Comedian Tim Minchin has begged parents to stop encouraging their kids to idolise and chase fame.
The internationally-acclaimed actor said on Jess Rowe’s The Big Talk Show, the idea of becoming a celebrity has become very attractive to younger generations.
‘I really don’t think we should all bring our kids up to think this myth, that you can be president of the United States if you just work hard,’ he said.
‘It’s mixed up in, unfortunately, the dark side of “all you have to do is work hard and commit to a dream and you’ll get there”.
‘That sounds positive, but the dark side of that same coin is, and if you don’t get there… If you are poor or struggle with your mental health or you fail to get the raise or get the role, that’s your fault.
‘Because you didn’t dream big enough. You didn’t work hard enough.
‘So that is the bad side of this “have a dream” coin and I think it does much more damage than good. Because mostly, you’re not going to end up with your name in lights.’
The Matilda the Musical composer also said the only happy people he knows are neither rich, nor famous.
‘You almost definitely will work really hard and not become famous and not become rich,’ he said.
Comedian Tim Minchin has begged parents to stop encouraging their kids to idolise and chase fame
Minchin continued: Statistically, if you want to become an artist, you will work really hard and end up teaching.
‘I know this sounds absurdly simple and obvious—but it is deeply deeply true that the happy people I know who I admire are not rich and famous.’
The topic of parental advice, and dispensing advice in general, is a theme that runs throughout his new book, You Don’t Have to Have a Dream.
Minchin and his wife Sarah, whom he married in 2001, have two teenage children, Violet and Caspar.
He cited the famous Morning Consult study that found 57 per cent of Gen Z Americans (people born between 1997 and 2012) said they want to be influencers.
An Australian study in 2022 had similar results, with 56 per cent of females aged 15-25 saying they would leave their career or education to become an influencer if they could, compared with 39 per cent of Millennial women.
‘So that is the bad side of this “have a dream” coin and I think it does much more damage than good. Because mostly, you’re not going to end up with your name in lights,’ he said
‘I don’t know how many times I need to say this to young people. Because if you ask kids, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Apparently, 50 per cent or more say “famous”.’
The word authenticity gets thrown around a lot, Rowe said, as the pair discussed if its meaning has been distorted by the influencer industry.
‘And we as a society have to stop elevating a**holes like me and start elevating teachers and nurses,’ Minchin said.
He explained to Rowe that he puts his own success down to privilege, luck, and doing what he liked.
‘It’s absurd that I’ve ended up where I’ve ended up,’ he added.
‘I’m kind and I’m gentle and reasonably generous. My ego’s weird and I’m self-important, but I’m generally a nice guy.’
Minchin also said the happy people he knows and admires are neither rich, nor famous
‘I don’t think that’s to my credit. That’s luck, right? I got beautiful parents and beautiful grandparents. I was surrounded by love and given boundaries. I was given this brain and these fingers that go real fast,’ Minchin continued.
‘I got given it all and someone who murders someone in a park got given bad stuff.’
Minchin joked about how he can’t read or write music, but in high school ‘mucked’ around with the piano long enough so that if he ever found himself at a party where one was available, he’d be able to impress a girl.
‘All I did was try my absolute best with what was in front of me. I never thought I’d end up on Broadway,’ he said.
‘I was so focused on doing what I was doing well, that I ended up here. That’s what I’m trying to hand down.’
Minchin is well known for his acting work in Californication (2007) and award-winning Australian drama Upright (2019), which he wrote and starred in alongside House of the Dragon’s Milly Alcock.
