Joel Creasey

Joel Creasey (born 11 August 1990) is an Australian stand-up comedian, actor, television and radio presenter. Creasey has performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, as well as performing at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2013 and 2014 and the Edinburgh Fringe in 2015. In September 2020, Creasey joined Nova FM's national radio show ''Kate, Tim & Joel'' as a co-host with Kate Ritchie and Tim Blackwell.

Early life

Creasey was born in the Sydney suburb of Baulkham Hills and moved to Perth at a young age. His father, Terry, worked as a model while his mother, Jenny, was a singer. The couple met on the set of '' Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back'' in which they both appeared as extras. His father was also the "Solo" man in the iconic 1985 advertisement for the soft drink and currently owns several McDonald's restaurants in Perth. Creasey has two sisters.

Creasey is openly gay. He came out to his family and friends in 2007, when he was sixteen. He attended high school at Wesley College, where he graduated in 2007. At school, Creasey founded and was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper ''The Wesley Inquirer'', and drama captain. He later studied political science and foreign affairs at Curtin University for three months before dropping out to focus on his career in stand-up comedy.

Stand-up career

Creasey first attempted stand-up comedy when he was fifteen years old. When Creasey was seventeen, he entered Raw Comedy, a national stand-up competition; and made it to the state finals in Perth. Creasey made his Melbourne International Comedy Festival debut in 2010, with a show entitled ''Slumber Party'' at the Kitten Club. The show earned Creasey a nomination for Best Newcomer at the end of the festival and he was signed to Andrew Taylor Management. In 2011, Creasey presented his second show, ''Political Animal'', at multiple comedy festivals. His third show, ''Naked'', saw Creasey gain considerable media attention and positive reviews. This was followed in 2013 with ''The Drama Captain'', which saw Creasey sell out 23 consecutive shows in Melbourne and receive Best Show nominations at both the Sydney and Perth Comedy Festivals.

In 2014, he started touring with his fifth festival show, ''Rock God'', which gained him significant media coverage and a sold-out national tour. During this period, Creasey began being referred to as "Australia's Acid Tongue Prince". Creasey toured the show to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Hong Kong with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Later, he participated in the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, Canada, before presenting ''Rock God'' at the Fringe Festival in New York City. Creasey also toured ''Rock God'' to the Soho Theatre in London. Joan Rivers, upon seeing his act, booked him to open for her in New York in August 2014.

The ''New York Post'' named ''Rock God'' as one of the top five events of the New York Fringe Festival. ''Under The Guns review called it "a side-splittingly funny 70-minute display of stand-up that moves at a frantic pace of several laughs per minute..." ''Time Out'' also reviewed ''Rock God'' positively, writing that "the relentlessly hilarious 23-year-old has the chops of a much more seasoned performer, and the charisma of an inevitable star". The ''Sydney Morning Herald'' wrote that "he's a confident storytellerenergetic, concise, but conversationalwith a ruthless wit and an infectious oh-my-god enthusiasm."

In late 2014, it was revealed that Creasey had been selected to host the 2015 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala. It was announced in early 2015 that Creasey's sixth festival show would be titled ''The Hurricane'' and was subsequently toured both nationally and internationally.

In 2018, he was appointed as one of two Fringe Ambassadors for the Adelaide Fringe and presented his show ''Blonde Bombshell'' there. Creasey's 2018 Just for Laughs set was filmed and featured as part of a stand-up comedy series on Netflix in 2019.

Television work

Creasey's credits include appearing as a panellist on '' The Circle'', '' Studio 10'', '' Tractor Monkeys'', ''A League of Their Own'', '' The Project'', '' 20 to 1'', ''It's a Date'', ''Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation'', ''All Star Family Feud'', '' Celebrity Name Game'', ''Have You Been Paying Attention?'' and ''Hughesy, We Have a Problem''. Creasey has also performed televised stand-up on the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala, ''Comedy Up Late'' and ''Just for Laughs''; as well as heading up the winning team on the Comedy Festival's ''Great Debate'' for 2014.

In 2011, Creasey was abused and chased by an aggressive group of teenagers after his show in Colac. He was presenting at Straight Shooters anti-discrimination event, held by local community group DYNAMIC. The group of teenagers threatened to beat Creasey and his friends for being homosexual. In 2014, Creasey returned to Colac with fellow comedian Rhys Nicholson as a part of an ABC documentary entitled ''Gay Crashers''.

In 2015, Creasey was one of the contestants on the Australian version of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' He lasted 41 days on the show, eventually being eliminated on 10 March 2015.

In 2017, Creasey, along with Myf Warhurst, was announced as one of Australia's commentators for the 62nd Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Kyiv, Ukraine. The two returned as commentators in 2018. Creasey appeared as Oscar in Australian television drama ''Sisters'', and Mick Allsop in ''Neighbours''.

In 2018, Creasey was appointed as one of the team captains in ''Show Me the Movie!''. Creasey hosted the dating game show ''Take Me Out'' in 2018.

In March 2021, Creasey co-hosted SBS's coverage of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras celebration. Creasey also featured in an advertisement for Virgin Money.

In the second half of 2021, Creasey briefly turned up again in ''Neighbours'', reprising his role as Mick Allsop.

Radio work

In September 2020, Creasey joined Kate Ritchie and Tim Blackwell as part of Nova FM's national radio show, ''Kate, Tim and Joel''. He replaced Marty Sheargold, who has been on Nova National Drive since August 2011.

Other work

In November 2019, Creasey hosted the GQ Men of the Year Awards.

Personal life

Creasey lives with his boyfriend, Jack Stratton-Smith.

Stand-up shows

* ''Slumber Party'' (2010)
* ''Political Animal'' (2011)
* ''Naked'' (2012)
* ''The Acid Tongue Prince'' (2012; live DVD)
* ''The Drama Captain'' (2013)
* ''Rock God'' (2014, 2015)
* ''The Hurricane'' (2015)
* ''The Crown Prince'' (2016)
* ''Poser'' (2017)
* ''Blonde Bombshell'' (2018)
* ''Drink. Slay. Repeat.'' (2019)
*''Messy Bitch'' (2021)

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Creasey, Joel
Australian male television actors
Australian stand-up comedians
Gay comedians
Australian gay actors
Living people
1990 births
Male actors from Perth, Western Australia
People educated at Wesley College, Perth
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (Australian TV series) participants
21st-century Australian male actors
Eurovision commentators