Rhys Nicholson is a comedian and actor who won the Most Outstanding Show award at the 2022 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. They are well-known to TV viewers as judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under and also as Dr Sarkov on Netflix’s The Imperfects. They’ll be hosting the ABC’s early show on New Year’s Eve with Casey Donovan.

Rhys Nicholson will co-host the ABC’s New Year’s Eve early show.Credit:Jim Lee

How hard have COVID times been for you, as a working stand-up?
It’s a funny old mix, because, one, my partner and I launched a comedy club, which I don’t recommend – launching a place of assembly during a global health crisis. The launch was March 2020. So you know … that wasn’t great. That was all kind of depressing and also, like everyone, all the work went away. But I also at the same time had weird things where – I’m always careful to say this – but I kind of had a great work year another way. Like I got Drag Race and I got an acting job on a Netflix show and we sold my special to Netflix and blah blah blah blah. So it was both grim and depressing and I put on 10 kilos, but at the same time I flourished. The strangest was Drag Race happened and I got a little bit more known, but without any of the perks of being a known person, because I couldn’t go anywhere. You know, the dreams when you’re younger of what showbusiness was like: you get to go to parties and things like that. Like … nope! So a mix of very, very bad and kind of good.

It does feel like there’s been a Rhys Nicholson moment over the last year or two – you’ve exploded in various directions.
A little bit, I guess. I think it’s one of those things where I’ve been around comedy for so long, and if you knew comedy you might know who I was for a couple of years. But comedy, especially in this country, doesn’t mean famous. I won the award and that was very lovely and a huge shock and great, and I’m very grateful for it and it changed my life in a professional way. But it also didn’t. Like, everyone in comedy respects it, but outside of it it’s like, “Oh yeah, isn’t there an award they do there?” Like, yeah: it’s everything I ever wanted!

Rhys Nicholson stars in Netflix’s The Imperfects.Credit:Dan Power/Netflix

When you achieve something, you want everyone to understand it’s a big deal.
Yeah, it’s weird. My parents, my incredible parents – they’re very proud people, I’m very lucky to have them – but Mum was like, “I thought you were going to win it”. And it almost gave it less gravity, in that of course my mum would think I’d win something like that, but she doesn’t really know what it is. It could be like I won a meat raffle.

Now you’re on the New Year’s Eve show: specifically you’re doing the earlier part of the night.
Yeah, the early night … I’m doing a terrible job remembering what it’s called … the early night supershow? Ah f—.

It’s definitely early night though.
Yeah. And the fact that I just said f— is probably boding well for the children’s part.

This kind of gig must be one of the perks of that greater success we were talking about.
It is kind of fun, to get to a point where things are just easier. We did a bit of shooting for part of it a couple of weeks ago, and like, just smooth, just working with really professional people who know what they’re doing, and no one’s asking big wild questions. You turn up and everything’s ready to go. The great privilege of having a tiny bit more success is you don’t have to wait around anymore. Does that make sense?

Totally. Especially in comedy, where you do a million gigs where nothing’s working and no one knows what they’re doing.
Yeah, like I think in stand-up, the height of success is you can decide when you’re on in the show. To be able to go to one of the comedy rooms and go, “Do you mind if I go first” or “Do you mind if I go second half?” The great irony is when you’re an open mic-er, all you want is to be the final act, you just want to get to the point of headliner. Then you become a headliner and all you want to do is do the first five minutes and go home.

That’s kind of what you’re doing on New Year’s – you get to do the early bit and then you get to have your own New Year’s Eve.
Oh, it is such the dream. I’m not saying this is why I’m doing the job, but – there’s a party, I get to go to the party. I’m pretty close to Zan and a few of the other people on the show, and they’re not done until, like, one. Then you need to have a bit of a decompress and stuff. I will be a thousand sheets to the wind by that point, trying to kiss the mayor. I’m pretty excited about it, genuinely, because even a few years ago someone who looked and sounded like me wouldn’t be asked on the kids’ show. It feels really fun. I exist in this world of pretty adult stuff, and stand-up is a really cynical world, and any kind of show of real appreciation or fun is shot down pretty quickly. To get to hang out and work on something that’s for kids is really refreshing and fun.

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