Tom Cashman’s love for comedy began with family trips to the Melbourne Comedy Festival, thanks to his dad who sparked his interest in making people laugh for a living.
Before landing the role of “Lesser Tom” on Taskmaster Australia, comedian Tom Cashman had only crossed paths with host Tom Gleeson once—back in 2017, when they performed on the same lineup.
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Despite the brief encounter, Cashman had admired Gleeson from afar for years.
I used to come down to the Melbourne Comedy Festival with my family. My dad is a particularly big comedy fan, which is why I got into it. As a teenager we’d go to stand-up shows a lot, I remember being excited to do a gig with Tom and chatting afterwards. That was the only time I’d ever interacted with him, I think. An interaction he has absolutely no memory of!
he tells TV Tonight
Based on the UK format created by Alex Horne—Tom Cashman takes on the role of assistant to Tom Gleeson, the Taskmaster. The show features five celebrities tackling bizarre challenges, with points awarded at the discretion of the Taskmaster.
While Cashman was working in the UK, he was invited to meet Horne and learn more about the assistant role—an early hint that he’d secured the part. However, building a connection with Gleeson wasn’t something that could be manufactured just for the show.
Chemistry is something that kind of develops naturally rather than something that you figure out. I guess now I’m quite familiar with his sense of humour, He came to my live shows last year and we had some drinks after that. I think maybe that was an intro to my sense of humour. But also, it’s a lucky thing that the dynamic that the show calls for between us is true, in that I’m kind of newer and less confident and look up to him. Then there are practical things like jumping at the right time and having a feel for what people are doing a performance-wise. That’s just a matter of practice.
Read More: “There Really Isn’t Anything Else Like It”: Inside Taskmaster Australia’s Unmatched Comedic Formula
For each season, Tom Cashman travels to New Zealand to film the tasks before returning to Sydney for the studio segments, where Tom Gleeson dishes out the points.
This season’s lineup includes comedians Dave Hughes, Tommy Little, Emma Holland, Takashi Wakasugi, and actor Lisa McCune—marking the first time a non-comedian has joined the Australian version of the show. Cashman says McCune adds a refreshing change to the dynamic.
It’s a bad task if everyone does the same thing. You want everyone doing different things and that’s what Lisa brought. One task was to lose the keys for as long as possible. I’m hidden for four minutes and then I come out. A lot of people had different strategies, but Lisa put it down her top. After a few minutes of saying ‘Can I have the keys please?’ she gives it to me.
So her loveliness is her Achilles heel. Comedians are a bit more conniving and selfish, I guess. Watching her squirm in situations where comedians thrive was a lot of fun. I do my best not to break while filming, but inevitably will find myself laughing when something ridiculous is happening. I think episode four with Lisa is the hardest I’ve ever laughed on the show. It’s an accidental, awkward series of events.
Tom Cashman says that his role as referee on Taskmaster Australia is all about ensuring fairness in the competition—while still serving the show’s comedic tone.
Everyone should be privy to the same circumstances and then if they do different things, it should come from them. To the extent that I can, I’m trying to be the same each time, to create a fair competition environment, I guess, So that’s the ‘administration’ answer. But the ‘comedic’ answer is I am the straight man so I need to be the straight man most of the time, depending on what’s happening. Sometimes people chuck a wig on and they want me to be their love interest, but generally speaking I’m trying to be the straight man.
he explains.
That was a decision I had to make in season one on how to approach the role.
Now four seasons in—and with a fifth on the way—it seems “Lesser Tom” has made his dad proud. His father still attends his live comedy gigs regularly.
I’ve been very lucky that when Dad‘s come along it’s been a pretty good night so he doesn’t worry about me, I guess.
Taskmaster Australia airs Thursdays at 8:30pm on 10.
Source: TVTonight