Tommy Little has just finished a live broadcast of his Nova radio show, not from the studio, as per usual, but from the Golden Towers on Swanston Street. The 24-hour fast food eatery is the infamous haunt of comedians during festival time, which means starting his breakfast radio workday will have some overlap with comedians finishing theirs. “You want to see comedians at their worst just head to Golden Towers at 5am on any given day and you’ll see them pashing disgustingly in a corner or bragging about how good their show went or commiserating about how bad it went,” he says.
“We had a few big comics, like Wil (Anderson) and Hughesy and Shappi Khorsandi and we also had a whole lot of up-and-comers and some of them hadn’t been to bed, so I think I hugged one of them and ended up drunk,” he quips. “It was good to see people are still partying”.
Little, who in conversation is as upbeat and charming as his stage persona, now works full time in commercial media so partying is not quite a thing of the past but “it’s certainly less of my life,” he admits. “If I don’t have to be up for anything, I will drink until I’ve defecated in my pants, but unfortunately that’s pretty rare – or fortunately, for those around me. I think I’m charming when I’m drunk. There’s a lot of evidence out there to say the otherwise,” he laughs.
Little’s rise to mainstream prominence and ubiquitous billboards is remarkable for the speed at which it has all happened for him, a point he acknowledges in his new Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Middleclass Gangster. This time last year, he says, he was barely able to pay rent. “I’ve done three TV shows and had a fulltime breakfast radio gig, I’ve done what could be considered someone’s whole career in the space of a year,” he says of panel show This Week Live, sports quiz A League of Their Own and a dramatic role. “Sure, it could all end tomorrow, but yeah, literally just before Comedy Festival last year I was living in a derelict place and I was living week to week and it happened really quickly,” he says.
“I keep kidding myself that I’m coping with the hours of breakfast radio fine but I’m crying a lot more than I used to” he jokes. But Little is enjoying the ride. He uses words like ‘great’ and ‘fun’ frequently and there’s no doubt he’s “loving the job”. Nova co-host, fellow stand-up Meshel Laurie, plays a big part in that enjoyment. “I love doing it, it’s the best job I’ve had and I have the joy of working with the gorgeous Meshel Laurie and she makes life pretty easy. If you’re gonna wake up at this stupid time of day you want to do it with someone you like and she just makes me laugh every morning,” he says.
At the other end of the day, his live show is selling so well an extra show was added over the weekend. In Middleclass Gangster Little talks about acting alongside Claudia Karvan in ABC’s Time of our Lives, but although he trained as an actor it’s stand up that is now his passion. It’s also paying him enough to splurge on one particular treat he discusses in the show as well. He’s still coming to terms with the former in his show title, meaning the novelty of still being able to pay rent hasn’t worn off yet. “It’s honestly a level of comfort I didn’t think I’d have and it’s so nice. People say money can’t buy you happiness. That is bullshit. Money can rent you a nice house that has heating and that makes me happy”.
BY JOANNE BROOKFIELD
Venue: Victoria Hotel – Banquet Room 215 Lt Collins St, CBD
Dates: Currently playing until April 20
Times: 7pm (Sunday 6pm)
Tickets: $22-$30
