason Hoyte and Jeremy Wells, on TV One (Season 1)[13] and WatchMe (Season 2).[14]
  • The DNA Detectives (2015) on TV One (one episode)[15]
  • Rude Tube (2016) episode "Feasts of Fury", where his short "Fastest chef in the world 1" was ranked 16.
  • Terry Teo (2016) on TV2 (one episode) as "Tom Hagar"
  • Hamsterman from Amsterdam (2016) on WatchMe, a spinoff of the Moon TV character.[16]
  • Screaming Reels (2017)
  • Taskmaster (2020)

Hart has also appeared on the comedy show Jono and Ben at Ten. With Jason Hoyte he hosts a satirical sports show called Sports Bhuja.

Live appearances

Hart is a regular speaker and M.C. at public events. In 2011 in Shanghai, he helped raise nearly half a million dollars for the Christchurch earthquake relief fund.

Film
  • You Move You Die (2007) as a police officer.
  • Gary of the Pacific (2017) as a pilot.[17]
  • Scott's World of Cheese

Advertisements
  • ANZ Bonus Bonds (screened 2006–present)[7]
  • Hellers Bacon (screened 2006–present)[18]
  • No 8 Rugby Internet Campaign
  • National Mini Storage (2014–2018)[19]

Controversy

On 10 May 2009, Hart wrote a humorous piece for the New Zealand Herald entitled "That Guy: Let's hear it for the Maori sasquatch".[20] The piece provoked outrage in the cryptozoological community for the representations of individuals at the conference, as well as its overall tone.[21]

Wakachangi beer

In July 2013, Leigh released his own brand of beer, Wakachangi, brewed by Harringtons Brewery.[22] It was initially marketed to students having big parties around the country (notably in Dunedin) and sold in 2-litre bottles.[22] Wakachangi was released nationwide at all Liquorlands in 330ml bottles in October 2013.[23][24] Hart's comedic taste continues with the beer branding, with "hardly a true word on the label"; it is said to be "a South Otago beer, with North Canterbury flavours, brewed by a West Coaster, with the ol' misty waters of the Waikato - est circa 1648", and winner of the Moon Breweries beer awards.[24][25]

References
  1. Staff writer (2012). "Interview: Leigh Hart". Getfrank.
  2. "About Leigh Hart". Television New Zealand. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  3. "Twelve Questions: Leigh Hart". New Zealand Herald. 9 January 2016.
  4. White, ed. (15 October 2004). "There's something about That Guy" (PDF). Te Waha Nui (6). Auckland University of Technology: School of Communications Studies. p. 17. ISSN 1176-4740. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2007.
  5. Hoare, Rose (18 May 2008). "Way Back When". Sunday Magazine. Sunday Star-Times Magazine. p. 13 – via PressReader.
  6. Treacher, Aroha (2 January 2006). "Leigh Hart (That Guy) Sports Cafe". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013.
  7. Cone, Deborah Hill (November–December 2006). "New Boys on the Box". Idealog. No. 6. pp. 34–43. ISSN 1179-3465.
  8. Wichtel, Diana (25 March 2005). "Waste not, want not". Noted. Aukland, New Zealand: Bauer Media.
  9. Hart, Leigh (18 August 2007). "Tune in to me for World Cup". NZ Herald. NZME.
  10. Harvey, Sarah (18 February 2010). "That Guy's gone in search of Bigfoot". Stuff.
  11. Hart, Leigh (2011). "Rugby Mundo's World Cup Finale". Stuff. Fairfax New Zealand Ltd.
  12. Cunlife, Regan J. (9 July 2012). "Olympico Team Prior to Depature to London". Throng. Throng Media.
  13. Greive, Duncan (18 September 2014). "Late Night Big Breakfast: Season One Obituary". The Spinoff.
  14. Pegler, Pattie (2 February 2016). "TV Review: Late Night Big Breakfast, Like Mike". Stuff. Stuff Limited.
  15. Bowron, Jane (26 November 2015). "TV Review: The DNA Detectives". Stuff. Stuff Limited.
  16. Schulz, Chris (31 March 2016). "Leigh Hart: The man making a mockery of TV". NZ Herald. NZME.
  17. Casey, Alex (19 March 2017). "Movie Review: Terry of the Pacific". NZ Herald. NZME.
  18. Whiteside, Andrew (26 April 2016). "Leight Hart: On TV comedy and his distinctive voice". NZ On Screen.
  19. StopPress Team (20 February 2015). "An ocelot in the fridge". StopPress.
  20. "That Guy: Let's hear it for the Maori sasquatch". The New Zealand Herald. 10 May 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  21. Taylor, Cliff (8 February 2010). "Local man of mystery". NZ Herald. NZME.
  22. Raethel, Thomas (21 July 2013). "Wakachangi Beer Launch". Critic. Vol. 2013 no. 16. Otago University Students' Association.
  23. Staff writer (November 2013). "Wakachangi Available Nationwide!". Wakachangi. Wakachangi Group Ltd. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  24. Staff writer (2 October 2013). "That Guy's seriously talking up his beer". NZ Herald. NZME.
  25. StopPress Team (8 July 2013). "'Quite nice beer'—UPDATED". StopPress. Tangible Media.
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