Paul "Paddy" Paddick (b. February 16, 1967) is an Australian actor and singer who has worked with The Wiggles since 1995 as the primary portrayer of Captain Feathersword in nearly all videos, television series, and live concert tours. Due to the prominence and popularity of his character, Paddick has become so closely associated with the band that he has sometimes been referred to as "the Fifth Wiggle", a name also given to original founding member Phillip Wilcher.
Prior to joining the group, Paddick studied drama at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and performed with the Victoria State Opera, respectively playing Diesel and the Robber King in their productions of West Side Story and Don Quixote. Paddick also works as a co-principal and occasional guest teacher at the dance and performing arts school Kick Dance and Arts.
Paddick currently lives in Brisbane, Queensland and is married to Charmaine Paddick, who has occasionally worked for The Wiggles as a character actress and dancer. Together, they have two sons, Connor and Felix.
Career with The Wiggles[]
Paddick first met Wiggles creator Anthony Field in 1993, as his then-girlfriend/fellow West Side Story cast member was Field's tenant. Field would later need a hernia operation and asked Paddick to temporarily fill in for him for 5 weeks during the Wiggles' tour at the time. During the tour, Paddick played the blue Wiggle, Captain Feathersword, Wags the Dog, and Dorothy the Dinosaur (the latter role being usually played by Murray Cook). Paddick was initially meant to only fill in for Field during the 5 weeks, but the other members of the group liked working with Paddick so much that once his tour of WSS was over, they asked him to join the group full-time as the new permanent actor for Captain Feathersword, which Paddick agreed to do, with the first Wiggles video officially featuring Paddick in the role being 1996's Wake Up Jeff!.
Paddick has also portrayed various other character roles besides Captain Feathersword, including often providing the voices of Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus, and Santa Claus (at times sharing the former two roles with Jeff Fatt). In addition to performing as an actor, Paddick has also worked as a backing vocalist and songwriter on the majority of the band's albums and served as co-head writer of The Kingdom Of Paramithi television series.