6 days ago
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Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we’re told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they’re given. This week, he talks to Matt Okine. The comedian, actor, musician and author, 40, has won an ARIA award and been nominated for AACTA, Logie and Helpmann awards. He stars in the ABC TV comedy, Mother and Son.
SEX
When I say “sex”, what’s the first thing that comes into your mind? Oh, God. I mean, I’m 40 now. Who’s got the energy, really?
Are you at the stage where you’d prefer a nap to sex? Yeah, I think of all of the effort required before and after. It’s like throwing a party. It’s fun when you’re in the moment, but the organising and the clean-up are just not worth it when you hit my age. It’s the opposite of Justin Timberlake. He’s like, “I’m bringing sexy back.” I’m putting sexy away for a little while. I’m prioritising my daughter, Sofia, and making sure that everything is safe and happy in the household. Once all that sort of stuff has been nicely established, then I can go back to sexy times and the insatiable sex hero that I surely am.
How long have you and your partner, Belinda, been together? Ten years now. And we’ve got a seven-year-old, so we’ve done it once.
[Laughs] At least! What attracted you to her initially? Her sense of humour: being able to have fun, have a laugh and not take yourself too seriously. I find that incredibly attractive and really sexy. What else? She also had quite interesting teeth …
“Quite interesting teeth”? She’ll tell you that they weren’t exactly – what would be the word? – conventional.
What are you talking about? You’re making it sound like she was like a shark with a second set of teeth. No, she had gaps between her teeth! That was a unique trait that I appreciated, although she’s since had teeth-straightening treatment, so they’re gone. But she still has beautiful eyes, beautiful hair … and I think she has a hot arse!
DEATH
You got acquainted with death young, it’s fair to say? Yeah, my mum died when I was 12 years old, so I’ve always been very aware of death. People who’ve never lost anyone close live with a sense of invincibility, almost, whereas I’m the complete opposite: I always assume that the worst will happen because I’ve seen it happen. I’ve seen someone go from having a headache to dying in a few weeks. The good side of it is that I try to make the most of every moment when it comes to family and friends – and my daughter especially.
Christ, a few weeks … That’s brutal. Yeah, my mum got a headache one day. I came home from school to find she’d collapsed in the shower. My parents were living separately at the time, but we took her to hospital that night and she died a couple of weeks later. [Okine’s mother, Roslyn, had breast cancer that spread to her brain; although she had been ill for a while, her death was sudden.] There’s a lot of deep regret from that time. You blame yourself for not having done more, not realising sooner that something was wrong, and wondering if there was anything that you could’ve done differently.
When I hear you say that, I think, “Far out. If a 12-year-old kid was telling me this, I’d be like, ‘Mate, there’s nothing else you could have done.’ ” Of course. As an adult, it’s much easier to see the clarity of a situation with the benefit of wisdom. But when you’re 12, you carry those doubts and those insufficiencies into your early adult years. It’s a long journey to repair yourself and to learn to trust again – not just people, but life.
Tell me more about Roslyn. What do you remember of her? She died before I realised that she was a fallible adult. She made me feel as if I was her whole world. I couldn’t have asked for a better mum. There’s this part of me that’s almost glad that she died when she did: she was perfect to me.
POLITICS
How would you describe your politics? Look, I’m definitely left-leaning. Actually, I look at my local community and have questioned recently whether being a councillor would be something that I’d like to pursue.
What change do you want to see? I’m really passionate about public transport. It’s something that my mum instilled in me a lot: we used to catch the bus everywhere. I care about town planning, zoning and density: active frontages, shop facades and walkability. I drive around Brisbane, in particular, and just think it was let down by some really bad town planning and has never recovered.
Wow, I didn’t know this side of you. I know! As soon as I open my mouth about town planning, everyone honestly falls asleep.
Now I’ve got a vision of the future: your podcast co-host, Alex Dyson, who has run unsuccessfully for federal office several times, has a lower house seat in federal parliament and you’re Brisbane City Council Lord Mayor. Yeah, that’s it! I’ve got the Brisbane Lord Mayor mantle in my sites for 2032. Adrian Schrinner, watch out!
