Matthew was born in Glen Waverley, Victoria. Before moving from Melbourne to London in 1992, he was a freelance writer for The Age, performed at the Last Laugh and was named Best New Comic at the Hilton Hotel (judged by Russell Gilbert, Trevor Marmalade and Glenn Robbins). He was a writer for the Coodabeen Champions radio shows, and had a number of his footy songs featured on Greg Champion's That's What I Like About Football album.
Based in London until February 2000, Matthew became a regular performer at the world famous Comedy Store and also on BBC TV's top-rating Saturday Night Stand-Up Show. Matthew wrote for the UK edition of FHM magazine and also created a TV sketch series which was nominated at Montreaux's International Golden Rose Awards in 1999.
In 1999, Matthew had his debut novel, Saturday Afternoon Fever published by HarperCollins. The rites of passage story of an obsessive Australian Rules Football fan quickly became a bestseller. The book is going into its 3rd reprint in 2002. At the 2000 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Matthew performed an adaptation of the book, directed by Tes Lyssiotis, which received rave reviews ("Hardy is a rare character who is both endearing and painfully unsentimental...wonderful show" -The Age)
He returned to the 2001 Melbourne International Comedy Festival with Sex and the Suburbs ("Matthew Hardy is charming and amiable, delighting both the men and women in the audience as he treads the fraught topic of sexual politics" -The Sunday Age).
Matthew is a BAFTA Award-winning writer for the English comedy series The Sketch Show (seen here on Ten) and is a writer for Kelsey Grammar ('Frasier') in the USA.
Hardy released his 'I'm So Australian' CD/DVD in 2008 with Sony Music and amazingly performed in Six Australian States Within 24 Hours on Australia Day to promote it, including a 10am performance here at the Sit-Down Comedy Club.
Matthew appeared on the SBS 'Ashes Cricket' coverage as a comedy roving reporter last August, as a guest on Spicks & Specks (where he sung 'We Bulit This City On Rock & Roll' to pages from Joh Bielke's autobiography) and was featured heavily on Ten's 'The Best Of Good News Week' in November 2009
"In heaven, everyone will be as naturally funny as Matthew Hardy".
-Time Out (UK)
Matthew Hardy - TV Sports Comedy
