Comedian Tim Minchin has pleaded with parents to stop encouraging their children to idolize and chase fame.
The internationally renowned actor said in Jess Rowe’s Big Talk ShowThe idea of becoming a celebrity has become very attractive to the younger generations.
“I really don’t think we should all raise our children to think about this myth that you can be president of the United States if you just work hard,” he said.
“Unfortunately, it’s mixed with the dark side of ‘all you have to do is work hard and commit to a dream and you will achieve it.’
“That sounds positive, but the dark side of that same coin is, and if you don’t make it… If you’re poor or you struggle with your mental health or you don’t get the raise or the position, that’s your problem.” failure.
‘Because you didn’t dream big enough. You didn’t work hard enough.
‘So that’s the bad side of this “have a dream” coin and I think it does a lot more harm than good. Because, above all, you’re not going to end up with your name in lights.
Composer Matilda the Musical also said that the only happy people he knows are neither rich nor famous.
“You will almost certainly work very hard and not become famous or rich,” he said.
Comedian Tim Minchin has pleaded with parents to stop encouraging their children to idolize and chase fame.
Minchin continued: Statistically, if you want to become an artist, you will work very hard and end up teaching.
“I know this sounds absurdly simple and obvious, but it’s deeply true that the happy people I know and admire are not rich or famous.”
The theme of parenting advice and advice giving in general is a theme that recurs throughout her new book, You Don’t Have to Have a Dream.
Minchin and his wife Sarah, whom he married in 2001, have two teenage children, Violet and Caspar.
He cited the famous Morning Consult study that found that 57 percent of Gen Z Americans (people born between 1997 and 2012) said they want to be influencers.
An Australian study conducted in 2022 found similar results: 56 percent of women ages 15 to 25 said they would leave their career or education to become an influencer if they could, compared to 39 percent of Millennial women.
‘So that’s the bad side of this “have a dream” coin and I think it does a lot more harm than good. Because, above all, you’re not going to end up with your name in lights,” he said.
‘I don’t know how many times I need to say this to young people. Because if you ask kids, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Apparently 50 percent or more say “famous.”
The word authenticity is thrown around a lot, Rowe said, as the pair discussed whether its meaning has been distorted by the influencer industry.
“And we, as a society, have to stop elevating morons like me and start elevating teachers and nurses,” Minchin said.
He explained to Rowe that he attributes his own success to privilege, luck and doing what he loves.
“It’s absurd to have ended up where I ended up,” he added.
I am kind, gentle and reasonably generous. My ego is weird and I’m cocky, but overall I’m a good guy.
Minchin also said that the happy people he knows and admires are neither rich nor famous.
“I don’t think that’s my credit. That’s luck, right? I have beautiful parents and beautiful grandparents. I was surrounded by love and they set boundaries for me. They gave me this brain and these fingers that go very fast,” Minchin continued.
“They gave me everything and someone who murders someone in a park was given bad things.”
Minchin joked that he can’t read or write music, but in high school he “played” with the piano long enough so that if he ever found himself at a party where one was available, he could impress a girl. .
“All I did was try my best with what I had in front of me. I never thought I’d end up on Broadway,” he said.
‘I was so focused on doing what I was doing well, that I ended up here. That’s what I’m trying to convey.’
Minchin is well known for his acting work in Californication (2007) and the award-winning Australian drama Upright (2019), which he wrote and starred in alongside House of the Dragon’s Milly Alcock.