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Melbourne Airport Best Newcomer
Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2006
Q: Where did you start out in comedy?
SJ: I think I actually started in Grade Two ... I started writing poems about my teachers (always wise…) By Year Ten I had added music then after Year Twelve I did my first real "gig" on the stand-up circuit. It didn't go very well, but I had about two good jokes in there and they booked me for another.
Q: It's been said that comedians are neurotic loners with behavioural problems. Any thoughts?
SJ: I enjoy order, solitude, and quirky mannerisms, so yeah most definitely.
Q: If you weren't a stand-up what would you be doing instead?
SJ: Arguably following my original career as a lawyer - a ghastly thought. Can you imagine?
Q: Is stand-up comedy terrifying?
SJ: Not anymore. I'm a skinny man; the thought of having to kick a football is what gives me nightmares.
Q: Comedy heroes?
SJ: Shaun Micallef, Tony Martin, Tom Lehrer, The Mighty Boosh. If it's quirky and theatrical I'm right there.
Q: Where do you keep your Melbourne Airport Best Newcomer Award?
SJ: Right there on top of the fridge.
Q: What has winning the Melbourne Airport award done for your career?
SJ: I meant that my name changed overnight to: Sammy J Melbourne Airport Best Newcomer and I'm now happily stuck with it. It's given me a more confidence. It's amazing what having validation that somebody out there appreciates what you do means. It's also very handy when trying to obtain gigs anywhere in the world, they tend not to put the phone down on you…
Q: What are the best and worst things about a career in comedy?
SJ: Best thing is, in all honesty, doing what you love and being paid for it. That said; it can be a rocky road. As a self-produced performer I am my own boss, so I have no sick leave, no superannuation, no health programmes, no office romances, no company cars, and no generous payouts if I decide to fire myself.
Q: What are your interests outside of comedy?
SJ: Politics is my sport. I follow my team, I look at the players' stats, and every three years I have my grand final.
Q: What has been your funniest heckle?
SJ: Someone once stole my clothes when I stripped off on stage. That has to be the best heckle in existence. I drove home in my pants. Lessons are learnt in comedy the hard way.
Q: Are you Australia's skinniest man?
SJ: I don't comment on my competition.
23 year old Sammy McMillan aka Sammy J is one of Australia's most talented young comedians and the 2006 winner of the Melbourne Airport Best Newcomer award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Sammy's infectious brand of musical cabaret has established him as a regular in the Australian comedy circuit.
Since scooping the award, Sammy J has toured nationally with the Comedy Festival Roadshow, performing a sell-out season during the Melbourne Fringe Festival, before jetting off to a successful stint at the Brighton Comedy Festival in the UK, his first international audience.
He then returned home to appear in the 2006 Comic Relief special for Network Seven and perform at the Famous Spiegeltent. 2007 has already seen him complete a full run at the Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne Comedy Festivals, and an appearance on ABC-TV's "Spicks & Specks."
Sammy is curiously proud of the fact he only weighs 58 kilograms...
