LINDSEY CUTHBERTSON talks to comedian LAWRENCE LEUNG about Rubik’s Cube, getting your hair pulled, skydiving, and how these three seemingly unrelated acts are united by television.

Lawrence Leung is the man of the moment, with a successful show that follows him running around the world fulfilling his childhood dreams in a unique and hilarious style. From an award-winning stage comedian to a kind-hearted, good-natured protagonist on Lawrence Leung: Choose Your Own Adventure, Leung’s transition from stage to screen has been nearly flawless.

"I do quite like the live experience of being on stage because of that immediate response, where in television you would write something at the start of last year, edit it at the end of the year and then it won’t go out to television until much later so from the initial writing of the joke to when people actually see it is almost a year apart," Leung says, explaining the differences between the two mediums.

Over the course of the six episode series, Leung learns how to find love by searching for his first childhood crush, wrestle WWE style, breakdance, meet MacGyver and solve a flaming Rubik’s Cube. Leung admits that some people have been inspired enough by his show to get in touch with their lost loves of the past, but it is people’s reactions to him on the street which really have him buzzing.

"I’ve had some strange encounters on the street. In one of the first episodes I learn how to pick up girls and this guy came up to me and pulled my hair – basically the closest thing you can get to sexual harassment – and when I turned around he was like ‘you know, your show!’ And I was like ‘ahh,’" Leung says amidst a chuckle.

Pressing Leung to find his most treasured moment on the show is , as Leung put it, "like trying to choose between my children." But there are a few that stick out most strongly in the memory bank.

"Obviously meeting my childhood crush after twenty years was a bit full on, and meeting Shaba Doo was also great. Even jumping out a plane to complete a Rubik’s Cube was a great experience … I mean, I failed the first two attempts, I couldn’t solve it in time. I jumped out of the plane three times in the space of an hour and a half. Afterwards I thought I had ruptured an eardrum, because my ear didn’t stop ringing for three weeks."

Considering that a while back Leung tried to sell his humour on eBay (and failed to register a single bid), it is fair to say that Leung is better off for keeping it. An EP of songs he wrote from the show is now out, the DVD is next, and further plans are in the pipeline. Leung’s humour is sitting pretty, complete with a value that has undoubtedly risen.

For now though, Leung is embarking on what he calls his "rock’n’roll" national ABC shop tour in support of the DVD, challenging anyone who’s up for it to in-store Rubik’s Cube battles. It’s the essence of what Leung epitomizes: off-kilter, good-natured, funny, but above all else, more entertainment than you can throw a Rubik’s Cube at.

The LAWRENCE LEUNG: CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE DVD and CD are available from all ABC shops now. Lawrence will be appearing in-store at the ABC shop in Indooroopilly on Saturday May 30. www.myspace.com/lawrenceleung

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