Tim Minchin won the prestigious Perrier Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This success catapulted him into the limelight and has made him hot property around Australia and in the UK but few know of his medical connections….
Critics consider Tim Minchin to be the next big thing in comedy. Many also tout him as the next big thing in acting. Clearly, Tim Minchin is a man of many talents, having been an actor, writer, comedian, songwriter, and musician. Last year, his many talents were recognised when he won the prestigious Perrier Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This success catapulted him into the limelight and has made him hot property around Australia and in the UK. He’ll be heading over there soon after starring as Mozart in the Perth production of Amadeus.
The arts, however, are a fickle industry. Had he not have won at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, he could well have been a talking receipt in a supermarket ad campaign.
“Edinburgh changed everything for me,” he says. “The biggest change is that my wife and I are about to move to London, where things are looking pretty exciting. But even in Australia, there’s been a big change in the level of interest in my work, especially from the media.”
Tim believes the extra media attention is nothing but positive and will eventually broaden his choices. “With increased media interest comes increased audiences, and with increased audiences comes broader performance possibilities and the freedom to create whatever you want. That freedom is the ultimate goal.”
Prior to his big breakthrough, he says acting roles in Australia were few and far between. Until the last twelve months, he says “I’ve been a very ‘low-profile’ performer, so my policy in the past has been to take whatever is offered.”
Being such a jack of all trades, Medical Forum tried to pin Tim down on what he considered his ‘dream job’.
“Diversity and dream job are synonymous to me. One of the things I love most about my career is that I never get bored, and if I ever feel myself heading in that direction, I can choose to change my focus for a while,” he says.
His focus for the last 18 months has been comedy. Returning in a dramatic role to star in Amadeus in his home town was an easy decision, he says, as “too much comedy tends to make one go a little nuts.”
He says he loves coming back to Perth, but to do so with work is always a bonus. “This production of Amadeus is a real rarity for WA these days: it is not common for such a grand, internationally renowned piece to be put on by a local company. So I leapt at the chance to be involved.”
Tim’s father is notable surgeon Dr David Minchin. While their careers are seemingly poles apart, and Tim believes it is hard to measure the effect his dad’s lifestyle has had on his development, he does see where his dad’s medical career may have influenced him.
“I’m sure my slightly morbid sense of humour was affected by an early understanding that people die of things.”
He adds, “My career decisions have been pretty random and driven by opportunity, and my folks have always been encouraging and dedicated… if slightly bemused.”
Curiously, despite the advantages of his childhood, Tim’s humour is pitch black. In fact, his most recent solo show was appropriately titled Dark Side.
“In my comedy, I exploit the fact that – as a result of a comfortable, happy upbringing – I don’t have much of a dark side to inspire my art. I am, however, very inclined towards the blacker side of comedy. I don’t know where that comes from, but I’ve discovered there is a lot of mileage to be got out of the juxtaposition of good music and bad taste. I like singing about cancer,” he says.
While his upbringing has moulded his humour, Tim says he felt no pressure to follow his father into medicine. He is empathic about not feeling that pressure. “Not a jot. Not for a second,” he says.
However, he has in the past pondered a medical career. “I guess the idea of medicine has crossed my mind… very very fleetingly. I quite like knives, mind you.”
When we put the hypothetical question to him about the field of medicine he would have chosen, Tim’s mind turns back to those knives.
“I suppose if I did medicine there’s a pretty good chance I would have headed in dad’s direction. I hear he’s not a bad teacher.”