After taking home the Graham Kennedy Award for Best New Talent in 2022, and the Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter the following year, could Tony Armstrong go three for three and take out the TV WEEK Gold Logie Award For Most Popular Personality On Australian Television in 2024?
While the trajectory of his accomplishments might certainly suggest so, Tony is still wrapping his head around his first two.
“Three years ago, I didn’t even have a Logie on my radar, and now I’m up for the Gold. I’m like, ‘Whoa.’ It’s kind of surreal,” the 34-year-old tells TV WEEK.
However, while Tony admits “it would be great if it all worked out,” [and he won] on the night, he’s not about to let it change his day-to-day.
“Everyone’s asked, ‘What’s it like being a Gold Logie nominee?’ and I’m like, ‘Well, yesterday I went to the Pitt Street Mall [in Sydney’s CBD] and bought five pairs of jocks and five pairs of socks,” he says with a laugh.
It’s quips likes these that has made Australia fall for Tony. And fast. In a few short years, he’s gone from retired AFL player to in-demand TV personality thanks to his role as sports presenter on ABC News Breakfast, host of documentaries A Dog’s World and Great Australian Stuff, co-host of new sports entertainment show Monday’s Experts – and even humorous satirical cameos on The Weekly With Charlie Pickering.
His face is currently all over the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, where an exhibition he curated – Tony Armstrong’s Extra-Ordinary Things – is on display in the wake of his recent weekly ABC documentary series of the same name.
It seems everybody wants a piece of Tony right now, so can you blame him for wanting to step away to catch his breath for a moment?
“I’m still very much, ‘What is going on?’” he says with a laugh. “TV is a weird beast. I still get wigged out standing next to – and talking to – Andy Lee, or seeing Rob Irwin or Julia Morris [all fellow Gold Logie nominees]. I think, ‘Wow, you’re from the telly!’ Yet that’s what people think of me now. It’s all so strange.”
As dizzying as it’s been, Tony acknowledges that the Gold Logie nomination has given him a great reason to “stop and reflect” and be proud of just how far he’s come.
“I went away and did a lot of work on myself,” he says. “One of the big things I’m trying to do is accept where I’m at – I’m not very good at saying ‘I’m proud.’”
Tony says he’s often relied on the feeling of being overwhelmed – especially at events such as the Logies – as a “self-preservation” technique.
“It’s kind of giving myself a little fail-safe, a back door out if things don’t go my way,” he explains. “But I’ve worked hard, taken some little Ls [losses] along the way, and now I do believe I can play a role in the media.
“I’m not a veteran – I’ve only been in TV three years – but for me, being overwhelmed doesn’t cut the mustard anymore.”
Tony says he’s also trying not to put as much pressure on himself now. It’s something that playing professional sport – 35 AFL games for Adelaide, the Sydney Swans and Collingwood between 2010 and 2015 – has helped him with.
“What footy taught me was that you can do everything right and yet it still might not work out. That’s a tough lesson to learn, because a lot of us, when we’re growing up, are told we can do anything – that we’ve just got to work hard and it’ll come. But while you can give yourself the best opportunity, it doesn’t mean you’ll always succeed.
“So now that I’m in TV, I don’t care so much about the outcome, because if I put in the work and hold up my end of the bargain, how can I possibly care about the outcome? All the other stuff is out of my control. That’s really helped.”
Tony, a Barrabinya man originally from NSW, says his journey of self-realisation has also meant he better understands the “extra layer of responsibility” that’s on him as an Indigenous man in the media.
He recalls a moment this year where a young Indigenous boy recognised him at a shopping centre and came up to say hello. The interaction was brief, but left a lasting impression.
“I do take the p*** out of TV, and say that it’s meaningless and all that kind of stuff, but for a little kid like that to see someone who looks like him on TV, that’s awesome,” he says.
He says the work he’s doing on himself is only preparing him for a long career in TV, hinting there are big plans on the horizon. However, those plans may not all be in front of the camera.
“I’d love everyone to see a hell of a lot less about me,” he laughs. “I’m trying to write some scripted stuff. A dark comedy – Australia is begging to be satirised right now.”
But for now, Tony is looking forward to celebrating his achievements at the Logies on August 18. And with his new girlfriend Rona Glynn-McDonald on his arm, this year’s event could prove to be his favourite yet.
“I’ll still be a d***head on the red carpet, but I won’t be overwhelmed,” he says. “I’ll know what I’m doing. It’ll still be sensory overload, but this time, I’ll see it for what it is.”
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