When he first started out in comedy, Jim Jefferies was infamous for his edgy jokes and raunchy routines. Poking fun at anyone and everyone, throwing out swear words with abandon, and skilfully treading the fine line between hilarious and offensive. He won fans around the world.
From edgy comic to family favourite
These days, he’s the host of a family-friendly quiz show called The 1% Club Australia. It’s the polar opposite of his controversial comedy, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’m doing stuff that I probably wouldn’t have thought was cool as a young bloke,” confesses Jim, 48, who was born in Sydney but now lives in Los Angeles.
“To be honest, this is the most fun I’ve ever had in my career. Think of a more fun job in this world than telling someone they’ve just won $100,000… “I’ve never experienced anything better than hugging a stranger who’s got tears streaming down their face because they’ve won life-changing money. That’s a pretty amazing feeling. I’d be happy to host game shows for the rest of my life. It’s a wonderful job. “With acting, it’s a lot of work – you have to remember lines and you’ve got to get yourself into emotional states all the time. When you do a dramatic thing in acting, you come off set and you’ve been crying all day. That’s not a fun day at work.“But working at The 1% Club is always a fun day when people win money. I get to see people being happy and it’s always really positive. Who wouldn’t want to show up to that each day?”
A show the whole family can enjoy
And there’s also the bonus that, finally, this is something Jim. Who tours Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch with his Son Of A Carpenter comedy show next February. Can share with his family.
He has a son, aged three, with his English wife, House Of Anubis actress Tasie Lawrence. As well as a 12-year-old boy from a previous relationship with Shanghai Noon star Kate Luyben.
“I do stand-up comedy about sex and drugs, so obviously my kids can’t watch that!” says Jim, whose real name is Geoffrey Nugent.
“But they can watch The 1% Club and play along with that. This truly is a family show, where you don’t need to have all that esoteric trivia knowledge. You just have to be able to figure things out. “Mum and Dad are just as in tune about what’s going to happen on each question as the kids are and that’s very rare. It’s a wonderful show and it’s got a lot of playability, so I’m really not surprised it’s doing well.”
It’s a top-rating show over in Oz and Kiwi viewers are now catching on to the Three series. Which started in 2023 and showcases just how differently contestants can think.
Smart TV for smart people
Jim tells, “In season one, there were a lot of people who just wanted to be on TV and maybe others who were fans of my comedy or whatever. But now we’re getting a lot of super-intelligent people who are legit coming on the show because they want to win 100 grand. “And why not? Australia is a country of gamblers. For this bet, you don’t even have to put any money out there to begin with. What a great deal is that?”
The 1% Club Australia screens 7pm Fridays on Three and streams on ThreeNow.
