Big V Interview: Julia Morris opens up on 40 year career and how she found her happy place
Beloved TV queen Julia Morris has opened up on the highs and lows of spending 40 years in the spotlight and why she already feels like a winner, with or without a Gold Logie.
There’s a golden twinkle in Julia Morris’ eye even before she’s stepped out for Sunday’s TV Week Logie Awards.
She’d love it to be fourth time lucky as a nominee for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, but cleaning out her garage and finding 130 VHS tapes of material has put life in perspective.
“I keep finding things from 40 years of television,’’ she says.
“Like OMG no one’s going to believe I did that, or no one saw my work in the UK. I’ve never even seen this or that and these last few weeks have been quite cathartic.
“I don’t want to disrespect the award in any way, but you’re never going to be able to top working non-stop for 40 years.”
And so with or without a nod for a gold Logie, Morris already feels like a winner.
As one of Australia’s most fun, flirty and flamboyant personalities, the radiant 57 year-old — in an Alin Le’Kal frock with Anton jewellery — has a resume spanning multiple genres, networks and decades.
“It’s not the vibe I’m getting,’’ she says of her chances.
“Two people have asked me in the last week how am I going campaigning for the Lynne McGranger Channel 7 gold Logie award.
“At least that was my first reality check. I find if you’re expecting it, you definitely don’t win. For 37 years (until my first gold nomination in 2022) I couldn’t work out why I wasn’t getting voted or at least getting nominated for the gold. It didn’t make sense to me. Not that I think that I’m the best person on television, but it was the way my weird brain worked. How do they not see it, I can’t believe it. Then the last three years have been amazing.”
Morris has her two daughters, Ruby and Sophie, who are not “smart arse teenagers” and who make her grateful each day. She’s used to being “slapped down by the internet” but has always held her head high.
She has finally emerged with a clear disposition from the fog of divorce, after her 16 year marriage to British comedian Dan Thomas ended four years ago.
“When I think about the last few years for me, in the general scheme of things, I’ve got my two gold Logies at home,’’ Morris says.
“Well three, Ken. He’s my cavoodle. He’s my lifestyle choice partner.
“I found him two nights ago sleeping nestled into my pillow. What’s wrong with this picture? I already offloaded one idiot out of my bed, get off my pillow.”
Morris is excited to say she’s found her happy place.
“I feel like, except for my general urgency, I think it’s leaking out of me from every pore,’’ she says. “Every person whose path I cross they’re like, ‘oh wow what’s happened to you’.
“Silent sleeping, not being told what to do, doing everything right every day. It’s been so thrilling and watching my girls get stronger and be more fabulous with every single day. I didn’t get the smart arse teenagers, I got the what can we do, how can we help. That’s probably my greatest achievement.”
Helping Morris find that inner peace was a diagnosis of ADHD last year in June.
It explained a lot and it took her five months to see a psychiatrist, but she’s thriving since starting medication.
“I reckon I’ve gone from 50 radio stations in my head to maybe only five,’’ she says.
“They’re all the ones with the best hits.
“People are like ‘please, we knew all along, how’d you not know?’
“I didn’t know that’s what it added up to. It was very confronting because I was like all the things I’ve gotten into trouble for or when people have said nasty stuff about me, it’s all leading to one location that I didn’t know about.
“Now that I feel I’ve got a bit of that recipe, I have dipped the mask and I am letting my mental come out a little bit more.”
The queen of the jungle, Morris will return for her 12th season of co-hosting I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! on Network 10 next year, and is proud of where she stands.
“Going back through my history, I worked for Channel 7 for years, worked for Channel 9 for years, worked at ABC at different times, I’m too skippy bush kangarooka for SBS, maybe I’ve done a couple of shows. The fact I’m still standing and still working, it wasn’t like a plan. It was just that I had to eat.
“But it’s all tough. If you choose this business you better get ready for tough. I’ve got a number of young friends, young people, who are starting to come into this industry and I’ve been talking them through the no’s.
“It’s hearing no, how you respond, because you’re going to hear more no’s than yeses, that’s how it works. Or you’re going to hear ‘your services are no longer required’ or someone who is unhappy in their house is going ‘you’re the most stupid, fat, ugly, vile person, why don’t you go and die’. OK, well I’m not but thanks for the suggestion, it sounds like you are (dying) inside. It’s a weird business to last in.”
A change in I’m a Celeb hosting partner from Dr Chris Brown to Robert Irwin, has given Morris a new shot of enthusiasm.
She has nothing but admiration for Irwin, who won’t be attending the Logies, after he nearly broke the internet with a recent racy underwear campaign for Bonds.
“He is super confident and incredibly erudite,’’ she says.
“The fact that he was willing to cop that (attention) to raise awareness for his conservation and wildlife, you cannot name me another human being in this country who would have been able to do the same thing and break the internet globally. He is crazy and he blows my mind. I can’t believe I get to work beside him.”
Morris will soon gently launch her latest project, a comedy series that will live exclusively online, alongside her friend Meg. She taught herself how to edit and how to record.
Is she scared of turning 60? No way, she’s shining bright.
“I relish the next bit because the ferocious honesty is only coming on like waves,’’ Morris says. “There’s plenty still to come.”
OFF THE RECORD
What is your supersition?
Never let arseholes in your life.
Best hidden gem in Melbourne
Let me tell you, it ain’t hidden. It’s Alin Le’kal in Toorak who makes some of the most exquisite gowns on this plant.
What do you do to relax?
I let the medication run out.
Which show are you binge watching?
At the moment I’m binge watching The Cheap Seats because they’re just incredible, so funny and supportive.
Who is the biggest celebrity you’ve met?
It would be Robin Williams with whom I worked in 1999 when he came out to Australia for his Bicentennial Man movie premiere.
What is your hidden talent?
I’m pretty sure one of my best hidden talents is cleaning, I’ve got a gift for it plus I really enjoy it.
Dream holiday destination?
The hospital. Because you get left alone, get to do nothing for weeks and no one can make you do anything.
What was your first job?
Cleaning the windows at the East Gosford newsagency and I got fired for coming to work in spasms. I don’t know what that means.
If you weren’t a comedian what would you have been?
I’d be flight crew. I think I was built for that job. I did a little side step into show business instead. When I’m on planesand I look at the flight crew, I think I could have been in the gang.
Who are five people dead or alive you’d invite to a dinner party?
Mae West, Joan of Arc, I was going to say Maggie Thatcher because I really want to ask her why she tried to push the penaltyfor so long. But that’s not dinner party conversation so going to get rid of Mags. My friend Meg, it’s all women so far asit should continue to be because we want quality at the table. I would invite Anton Jewellery because they’d bring diamondsfor me to try on and wear.
What was first car?
It was after I drove in the celebrity Grand Prix without a licence. I had to get a Confederation of Australian Motor Racingin order to drive, where I indicated around the corners — safety first guys — and after that I got my drivers licence andI shouted myself a Toyota Celica.
What was the first concert you went to?
Jesus Christ Superstar, a concert version of the musical.
Best piece of advice that you ever recieved?
If you’re at a party, always acknowledge, never approach. Just get ready to receive.
Who is the most underrated Aussie talent?
Where would we even start? I feel very pressured. Any working stand up comic. Who lacked the opportunit, rather than thetalent. It’s funny because the talent is only such a small part of it, drive is the other part, luck is the other part, tryingto watch your mouth and the business is just as big as the talent. If you don’t have drive or the medication, you’re going nowhere.
Best thing you’ve ever bought?
A divorce.
Originally published as Big V Interview: Julia Morris opens up on 40 year career and how she found her happy place
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