![\"2020](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/PRI_173748698_59c326.jpg\")
\n\t\tTim Minchin has revealed he turned down offers to host a talk show when his career took off (Picture: Don Arnold\/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tTim Minchin has revealed he turned down offers to host a talk show when his career took off (Picture: Don Arnold\/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tListen to article
\n\t\t\t\t\tListen to article<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tYour browser does not support the audio element.<\/p>\n
He might now have found success in comedy<\/a>, music, television and theatre, but Tim Minchin <\/a>admits that no one ever thought he was \u2018particularly talented\u2019.<\/p>\n The Australian creative<\/a>, 49, was born in Northampton before his parents moved back to their home country, where he was raised in Perth, the most isolated city in the world.<\/p>\n It was there that Tim initially pursued a career in the arts, studying contemporary music but as he admits, \u2018graduated without actually being able to read music\u2019.<\/p>\n Throughout his 20s, he wrote songs, played in bands, acted in plays, and composed for theatre, but struggled to get noticed.<\/p>\n After marrying his high school sweetheart, Sarah, the couple moved to Melbourne, but it was still an uphill battle.<\/p>\n \u2018I was 29 at that stage and really did think I wasn\u2019t very rock n roll or grunge or what people wanted and thought I\u2019d just be a poor songwriter, but literally the next year everything changed,\u2019 he tells Metro<\/strong> on the day his latest album TimMinchinTimeMachine is released (the album is a curated anthology of previously unreleased material).<\/p>\n \t\t \t\t \u2018It\u2019s only got more and more unbelievable with the things I\u2019ve been able to do since. I was really struggling throughout my 20s to get any traction and couldn\u2019t get an agent or record deal,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n It was Tim\u2019s 2005 comedy show Darkside that saw him finally capture the attention of the right people. He went on to debut it at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where he received the Perrier Comedy Award for best newcomer.<\/p>\n In the two decades since, Tim hasn\u2019t taken anything for granted, working his ass off, continuing to release music, featuring on a range of comedy panel shows, appearing in Californication, Robin Hood and The Artful Dodger, composing the Groundhog Day musical, and writing and starring in the comedy drama Upright<\/a>.<\/p>\n But it was being asked to write the music and lyrics for Matilda the Musical <\/a>that changed everything. After it debuted in 2010, the show won a record-breaking seven Laurence Olivier Awards and has since gone on to be awarded four Tony\u2019s.<\/p>\n Its success allowed Tim to achieve financial stability and make calculated career moves \u2013 including turning down multiple offers to host his own talk show.<\/p>\n \t\t Reflecting on the decisions that could have made him a regular fixture on our screens (and undoubtedly rake in millions), Tim said he doesn\u2019t regret the risk he took.<\/p>\n \u2018Lots of channels approached and asked me, but that just happens once you reach a certain level and start selling out arenas, which I did. They all asked me and asked what show I wanted to make,\u2019 he recalled.<\/p>\n \u2018I said I was an actor and wanted to make drama and they went \u201cyeah right\u201d. I said I didn\u2019t want to be known as a talking head. I\u2019ve been asked so much over the years to host documentaries or shows\u2026and I kept saying I didn\u2019t want to be a presenter, I wanted to be an artist.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m not a trained actor or trained in composition and it takes a lot of suspending my self-doubt to go \u201cI think if I hold the line there\u2019s a chance, I might get to be an artist, not a comedian\/ presenter\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n Although Tim admitted that might sound \u2018pretentious\u2019, he was willing to take that gamble \u2013 and it paid off when he was offered Matilda.<\/p>\n \u2018[That show] made me financially secure so I could take risks, but it also made me believe I was a real composer and could actually make things that could land in culture and not just be a fleeting joke. I was glad I held off on taking the big bucks. And once you\u2019re on a late night show you get famous and aren\u2019t walking the streets anymore,\u2019 he added.<\/p>\n \t\t \t\t Despite his string of successes, Tim admits that he \u2018never really had one of those big career dreams\u2019 to chase. <\/p>\n That admittedly felt surprising to me, after watching him become one of our shared home city\u2019s most successful artists. Coming from a city on the literal end of the earth, it\u2019s commonplace for young people to dream about \u2018escaping\u2019 their mostly middle-class existences.<\/p>\n It\u2019s just as encouraged for parents to send their children out into the world, too, with Tim and I both sharing stints in London, a rite of passage for many.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Although he has taken plenty of gambles over the years, Tim describes our shared \u2018luck\u2019 as one of the reasons he\u2019s been able to push himself.<\/p>\n \u2018Some people think that daddy got me a car or mummy paid my rent but there was none of that. They were like \u201cgood luck and here\u2019s $500 towards your first car\u201d. It\u2019s a very Australian thing. I knew if everything went to shit though I could go home and had somewhere to sleep and that is unbelievable privilege and luck.\u2019<\/p>\n In 2013 advice he gave to university graduates at a commencement speech i<\/a>n our home city made waves, currently having over 5.6 million views on YouTube and being the basis of his recent book, You Don\u2019t Have To Have A Dream.<\/p>\n \t\t In the speech, he imparted nine life lessons with his trademark wit and humour, with one surprisingly poignant line including: \u2018Don\u2019t seek happiness. It\u2019s like an orgasm; if you think about it too much, it\u2019ll go away.\u2019<\/p>\n More than a decade on and having just completed a tour of the UK to mark 20 years since his career took off, I ask what advice he\u2019d now give to himself at the same age.<\/p>\n Being incredibly candid, he explains: \u2018It\u2019s hard to imagine what advice I\u2019d give myself. I worked so hard because I never thought I had the right to be an artist. My folks didn\u2019t mind that I wanted to be a muso\u2026but no-one was ever telling me I was special.<\/p>\n \u2018No one ever thought I was particularly talented\u2026I never got the roles in the school plays. I just thought I had to work hard. I wouldn\u2019t want to give myself any advice that lets young me know that it works out ok because I might not have put my head down.<\/p>\n \u2018The central lesson in the speech was to just be really, really good at what\u2019s in front of you and dedicate yourself to that and let the future take hold. That was something I did intuitively and now I look back and understand it to be a way of thinking. Just stop f***ing worrying about the ladder and take the next step.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t So, what\u2019s the next step for Tim, who has had a notably hectic schedule for years now?<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019ve got the Australian version of the tour in November and between now and then I am going to try and make a start on a new stage musical I am really keen on, but I can\u2019t talk about what it is,\u2019 he teased.<\/p>\n \u2018And then next year I really want to write a TV show I have an idea for. I have two or three stage musicals I have ideas for. Next year needs to be a writing year. Even though I love touring, I\u2019ve done it a lot a last few years.\u2019<\/p>\n Whatever it is, it\u2019s likely it will be a worthwhile gamble\u2026<\/p>\n Tim Minchin\u2019s new album, TimMinchinTimeMachine is out now. The RSC\u2019s Matilda The Musical is currently playing in London and will concurrently tour the UK and Ireland from this Autumn. http:\/\/www.matildathemusical.com<\/a> You Don\u2019t Have To Have A Dream is out now.<\/strong><\/p>\n Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page \u2013 we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n \t\t\tComments Arrow Arrow![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_260715585-6f43.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe Australian performer first rose to fame in 2005 with his show Darkside (Picture:
Eamonn M. McCormack\/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"INVERNESS,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_260715581-363c.jpg\")
\n\t\tHe lived in the UK for several years and was approached to host his own show here (Picture:
Rob Ball\/ WireImage)<\/p>\n![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_260715579-9d51.jpg\")
\n\t\tTim admitted his decision to reject the TV offers might seem \u2018pretentious\u2019 (Picture: Jeff Spicer\/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_260715558-eaaf.jpg\")
\n\t\tHowever doing so allowed him to later go on to write the music and lyrics for Matilda the Musical (Picture: James D. Morgan\/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"MELBOURNE,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_260715566-4e52.jpg\")
\n\t\tHe has also written Groundhog Day the musical (Picture: Sam Tabone\/ Getty Images for GWB Entertainment)<\/p>\n![\"Editorial](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_260715529-9221.jpg\")
\n\t\tTim starred alongside Milly Alcock in the Australian comedy drama Upright (Picture: SkyUK\/ Kobal\/ Shutterstock)<\/p>\n![\"Tim](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_260715673-150f.jpg\")
\n\t\tHe recently wrapped up a UK tour (Picture: Michael Buckner\/ Variety via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tComment now<\/p>\n
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMORE: New fear unlocked after 16-inch stick insect found deep in Australian jungle<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMORE: \u2018I stayed with my boyfriend after he was jailed for sexual assault \u2013 here\u2019s why\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n