Nick Cody
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Nick Cody

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“I just keep thinking that the stories are going to run out but I just keep fucking up almost on cue,” laughs Cody. “I just try activities without thinking them through and going to places without questioning the consequences.”

 

For comics, there’s always the unfortunate tractor-beam-esque pull towards a new tight-five. “The most upsetting thing to me is I’m trying not to get myself in trouble. Like, I’m really going out of my way to go, ‘No, this is a logical, rational move. It’s a good decision you’ve made here. Everything’s going to be great.’ And then sometimes it just goes to shit.”

 

Off the back of a busy 2016, Cody has plenty of tales to tell. His European tour towards the end of the year, in particular, proved rewarding. “It was a bunch of places I had never been before, besides London. To go and see new spots and do some comedy there and see how it’s received was fantastic,” Cody reveals. “In Serbia and Antwerp and Amsterdam, you’re speaking their third language. And subtle jokes, they are all over it. They are over everything. The crowds are amazing. It’s fucking better than the Gold Coast. Gigs at the Gold Coast, you have to spell shit out. But in Belgrade, they’re like, ‘We see what you did there. Well done.’”

 

Cody also stopped by Sydney’s Enmore Theatre to record his second comedy special What Of It?, due for release early this year. “I assume within the next couple of months it should be out, but most definitely it’ll have a commentary track with comedian mates again.”

 

The commentary track, of course, will be a merciless roasting. Still, Cody enjoys the sport of it. “My family and my friends growing up, it was about constantly trying to catch one another out making a mistake, hanging shit on each other, breaking balls. It was just how I grew up. So, when there’s other comedians and people who like that sense of humour, I get along with them very well. Everyone is fair game. It just goes around and around.”

 

In a year of highlights for Cody, one in particular stands out: that time he appeared on The Conan O’Brien Show. Cody holds the distinction of being just the fourth Australian comedian to perform on the program. “I still remember the day clearly. I remember being horrifically nervous. I was confident in the bits, I knew it was all fine, but I think maybe 20 seconds in, I finally relaxed. But up until that point, it’s just nerve-racking,” he recalls. “When I walked out, I waved to my friends that were in the crowd and then I gave Conan a thumbs up and said, ‘Cheers, mate,’ and he bowed to me in his chair. That moment I will never forget – just the smile on my face. When the clip starts on YouTube, I’m smiling already, because I’m like, ‘Fucking Conan just bowed!’ Ridiculous.”

 

But you won’t catch Cody getting too carried away with recent success. As well as overseeing the next generation of Australia’s funniest comedians at this year’s RAW Comedy, you’ll also spot him playing smaller venues around town, honing his craft, just as he has done over the course of his career.

 

“I go to the US a fair bit each year to do stuff and in New York there’ll be a show there with 15 people and Chris Rock might drop in. You go, ‘If he’s doing it, I have got absolutely no excuse.’ All that stuff that I’ve done over the last year, that’s completely gone now and now I’m building up this new hour.”

 

There’s intrigue surrounding his upcoming show, On Fire, for the simple fact that it’s been a time of great personal change for Cody. “When that last show happened, I had a girlfriend. I’ll have a wife by the time the tour starts. It’s the same person. It hasn’t been that quick of a turnaround,” he jokes.

 

As for what people can expect from the new show, Cody is confident it will be his strongest hour to date. “Any time there’s reviewers [in my shows], they all take different themes and things away. All I can say is, it’s as funny as I can be and it gets better each year.”

 

By Nick Mason