Growing up, television writer and performer Nick Maxwell dreamed of being a stand-up comic. These days he is best known to many for his Kevin Rudd PM segment on the now-defunct Rove Live. He spoke to TheVine about projects and professional aspirations, past and present.

How did you become a television writer/producer and performer? What study and/or training did you undertake?

A call out of the blue. Turns out that stand-up wasn’t exactly for me, and after feeling like I’d moved away from comedy towards serious acting in my early twenties, I got a call from a comedy writer called Jason Marion who I’d worked with on a pilot at channel 7 for a short period- my first writing gig. We’d become friends, but not spoken since. He offered me a trial writing for Rove where he had become head writer. I took it up, and ended up working there for three years, writing, creating and doing the voice of Kevin Rudd PM and ending up on camera myself.

What would you say are some of the pros and cons of the profession?

The massive self doubt! But I’m sure that’s the same in every profession depending on who you are. We just won’t let ourselves off the hook, will we? I mean, it’s very uncertain, you want to do different things, more artistic things, but you also feel like you’ll never work again. Plus there are the man-eating bears...they’re a bit of a hazard.

What qualities or attributes do you think make a good television writer/producer and performer?

A bit like an athlete- someone who stays in the moment and tries to do the best work they can at any given time, without too much judgement (near fucking impossible). But also someone who doesn’t take that for granted and just do whatever- TV can be very disposable and people can become too comfortable with that. You must keep editing until the last minute, then trust your performance.

What advice would you give to those interested in following in your footsteps?

Don’t!!!!!!! You will be very unhappy!!! Do you own thing, trust yourself (sometimes), don’t listen to your critic (all the time) and learn from every little shitty gig and failure you have as you go (if you can, although it’s more of a job for Jesus or someone like that!).

What did your most current jobs involve?

Rove quit. I wish I could! I’m writing for another TV show and trying to get myself to come up with something I could really love. Something I could work 24/7 on. But dedication is a bit of a pre-requisite. I’m always amazed at how dedicated writers and producers I work with are. It really is your life if you want it to be.

What's a typical workday like for you?

Smoke weed every day. Just joking. 930-630. Writing, on the internet, trying come up with ideas. At Rove I was responsible for up to three segments a week. Writing Kevin Rudd, PM in collaboration with Jason Marion and Rat Matsen, the two head writers, sourcing footage, which nearly killed me in the first year we did it. Then editing the footage and doing the voice-over. Then also writing and performing sketches for the show every second week with Hayden Guppy. Before doing live crosses and in-studio performances toward the end of 2009. Those were long days. 9-9 a lot of the time. The weekends felt like a blip. But it was great- you realise from nowhere that you actually want to work all the time. You start to realise, if I had any free time what would I do? Nothing. I don’t want to do anything. That sounds depressing. It sort of is sometimes, but everyone’s different - I can’t stress that enough!


By Heidi Maier