| Sam McMillan | |
|---|---|
| Pseudonym | Sammy J |
| Birth name | Samuel Jonathan McMillan |
| Born | 2 July 1983 Australia |
| Medium | Stand-up, radio, television |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Years active | 2003-present |
| Influences | Lano and Woodley, Tom Lehrer, Tony Martin, Shaun Micallef, The Mighty Boosh, Ross Noble, Adam Hills[1][2][3] |
| Website | http://www.sammy-j.com/ |
Sam McMillan (born 2 July 1983) is an Australian musical comedian and writer who performs under the stage name Sammy J. He embraces a variety of media in his comedy, including the use of video and self-composed music. He has released three CD compilations of his comic songs, "The Burden of Popularity", "Sammy J - Live?" and "Sticky Digits". He has performed at comedy festivals in Australia and Britain and has appeared on various Australian television shows.
He currently performs with Heath McIvor (aka Randy, a purple puppet) as the duo Sammy J & Randy.
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McMillan studied law at the University of Melbourne for two and a half years, where he also directed and appeared in the Melbourne Law Comedy Revue.[4] He says he was more interested in writing jokes than studying, and halfway through the course decided to drop out. He subsequently completed a media degree and began to pursue a full-time comedy career.[5]
He performs under the stage name Sammy J, a condensation of his full name, Samuel Jonathan McMillan. According to McMillan, his stage name originated as a high school nickname which he says he gave to himself "when I was trying to manufacture a bit of popularity... My family and friends were reluctant to adopt it but I pushed and pushed, using it at every opportunity, and eventually started using it on stage."[6]
He attended The Peninsula School, Mt Eliza, and can sometimes be seen wearing his uniform during performances which reference his school days.
In 2006, McMillan took the Best Newcomer award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for his debut solo show, "Sammy J's 55 Minute National Tour".[1] He has since performed solo shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne comedy festivals, as well as starring in the Comedians' Theatre Company's production of Breaker Morant at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[7] In 2008, he collaborated with puppeteer Heath McIvor on a musical, "Sammy J and the Forest of Dreams". The show, which stars McMillan and 14 foul-mouthed puppets operated by McIvor, is an adult fairy tale parodying the format of Disney children's movies. It revolves around the lead character—Sammy J—and his discovery of a portal in his kitchen cupboard which leads him to the magical Forest of Dreams.[8] "The Forest of Dreams" was well-received by critics in Melbourne, earning a nomination for the festival's Barry Award for the most outstanding show and winning The Age Critics Award for the best local act.[9]
At the 2008 Melbourne Fringe Festival then-25 year-old McMillan launched "The 50 Year Show", the first in a series of live comedy shows which he plans to reprise every five years, ending in 2058 when he will be 75. McMillan describes the show as "a living, breathing comedic time capsule. Every five years we can observe the world, make predictions, see how the world's changed." It includes segments such as a 50 Year Soap Opera, a 50 Year Story; and the 50 Year Dancers, a group of five year-olds performing a routine which they will repeat at each show. McMillan first conceived the idea for "The 50 Year Show" in 2007 while sitting on a London bus full of elderly people and wondering how he could make his mark.[3]
In 2009 McMillan premiered a new solo show, "Sammy J: 1999", at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. McMillan plays his fifteen-year-old self in the one-man musical, which illustrates his life at the dawn of the new millennium. He acknowledges that it may have been more commercially sensible to do a sequel to "Sammy J and the Forest of Dreams" with McIvor, given the success of that show, but says that he and McIvor wanted to challenge themselves instead by both doing solo shows. McMillan performed the new musical in April as a part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.[6] In the same year, McMillan released a CD of his comedic songs, including some new material as well as some of his more popular pieces.[6]
In 2010 he reunited with Heath McIvor (aka Randy the purple puppet) to create Ricketts Lane, which won the Barry Award for Most Outstanding Show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. It then played at the Sydney Opera House.The two then debut the sequel, Bin Night, in 2011 at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. So far it has received many positive reviews.
He has appeared on various Australian television shows, including Spicks and Specks, Good News Week and Stand Up Australia, and was featured on the Laughapoolooza DVD released in Australia by Madman Entertainment. He has also written and performed on The Comedy Channel's satirical news show The Mansion.[10]