Rhys Mathewson's dancing ability surprises people, he says. Photo / Greg Bowker
Rhys Mathewson's dancing ability surprises people, he says. Photo / Greg Bowker
Rhys Mathewson will be an 'honorary bear' when he hosts Bear Week at next month's Auckland Pride Festival. The straight comedian has been delighted to discover that his breakup beard holds aesthetic appeal to a hirsute subset of gay culture.
1 You are hosting Bear Week at Pride for the third time this year. What is a 'bear' in gay culture and are you one?
I'm not gay so I'm an honorary bear; a friend and ally. The main thing about bears is they're all big beardy dudes. I think the organisers invited me to host because I'm a hairy comedian that can MC. I'd just grown my first beard after going through a terrible break-up - it's a wonderful thing as an overweight man to hide a double chin - so it was great to discover it's an aesthetic people actually go for. The bears are always very welcoming to me but there's a real sense that they're playing with their food; "We'll let you be in charge but we'd eat you up in a heartbeat".
2 What's sexy about beards?
As a straight man, I can say the appeal of a beard is comfort and protection. Winter is great for romance when you're a husky dude because you seem far more nurturing. I get rid of my beard in summer because it gets too hot but my girlfriend (actress Chelsea McKeown Miller) prefers it when it grows back. People who love a beard really love a beard.
3 Growing up in Hobsonville, did you always have a flair for performance?
Yes, I was a dancer from a very young age. I saw a tap dancer on Sesame Street and told my parents I wanted some clicky shoes and they went, "Okay let's do it." I did tap right through until I was 16. People are generally surprised to find that I'm a very good dancer. I did some hip-hop and contemporary as well. Not breakdancing, no. I lack the requisite strength for that.
4 How did you discover you had a flair for comedy?
The Class Comedians programme came to our high school, Westlake Boys. It's run by the Comedy Festival. They audition kids from all over Auckland and then teach you how to be a comedian in a two-week course. Rose Matafeo, Tim Batt and James Malcolm came through the ranks. You learn the genres of comedy, the mechanics of how jokes are built, and at the end perform your own original material. I fell in love with it right then. I came off stage thinking, "This is what I'm going to do for the rest of my life".
5 At 19 you were the youngest ever winner of the Billy T Award for breakthrough talent. At 27 do you now define yourself as a professional comedian?
Very much so, unless I'm travelling in which case it's writer. If you've been on a 12-hour flight the last thing you want is some immigration person saying, "Alright well give me a joke then". They don't make everyone else prove their skills on entering the country. The New Zealand comedy scene is still expanding to the point where you can say it's a full-time job. Most of us have a few strings to our bows; writing, acting, commercial work, hosting a pub quiz.
6 What's the worst job you've had?
I worked at Burger King when I was 16 to pay for my first car. The boss was a douche. As an adult I can understand why he took his business so incredibly seriously but as a teenager you're thinking, "You're asking me to invest in the 'values of the business' when I'm on $14 an hour. My values are; I need a car." As soon as it was paid off I got out of there.
Comedian Rhys Mathewson. Photo / Greg Bowker
7 How did you become a panellist on TV's 7 Days?
Part of the prize for winning the Billy T award is an appearance on 7 Days. My first time was absolutely terrifying. It's very different to doing my own stage show where I'm in complete control. 7 Days is six people vying to get a word in edgewise. Ben Hurley very kindly started tapping me on the leg like, 'There's a gap here, you can go'.
8 Have you ever had a stand-up gig fall flat?
Oh, plenty. I've had some shockers. Brendon Lovegrove told me that if you have just one proper death of a gig a year, one bad day a year is still a pretty good job to have. My worst gig was in Blackpool. I don't know what it was but they were not having a bar of me. I thought, "That's ok. I'll get them back tomorrow night". The next night's set was even worse. In the pin-drop silence I actually heard someone whisper, 'He is fucking shit'. With comedy, the most important professional aspect is your length of time on stage. You're paid per minute and if you're hired to do 20 minutes, you do your time no matter what. I quit that one after 16 minutes. You can't win them all.
I love pro wrestling. A startling number of comedians are deeply into it - too deep probably. We've got a long Facebook thread that's constantly ticking over. It's very similar to our art form in the sense that the crowd's reaction - approval or disapproval - is very immediate and you play to that. WWF used to be the only pro wrestling show you could watch on TV in New Zealand. The community's really blown up in the last few years thanks to internet streaming services. If I wasn't a comedian I'd probably be a pro wrestler.
10 Would you be the 'heel' or the 'face'?
I'd probably be a face; a baby face. I need people to like me too much to be mean to them. New Zealander Toks Fale has made it big as a heel in Japanese pro wrestling. Apparently the tradition began after World War II when they paid American wrestlers to come over and lose to Japanese wrestlers to help restore national pride.
11 Who is your favourite pro wrestler?
In the WWE it's John Cena. He has such a magnetic charisma. I got to interview him for The Project last year and it was the best and most terrifying thing I've ever done. I still can't watch it. Apparently I look like a deer in the headlights. He was very kind with supreme focus. I had his full attention for the whole seven minutes which with a person of that size and pedigree was very intimidating.
Daniel Kitson is a British comedian who shuns all forms of television and publicity. He does incredible storytelling and theatre and has grown his audience just through his live work. He's the greatest comedian in the world. I met him once through a friend and again was hopelessly starstruck. You can find a couple of his shows on his website.
