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The only reason I started doing stand up was because I failed miserably at the only thing I’ve ever truly wanted to do - become a child actor. I wanted to become a child actor because it looked like such a great life. Agent Cody Banks, Lizzie McGuire, Suite Life of Zack and Cody - these kids looked like they just had fun all day, no responsibilities, plus they kissed girls. Sounds exactly like everything a child needs to grow up into a contributing member of society.
[Insert photo of washed up child star as an adult]
I would fantasise about a life where I could be famous, be loved and adored, just like these kids seemed to be. I don’t think I was particularly interested in the art of creating and living into a character, more just escaping my own life and doing something different. I was smart enough to realise though, that there weren’t people that looked like me on these shows. I could have been the first brown Spy Kid! I could have been earning that Mindy Kailing money!
One day I decided that I would take matters into my own hands. I worked out that you needed an agent in order to start booking TV and film. So I went onto Google and started researching all the different agents that were in Newcastle. I generated a list of emails and walked downstairs while my parents were watching TV. I asked them if they could please email these people on my behalf, explaining to them that my dream was to be an actor and I really needed their help to find me an agent. Mum and Dad literally laughed in my face. Honestly to this day I’ve never seen them laugh so hard. I had just shared my heart, my dream, my passion with them. And when I asked them to take it seriously that only made it funnier to them.
And that’s when I knew I was born to be a stand up comedian.
They didn’t understand, they didn’t get what I was trying to do. They told me that it was my job to study and if I wanted to get a good job that's what I needed to do. “Stop thinking about getting an agent, start thinking about getting in the top 10% of your class”. That’s all that mattered.
I never really let go of that dream, of that desire to create and pursue something that I thought would be awesome. Initially stand up was this thing that I found you could do instead of getting an agent, a pathway to film and TV. It wasn’t until we did a comedy unit in year nine drama and Ms Gillam told me about the Melbourne Comedy Festival Class Clowns competition. That was the first chance I got to actually try it. Now, stand up is now more than just a pathway, it’s one of my favourite things to do.
I should say that my parents are the absolute best in the whole world and I wouldn’t be the man or dare I say “artist” I would be today without them. They taught me the importance of hard work, discipline and consistency. For a while there I didn’t really want to listen to them, my art was my thing. But now that I’m a bit older and taking this shit more seriously, their approach makes more sense than ever before.
It’s true what comedians say though, you never really forget your first laugh