Paul Mercurio AM

About Paul

Paul Mercurio AM is an actor, presenter, choreographer and cook whose career has spanned some of Australia's best-known film and television productions. He received an AFI nomination for Best Actor in a Lead Role for Strictly Ballroom in 1992, and a Logie nomination for Most Outstanding Actor for The Day of the Roses in 1999. He is well known for Dancing with the Stars in both the Australian and New Zealand versions. In 2020, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. He has hosted two series of the food and travel series The Food Trail and four series of his own show Mercurio's Menu, and was featured chef on Channel Nine's Mornings Program throughout 2013. He has published three cookbooks: Mercurio's Menu, Cooking with Beer, and Kitchen Mojo. Since November 2022 he has also been the Member for Hastings in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, having served as a Mornington Peninsula Shire councillor before that.

Paul's distinctive quality is the ease with which he moves between entertainment and genuine warmth. His television work on food and travel shows sits naturally alongside his acting and choreography career — both drawn together by a personality that is engaging, unaffected, and genuinely interested in people.

For gala dinners, award ceremonies, corporate events, and any occasion calling for an MC who can host with both authority and lightness, Paul Mercurio AM brings a combination of screen presence, culinary knowledge, and the kind of natural ease that puts a room at ease from the moment he steps forward. His keynotes on encouragement, positive reinforcement, and pursuing one's own passions are equally well-suited to leadership and team events.