1 hour ago
1
Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we’re told to keep private by getting them to roll a die for Good Weekend’s regular Dicey Topics column. The numbers they land on are the topics they’re given. This week, he talks to Andy Lee. The radio, TV and podcast host and children’s book author, 45, is one half of comedy duo Hamish & Andy, and has been nominated for a Gold Logie. He helms and writes the animated series Do Not Watch This Show.
BODIES
What’s the most hectic thing that you’ve put your body through for work? Jumping off a 25-metre-high bridge in Mostar [in Bosnia and Herzegovina], which Hamish and I did for Gap Year [their travel comedy series]. I don’t recommend it to anyone, and wouldn’t do it again. I bruised every vertebra in my back and got whiplash. Hamish had gone down on his face during test jumps at about six metres. If he’d have done that from the final height, he’d have gone kaput. People go, “Oh, we’d love you to do the travel show again!” but my body wouldn’t bounce back now.
You were once a Cleo bachelor of the year. How has it been having your looks scrutinised over time? Well, to put it into perspective, I think I was the only Bachelor of the Year who had his shirt on for the photo. Well, I took it off … and they told me to put it back on.
OK, that’s brutal. “Not everyone has to have their shirt off,” they said, “and we reckon you’re one of them!”
Great and terrible for your self-esteem. Exactly! [Laughs] Compared with what women go through, as men we’re just so lucky when it comes to attention like that. I mean, who invented the idea that the dad bod was desirable?
When has your body embarrassed you the most? Well, I ruptured my urethra …
Jesus, Andy! How did you do that? I landed badly on my bicycle bar when I was really young and it ruptured. Slowly, over 12 to 15 years, scar tissue built up and cut off the waterworks completely … I couldn’t wee. A couple of operations later, they cleared it out, took a graft from the inside of my cheek and grafted it into my urethra. Hamish is convinced that every time I go to the toilet, I can taste it. I can assure you that’s not the case!
RELIGION
Were you raised in a religious household? Yeah, we went to church and Sunday school every week. Nowadays, I’m agnostic. I’m pretty pleased with being agnostic and not weighing in. As with politics, I’m just not that keen on weighing in on things that I don’t understand.
You exude confidence, though. Do you ever doubt yourself? Yeah, we all do. Lately, I’ve found that a hangover can really bring on self-doubt. I love having a beer, but it’s the reason why I never really drink during heavy work periods. If things are moving at a rapid pace, it doesn’t serve me well to drink because the next day I tend to doubt my decisions. But I do now have the wherewithal to tell myself, “Remember, you’re just hungover.”
That’s wisdom right there. Yeah! Also, I try to not be scared of failing. When we muck something up, Hamish is always like, “Good data, good data!” We’ve now learnt how to not do it again.
I love that mantra. Are there others you live by? “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” I love not knowing things and I’m not daunted by it. I’m not scared to have a mentor or find someone who knows better. The other main one is, “Let’s just give it a crack.”
Which is such an Aussie attitude, right? Yeah. I’m not going to suddenly throw $100,000 at an idea that’s not tested, but I do like the idea of just having a go at things. That’s where this animation [Do Not Watch This Show] came from. I didn’t know anything about animation. Starting out, it was like, “Let’s have a crack! How hard can this be?” Turns out it can be difficult. But finding people who can help you – and who understand your vision – is the most satisfying thing.
Complete this sentence for me. “Other people go to church. I …“ Play golf.
DEATH
We’ve landed on death. What has been a significant loss in your life? Personally, I’m not afraid of death. I lost a friend to a hit-and-run when I was 21 and he was 20. His name was James Donnelly, and his case changed the law in Victoria.
Gee, that’s too young to die and too young to lose a close friend. How did James’ death change your life? That week is blurry because it was obviously highly emotional. My friends and I lived close together and often walked home together from being out or at parties. A close friend found him, tried to resuscitate him and couldn’t get him back. He’d died on impact. My parents were away, but we’d always had an open-door policy. My place became a spot for everyone to gather. We put fires in the backyard, drank and talked. Everyone was just in shock. Thankfully, we all rallied. For us, as young adults, it was an eye-opener to check in with each other and care for each other. A lot of us were musicians, so we made an album for James. We channelled all our energy into the right type of things.
You mentioned before that you weren’t scared of death. Why? My mum was given two weeks to live – in 1996 or ’97 – and she survived. She had a very rare disease called cerebral vasculitis, which produces a series of mini strokes. She forgot how to walk and how to talk and who we all were, but she recovered over a long period of time.
That sounds scary. [Nods] But you come out the other side of it. Mum was an anxious person and they thought worrying and stress may have been part of it. So whether consciously or subconsciously, I’ve since gone, “Well, I’m not going to worry.”
Do Not Watch This Show Season 2 starts July 3 on ABC iview and ABC Family.
