“I got up 20 minutes ago!” jet-setting comedian Urzila Carlson moans to Woman’s Day over Zoom after flying into Auckland from Melbourne the night before.
Currently taking some family time out from her Aussie tour, she’s been in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Perth and Adelaide in the space of a week, so she’s having trouble keeping track of which time zone she’s in.
“But I’m having such a good time!” exclaims Urzila, 50, suddenly perking up. “I’ve enjoyed great shows and I caught up with Mel Bracewell in Perth. Weirdly, we were in Hobart on the same night too!”
Sell-out show
The star jokingly suspects their shared manager has a sweepstake going on who will sell the most tickets, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem for the South African-born Kiwi star, whose show Fatty On A Yacht is selling out all over the place.
Urzila says, “It’s about this time I went on a superyacht when I thought I was going on some guy’s dad’s tinny. My friend said to me, ‘You should come on the boat tomorrow.’ My friend is straight, so a boat can mean anything. No offence to straight women, but it’s like children – they go, ‘We’re going on a plane!’ and when you get there, you realise it’s a Cessna!
“So I dressed in my cargo shorts to go fishing on a tinny, and when I get there with my rod and chilly bin, everyone’s in sundresses and fascinators. But I wasn’t going to say no to being on a superyacht!”
Going global
Urzila is taking the show to the UK in September, then South Africa and Canada later in the year, although she’s giving the US a wide berth due to politics. But for now, she’s at home to talk to us about her new Neon sketch show Urzila. It was commissioned by an Aussie network, but she insisted on filming it partly in Aotearoa.
“I’m always a New Zealand comic, wherever I go,” she insists. “I wanted to do that so we could add more Kiwi comics and have a Kiwi flavour.”
Local comedian Josh Thomson directs, and the cast includes Madeleine Sami, Tom Sainsbury, Hayley Sproull, Chris Parker and Mel.
Although Hollywood has kept calling since Urzila’s hilarious appearance in Amy Schumer’s movie Kinda Pregnant, she’s said no to most proposals, explaining, “I just want to tour!”
Spending time with loved ones
She’s also extremely devoted to precious family time, although she grimaces, “There have definitely been some roles in the past that I’ve wanted to kick myself in
the dick for saying no to.”
Urzila’s still in touch with her gal pal Amy and says they message a lot. They have a group chat with other stars from Kinda Pregnant, where Amy has been posting “amazing” photos lately.
“She’s got a very different life to me,” laughs Urzila.
“She’s on a yacht with the most incredible people – Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. Meanwhile, I’m doing my ironing at the Quest Apartments in Adelaide!”
Urzila turned 50 in February and the down-to-earth celeb celebrated the milestone in low-key fashion with some of her closest friends.
“You know, people overthink these things and invite so many people,” she shares. “For my 50th, I was like, ‘Who would I not mind showing up at my house when I’m in my pyjamas and no bra?’ Those people were here.”
On embracing her age
The 7 Days and Have You Been Paying Attention? panellist loves being older, and doesn’t take any day for granted.
She says, “I look back at people I used to work with and there are so many who aren’t alive any more. I’m at this age now where I can say no to stuff. I never really gave a shit, but I’d always worry about the implications of turning people down. I don’t any more.
“The bravery plug comes in once perimenopause hits. Then you’re like, ‘You know what? I don’t have time for this shit! My body is literally in the ‘unbooting itself’ phase!’”
She credits Paul Ego, who also stars in Urzila, for teaching her to say no without any need for an explanation.
“The first time he did that, I was like, ‘That is so perfect.’ Who knew ‘no’ was a full sentence? I was taking notes, like, ‘So that’s just an N and an O?!’”
Despite the constant travel, Urzila loves working in Australia, especially now so many New Zealanders have wormed their way into the comedy industry.
“There are so many Kiwis with their fingers in all the pies,” she grins. “It’s great. It’s how it should be. We should be looking after each other. Whenever one of us goes to the UK too, there’s a bit of, ‘All right, everyone, come on in!’”
Urzila loves being able to use her international profile to help out newer comics and dole out advice as well as showcase her buddies’ talents, like she does in Urzila.
“We had so much fun,” she raves. “One of my friends said, ‘You just got all your mates together and had a reunion, didn’t you?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, that’s the point, isn’t it?’ We have the best, most fun job in the world and I’m gonna lean into it.”
Urzila streams on Neon. Fatty On A Yacht tours Hamilton, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Tauranga from 4 December. Visit urzilacarlson.com for more info.
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