 |
| Rhys Nicholson | |
|---|---|
 Nicholson in 2019 | |
| Born | 22 April 1990 Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia |
| Medium | Stand-up comedy, theatre, television, film |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Genres | Comedy |
| Spouse | Kyran Wheatley |
| Website | www |
Rhys Nicholson (born 22 April 1990) is an Australian comedian and actor known for being a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under from 2021 onwards.
In 2011, Nicholson featured in the ABC documentary GayCrashers, alongside Joel Creasey, in which the duo travel to the small town of Colac and perform a stand-up show. Creasey had been the subject of a homophobic attack on an earlier visit to the town. [1]
Rhys Nicholson stars on the show The Weekly with Charlie Pickering .
In 2016, to highlight the importance of marriage equality in Australia, Nicholson publicly married lesbian and fellow comedian Zoe Coombs Marr at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. That year Nicholson and Coombs Marr were also both nominated for the Barry Award for Best Show, which Coombs Marr won. [2]
In 2021, Nicholson served as a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under , alongside RuPaul and Michelle Visage. [3] The same year they appeared on the panel show Patriot Brains . In 2022, they played Doctor Sarkov in Netflix's Science-Fiction series The Imperfects . [4]
In February 2024, Nicholson will be a contestant on the second series of Taskmaster Australia. [5]
Nicholson grew up in Newcastle to parents who were both artists. [7] They are the nibling of a member of Machine Gun Fellatio. [8]
Nicholson is gay [9] and non-binary. [10] [11] They have also spoken openly about their struggle with bulimia. [12]
In September 2023, Nicholson married their partner, former Triple J radio presenter Kyran Wheatley, with whom they had established Comedy Republic, a comedy venue in Melbourne. [13] [14]
The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Rhys Nicholson Live at The Eternity Playhouse | Best Comedy Release | Nominated | [15] |
A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and have been a part of gay culture.
Shane Gilberto Jenek, better known under the stage name Courtney Act, is an Australian drag queen, singer and television personality. Courtney first came to prominence competing on the first season of Australian Idol in 2003. After the show, she signed to BMG Australia, and she released her debut single, "Rub Me Wrong", which peaked at No. 29 on the ARIA Singles Chart and eventually gained a gold certification. While auditioning for Australian Idol, she also became the first LGBTQ contestant to openly appear on a reality TV talent show. In 2014, Courtney was one of the runners-up in season six of RuPaul's Drag Race.
Alexander James Jeffery Horne is a British comedian. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series Taskmaster, in which he takes the role of assistant to the Taskmaster Greg Davies. He is the host and bandleader of comedic band The Horne Section. Horne hosts the band's eponymous podcast and television series, and has appeared with them on BBC Radio 4, TV channel Dave, and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
Alejandro "Alec" Mapa is an American actor, comedian and writer. He got his first professional break when he was cast to replace B. D. Wong for the role of Song Liling in the Broadway production of M. Butterfly. He gained recognition for roles such as Adam Benet on Half & Half, Suzuki St. Pierre on Ugly Betty and Vern on Desperate Housewives. Mapa recurred as Renzo on Switched at Birth.
Thomas Francis Gleeson is an Australian stand-up comedian, writer, television and radio presenter. Gleeson formerly co-hosted The Weekly with Charlie Pickering alongside Judith Lucy and currently hosts Hard Quiz and Taskmaster Australia.
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award, is an annual prize presented to the most outstanding comedy act at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Michael R. Steck, better known by the stage name Pandora Boxx, is an American drag queen, comedian, and reality television personality from Rochester, New York. Boxx competed in the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race, placing fifth and winning Miss Congeniality, and subsequently returned for the first and sixth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Boxx also appeared in all three seasons of the Drag Race spin-off series RuPaul's Drag U.
Dirty Laundry Live is an Australian comedy panel television quiz show hosted by Lawrence Mooney. The first of 22 episodes in Season 1 screened live on Thursday 16 May 2013 at 9.30pm AEST on ABC2. It returned for 16 episodes in Season 2 the following year in the same timeslot on 15 May 2014, with longer episodes. The show was moved to ABC for Season 3 with 12 episodes from 28 May 2015 and repeats on ABC2.
Joel Creasey is an Australian stand-up comedian, actor, television and radio presenter. Creasey has performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, as well as performing at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2013 and 2014 and the Edinburgh Fringe in 2015. In September 2020, Creasey joined Nova FM's national radio show Kate, Tim & Joel as a co-host with Kate Ritchie and Tim Blackwell.
Taskmaster is a British comedy panel game show created by comedian and musician Alex Horne and presented by both Horne and Greg Davies. In the programme, a group of five celebrities – mainly comedians – attempt to complete a series of challenges, with Horne acting as umpire in each challenge and Davies, the titular "Taskmaster", judging the work and awarding points based on contestants' performances. The concept for the programme was first created by Horne for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010; he later secured a deal with Dave to adapt it for television with the first episode premiering in 2015. After the ninth series in 2019, the programme was acquired by Channel 4. The programme has completed sixteen series as well as three Champion of Champions specials and four New Year's Treat one-offs by January 2024, and is set to continue for at least five more series until 2026.
Lou Sanders is an English stand-up comedian, writer and actress. Since beginning her career in comedy, she has appeared regularly on panel shows and performed on Live at the Apollo. She also appeared as a sidekick on Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable and was a contestant on the sixteenth series of Dancing on Ice.
Zoë Coombs Marr is an Australian comedian, performer and actor.
Urzila Carlson is a South African-born New Zealand comedian and actress, known for her stand-up performances as well as her appearances on television programs in both New Zealand and Australia. Carlson is a regular panellist on 7 Days and both the Australian and New Zealand version of Have You Been Paying Attention? She has also been a panellist on The Masked Singer Australia for the show’s second and third seasons. and a contestant on the second season of Taskmaster NZ.
RuPaul's Drag Race UK is a British reality competition television series based on the American television series of the same name. The television series, a collaboration between the BBC and World of Wonder, premiered on 3 October 2019. The show is the fourth installment of the Drag Race franchise, and the second fronted by RuPaul. The show documents RuPaul and a panel of judges' search for "the United Kingdom's next drag superstar", the first series title dubbed "UK's First Drag Superstar". RuPaul plays several roles on the show including host, mentor and head judge for the series, as the contestants are given different challenges to participate in each week. The show also employs a panel of judges: RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Alan Carr, and Graham Norton.
Drag Race is a drag queen reality competition television franchise, created by American drag entertainer RuPaul with production company World of Wonder. The franchise originated with RuPaul's Drag Race, which premiered in the United States in 2009. The objective of that series is to crown "America's Next Drag Superstar" who possesses the traits of "charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent". The original series is often credited for bringing drag into the "mainstream". The popularity of the original series led to the creation of a media franchise including spin-offs and international adaptations.
Drag Race Down Under is a reality competition streaming television series based on the American television series of the same name produced by World of Wonder and Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand. The show documents RuPaul and a panel of judges' search for "Down Under's next drag superstar". Contestants of Drag Race Down Under are either from Australia or New Zealand. RuPaul has played several roles on the show including host, mentor, and head judge for the series, as the contestants are given different challenges to participate in each week. The show has also employed Michelle Visage and Rhys Nicholson as judges. The series premiered on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ OnDemand in New Zealand, Stan in Australia, and on WOW Presents Plus internationally on 1 May 2021. The series is also streaming on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom, and broadcast by both Crave and its associated streaming service in Canada.
The first season of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under began airing on 1 May and concluded on 19 June 2021.
The second season of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under premiered on 30 July 2022 and concluded on 17 September 2022. The cast was announced via TVNZ's Instagram account and a live interview with Kween Kong on TVNZ's Breakfast show on 7 July 2022.
Taskmaster Australia is an Australian comedy panel game show first broadcast on Network 10 on 2 February 2023. Based on the UK series Taskmaster created by comedian Alex Horne, it sets five comedians ridiculous tasks to complete, and judged against each other by the "Taskmaster", Tom Gleeson, accompanied by his assistant, comedian Tom Cashman. The show's first season was broadcast in early 2023, and a second season was announced in mid-2023 and is set to air in 2024.
Queerstralia is an Australian TV series by Guesswork Television Production for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The series hosted by Zoe Coombs Marr and directed by Stamatia Maroupas combines comedic and documentary techniques to explore queer history of Australia.
