Tim Minchin

Timothy David Minchin is an Australian comedian, musician, composer, lyricist, actor, writer, producer, and director. He was born in October 1975 in Northampton, England, to Australian parents and grew up in Perth, Western Australia. He studied at Christ Church Grammar School, the University of Western Australia, and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

Minchin is best known for combining comedy with music and has built an international career in comedy, theatre, television, film, and music. His work includes the musicals Matilda the Musical and Groundhog Day, the television series Upright, and several comedy and music tours.

His first major comedy show, Darkside, received critical recognition at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He was also appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2020 for his contribution to the performing arts and community.

tim minchin

Minchin also of a theatrical background and has appeared in various stage productions and also some minor acting roles in Australian television.

The University of Western Australia awarded Minchin an honorary Doctor of Letters degree in 2013 for his contribution to the arts. He was awarded a second honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in 2015.

Albums of Tim Minchin

  • Sit (with Timmy the Dog) (2001)
  • Darkside (2005)
  • So Rock (2006)
  • Ready for This? (2009)
  • Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra (2011)
  • So Fucking Rock Live (2013)
  • Apart Together (2020)
  • Tim Minchin Time Machine (2025)

Tim Minchin Time Machine was released on July 25, 2025. The album contains 11 songs Minchin originally wrote in his twenties, later re-recorded and produced for the album.

Singles of Tim Minchin

Selected singles by Tim Minchin include:

  • “Drowned” (2008)
  • “White Wine in the Sun” (2009)
  • “The Pope Song” (2010)
  • “The Fence” (2011)
  • “White Wine in the Sun” (2012 studio version)
  • “15 Minutes” (2019)
  • “Leaving LA” (2020)
  • “I’ll Take Lonely Tonight” (2020)
  • “Apart Together” (2020)
  • “Airport Piano” (2020)
  • “The Absence of You” (2020)
  • “Beautiful Ugly” (2021)
  • “The Aeroplane” (2022)
  • “Play It Safe” (2023)
  • “Ruby” (2025)
  • “The Song of the Masochist” (2025)
  • “I Wouldn’t Like You” (2025)
  • “You Grew on Me” (2025)

These releases include songs from Apart Together, Time Machine, television projects, and Minchin’s other musical work.

tim minchin

Compilations

  • Laugh-a-palooza (featured artist) (2005), as well as
  • “So Long (As We Are Together)” (2013)

DVD

  • To Live (2007) Australian DVD, as well as
  • Rock’n’roll Nerd: The Tim Minchin Story (2008), as well as
  • So F**king Rock Live (11 October 2008), as well as
  • So F**king Rock Live (Special Edition), as well as
  • Ready for This? (29 November 2010), as well as
  • Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra, as well as
  • Matilda & Me (Documentary) (2016)

Filmography

Actor

  • 2008 – Two Fists, One Heart
  • 2010 – The Lost Thing
  • 2011 – Storm
  • 2013 – Californication
  • 2013 – 88 Keys
  • 2015 – The Secret River
  • 2015 – No Activity
  • 2018 – Squinters
  • 2018 – Robin Hood — Friar Tuck
  • 2019 – Upright — Lucky Flynn
  • 2021 – Back to the Outback — Pretty Boy
  • 2023 – The Artful Dodger — Darius Cracksworth

Literature

Author

  • 2014 – Storm
  • 2017 – When I Grow Up
  • 2024 – You Don’t Have to Have a Dream

Minchin’s first non-fiction book, You Don’t Have to Have a Dream (Advice for the Incrementally Ambitious), was published in the UK and Australia in 2024 and in the United States in 2025. A paperback edition was released in the UK and Australia in 2026.

tim minchin

Awards received by Tim Minchin

  • 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Perrier Comedy Award
  • Best Alternative Act, 2007 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
  • Best Comedy Performer, 2009 Helpmann Award
  • 2009 Green Room Awards, Cabaret: Best Original Songs and best Artist
  • Best Music or Variety Act 2010 Chortle Awards
  • Best Comedy Performer, 2012 Helpmann Award
  • 2013 What’s On Stage Awards
  • Best New Australian Work, 2011 Helpmann Award
  • 2016 Logie Award, Most Outstanding Supporting Actor for The Secret River (ABC)
  • Best Original Score, 2016 Helpmann Award
  • Best New Musical for Groundhog Day, 2017 Olivier Awards
  • 2017 Orry-Kelly Award
  • Best Australian Contemporary Concert, 2019 Helpmann Award

Tim Minchin: BACK Tour

Tim Minchin’s BACK was his first major tour since 2012. The Australia and New Zealand leg began in March 2019 before the tour continued in the UK later that year. The tour received strong audience and critical responses and won the Helpmann Award for Best Australian Contemporary Concert.

The tour was later followed by an encore run. A filmed version of Tim Minchin: BACK, recorded at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire, was shown in cinemas in November 2022.

Tim Minchin from 2020 to 2026

Following the BACK tour, Tim Minchin released his studio album Apart Together on November 20, 2020. The album included songs connected to his earlier work and was followed by a streamed concert featuring the album.

Minchin continued working across music, television, film, and theatre. He starred in and worked as a writer, composer, and executive producer on Upright. He also voiced Pretty Boy in the 2021 animated film Back to the Outback and played Darius Cracksworth in The Artful Dodger.

In 2025, Minchin released Tim Minchin Time Machine. The 11-track album reimagined songs that he had originally written during his twenties and recorded them properly in the studio for the first time. He also toured in 2025 with Songs the World Will Never Hear, celebrating 20 years of his songwriting career.

In 2026, Minchin continued his work in music and entertainment. He contributed to The Cat in the Hat soundtrack and is scheduled to play Ebenezer Scrooge in the Sydney Theatre Company’s 2027 production of A Christmas Carol.