You can understand why Heath Franklin sometimes actually thinks he is Chopper read, writes VAUGHAN MAYBERRY.

When Sydney comedian Heath Franklin first donned his Mark "Chopper" Read persona on the Ronnie Johns Half Hour in 2005, he never thought three years later his routine would still be in high demand. But amazingly, it is.

His other characters from the show like Ronnie Johns and Arnie the drug-addicted koala are all bar forgotten thanks to his little bit of comedy genius with Chopper.

It was certainly the major find of the quirky Channel 10 late night comedy and has allowed Heath to earn a living as Chopper ever since.

The post-Ronnie Johns success started with his Harden The F--- Up tour in 2007, which virtually rolled straight onto his current show, Make Deads***s History.

Heath literally hasn’t had time to be his true self lately.

"It’s even more difficult at the moment because I’ve been doing Chopper every night for the past four weeks," Heath says about his Chopper portrayal.

"I’ve even been dreaming about Chopper lately.

"Everything I do is either preparing for being Chopper or backing it again the next day."

But you can understand why, because Aussies just can’t get enough of his hilarious depiction of one of Australia’s most infamous criminals.

Heath’s success has come from him nailing every small detail of Chopper’s personality, brilliantly using his penchant for frequent swearing and violent threats in a bunch of funny skits.

The popularity of Chopper soared so high last year that Heath even took the show to the pinnacle of world comedy, performing at the renowned Edinburgh Festival last August.

And with his new show currently selling out around the country, it’ll be hard for Heath to farewell the chunky rear end of his tattooed guise.

"I’m not sick of Chopper yet," Heath admits.

"I wouldn’t mind doing it for another year – I think the character’s as strong as ever.

"You never know, I might do a Thorpey and get out while I’m on top. But I’ll wait for a few weeks after I’m done with this tour to make that decision."

In Making Deads***s History, Heath’s crude alter-ego will be laying into deadbeats and bogans once again with all the crassness you’d expect.

Chopper’s mission this time is the "global eradication of deads---s."

Share this article