# Anh Do

Anh Do (born 2 June 1977) is a Vietnamese-born Australian author, actor, comedian, and painter. He has appeared on Australian TV shows such as Thank God You're Here and Good News Week, and was runner-up on Dancing with the Stars in 2007. He studied a combined Business Law degree at the University of Technology, Sydney. He is the brother of film director Khoa Do and has acted in several of Khoa's films, including Footy Legends, which he co-wrote and produced. In 2012, his TV show Anh Does Vietnam began airing. He has been four times a finalist in the Archibald Prize and won the 2017 People's Choice Award. From 2016 to 2021, Do hosted Anh's Brush with Fame on ABC TV in which he concurrently interviews and paints a portrait of prominent Australians.

## Early life as a refugee

Anh Do and his family fled to Australia as refugees in 1980. In his 2010 autobiography, The Happiest Refugee, Do tells of how his family survived five days in a leaky fishing boat nine and a half metres long and two metres wide. During the trip his family and the rest of the passengers were attacked by two different bands of pirates. The first group stole one of the two engines and the second group of pirates stole the second engine, which had been broken but repaired by Do's father using a piece of rubber from a thong. It was reported that as the second band of pirates left, one of them threw a gallon of water onboard which kept all but one of the refugees alive, until they were finally rescued by a German merchant ship. The boat was packed with 40 Vietnamese refugees fleeing across the Indian Ocean. "We were crammed in like sardines," he said. Do's family settled in the Sydney suburb of Yagoona.
The Happiest Refugee has won awards, including the 2011 Australian Book of the Year, Biography of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, as well as the Indie Book of the Year Award 2011, Non-fiction Indie Book of the Year 2011, and it was shortlisted for the 2011 NSW Premier's Literary Awards, Community Relations Commission Award.

## Career

Do attended St Aloysius' College in Milsons Point for his secondary education. When he was 14 he started a small business breeding tropical fish. While studying his first year of law at the University of Technology, Sydney, he owned a stall which sold American Indian artifacts, which he later expanded to four franchised stores. Six months before finishing his combined Business Law degree, law firms offered him jobs which required 60 hours of work a week. He opted to take up stand-up comedy instead. Since 2013 Do has cut back on comedy to focus on painting full-time. He was a finalist in the Archibald Prize in 2014, 2017 and 2019.
From 2016 to 2021, Do hosted Anh's Brush with Fame on ABC-TV. In this popular program, Anh Do concurrently interviews and paints a portrait of prominent Australians. He has been criticised for pre-painting the portraits from photographs and enlisting help from his art tutor.

## Personal life

Do is married to Suzanne (Suzie) Do and they have three sons and a daughter. Do met Suzie whilst they were both studying at university. His mother, Hien, played the role of Van Nguyen's mother, Kim, in Better Man, a film which was produced by Anh's brother Khoa Do.

## Awards

* 2011 Independent Booksellers Book of the Year (for The Happiest Refugee)
* 2011 Joint winner (with musician Paul Kelly) of the Biography of the Year (for The Happiest Refugee)
* 2011 Best Newcomer (for The Happiest Refugee)
* 2011 Book of the Year (for The Happiest Refugee)
* 2017 People's Choice Award, Archibald Prize (for portrait of Jack Charles)
* 2024 Young Australian Best Book Award for Fiction for younger readers (for Hot Dog #10: Beach Time!, illustrated by Dan McGuiness)

### Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Anh Do won one award in that time.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result (wins only) |
| 2012 | Anh Do | Rodney Rude Stand Up Comedian of the Year | Won |

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| | The NRL Footy Show | Himself | Comedian |
| | Short and Curley | Host | |
| 2000 | SeaChange | Quan Tho | |
| 2002 | Don't Blame Me | Vinnie | |
| 2003 | All Saints | Tim Salter | Episode: "The Devil to Pay" |
| 2003 | The Finished People | Factory Worker | |
| 2005 | Little Fish | Tran | |
| 2005 | Blue Water High | Robbo | Episode: "It's Hard to Be Normal" |
| 2005-2007 | Pizza | Chong Fat | |
| 2006 | Two Twisted | Paramedic | |
| 2006 | Solo | Nguyen | |
| 2006 | Footy Legends | Luc Vu | |
| 2006 & 2007 | Thank God You're Here | Himself | Improvised comedy series Contestant |
| 2007 | Kick | Hoa Tran | |
| 2007 | Dancing with the Stars | Contestant | Reality television series |
| 2007 | Deal or No Deal | Contestant | Reality television series Celebrity special Won maximum prize of $200,000 |
| 2008 | Crooked Business | Benny Wing | |
| 2008 | Double the Fist | Krakbot | |
| 2008 | Made in China | Host | |
| 2009 | The Squiz | Host | Game show television series |
| 2009 | Top Gear Australia | Guest | Motoring reality television series |
| 2010 | Matty Johns Show | Himself | Anh Can Do segment |
| 2010 | Talking Heads | Guest | Series 6, Episode 33 |
| 2012 | Pictures of You | Guest | Talk show |
| 2012-2014 | Anh Does | Host | Travel and lifestyle television series |
| 2014-2016 | Long Lost Family (Australia) | Co-host | Documentary series |
| 2016-2021 | Anh's Brush with Fame | Host | Talk show |

## Books

| Year | Title | Publisher | Unique identifier | Notes |
| 2010 | The Happiest Refugee | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781742372389 | |
| 2011 | The Little Refugee | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781742378329 | Picture book Co-authored with Suzanne Do Illustrated by Bruce Whatley |
| 2013 | WeirDo | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781742837581 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2014 | WeirDo 2: Even Weirder! | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781743622711 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2014 | WeirDo 3: Extra Weird | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781743627051 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2015 | WeirDo 4: Super Weird! | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781743629314 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2015 | WeirDo 5: Totally Weird! | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781760155346 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2016 | WeirDo 6: Crazy Weird! | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781760159085 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2016 | WeirDo 7: Mega Weird! | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781760159092 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2016 | Hot Dog! | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781760279004 | Illustrated by Dan McGuiness |
| 2016 | What Do They do with all the Poo from all the Animals at the Zoo? | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781760264475 | Picture book Illustrated by Laura Wood |
| 2017 | WeirDo 8: Really Weird! | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781760276768 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2017 | WeirDo 9: Spooky Weird! | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781760276775 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2017 | Hot Dog! 2 Party Time | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781760279011 | Illustrated by Dan McGuiness |
| 2018 | WeirDo 10: Messy Weird! | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781742768045 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2018 | Ninja Kid | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781742993263 | Illustrated by Jeremy Ley |
| 2018 | WeirDo 11: Splashy Weird! | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781742993751 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2019 | Rise of the Mythix: Golden Unicorn | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781760525132 | Illustrated by Chris Wahl |
| 2019 | WeirDo 12: Hopping Weird! | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781742997926 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2019 | WeirDo 13: Weirdomania! | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781742997933 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2019 | Wolf Girl: Into the Wild | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781760525095 | Illustrated by Jeremy Ley |
| 2019 | Wolf Girl 2: The Great Escape | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781760876357 | Illustrated by Jeremy Ley |
| 2020 | WeirDo 14: Vote Weirdo | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781743836668 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2020 | Rise of the Mythix 2: Mighty Minotaur | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781760876401 | Illustrated by Chris Wahl |
| 2020 | WeirDo 15: Planet Weird | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781743836675 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2020 | Wolf Girl 3: The Secret Cave | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781760876371 | Illustrated by Lachlan Creagh |
| 2020 | Wolf Girl 4: The Traitor | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781760877866 | Illustrated by Lachlan Creagh |
| 2021 | Rise of the Mythix 3: Flight of the Griffin | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781760876418 | Illustrated by Chris Wahl |
| 2021 | WeirDo 16: Tasty Weird! | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781760974657 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2021 | Weirdo 17: Spinning Weird | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781760979027 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2021 | Rise of the Mythix 4: Legends Unite | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781760879068 | Illustrated by Chris Wahl |
| 2021 | Wolf Girl 5: Across the Sea | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781760879044 | Illustrated by Lachlan Creagh |
| 2021 | Wolf Girl 6: Animal Train | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781760879051 | Illustrated by Lachlan Creagh |
| 2022 | Weirdo #18: Weird History! | Scholastic Australia | ISBN 9781761127397 | Illustrated by Jules Faber |
| 2022 | Rise of the Mythix 5: The Last Gladiator | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781761065682 | Illustrated by Marcelo Baez |
| 2022 | Wolf Girl 7: Crash Course | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781761065644 | Illustrated by Lachlan Creagh |
| 2022 | Wolf Girl 8: Welcome to Paradise | Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781761065651 | Illustrated by Lachlan Creagh |