Julia Morris knows what it’s like to be nominated for a TV WEEK Logie and not win. She was nominated five times for a Silver Logie for her role in comedy drama House Husbands, and admits she felt disappointed when the award kept going to someone else.
“I’d be like, ‘It’s my turn!’” the actress remembers.
Now, at the age of 56, nominated for the Gold Logie for the third year running, she’s more philosophical.
“I’m just like, ‘You know, whoever wins it, that’s going to be unreal for them. If I win it, it must be what I need right now; if somebody else wins it, they probably need it more than me.’ I kind of feel I’m set: I only have to wait another year-and-a-half and I’ll be in the Hall of Fame!”
Jokes about her age aside – and she does love to make them – the announcement of this year’s Gold Logie nominees was a thrill for Julia. Not only was she on the list, her I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! co-host, Robert Irwin, was there too.
“Being nominated for Gold is a super-exciting experience,” she explains. “To be nominated for the Gold alongside a friend and to go through this experience together makes it 50 times better.”
If Robert, who replaced Dr Chris Brown as Julia’s co-host this year, wins on the night, she’ll be cheering.
“I’ll feel like it’s a family moment,” she says.
It’s not often that co-hosts are nominated for a Gold Logie, and Julia agrees it says some “great stuff” about the show. But she thinks those on set – and viewers at home – were feeling it, well before the Logie nominations.
“Everybody started to get this sensation: ‘Oh my gosh – I never want to say it out loud, but I think we’re about to have 10 years in this show.’ With my previous paramour, my doctor, resigning and going, that could have ended the major part of my television career, so I’m pretty happy it hasn’t.”
It was 18 months ago that Dr Chris announced he was departing Network 10, leaving Julia facing an anxious wait to find out who her new co-host would be.
“It was stressful for quite a long time until we knew who was coming on board,” she says. “But that stress evaporated the second we knew, which was the second that Robert walked in the room.”
Despite the 36-year age difference, a close friendship has blossomed between Julia and Robert.
“We had dinner together last night, because we were both finally in town,” she says. “We have a very similar sense of humour. He’s this open, communicative, wonderful, clever, funny, brilliant young man. If there are coattails, if there are apron strings, if there is anything at all I can hang onto, I’ll be doing that like a parasite in Robert’s life.”
Of course, Julia doesn’t need to hang on to anyone’s coattails. Finding fame in 1990s sketch comedy series Full Frontal, she went on to make her mark in the UK and US before returning to live in Australia. She’s been knocking back work – “big things, series, America, London” – since 2021, when she split with her husband Dan Thomas. Her priority right now is being around for her daughters Ruby, 17, and Sophie, 15.
“It’s not a case of I’d like to spend more time with them,” she explains. “To be frank, there are days when I’d like to spend less time with them! But it has restricted me to work I can do out of Melbourne, or work they can come with me on.”
When she’s not off working, Julia can often be found washing clothes (“that’s where I’ve got all the little awards I’ve won – in the laundry”) or acting as her daughters’ Uber.
“Certainly on weekends, I needn’t bother even thinking about a social life, because I’ve got a late-night Uber pick-up,” she says. “So there’s no drinking.”
Julia admits it’s hard turning down roles. But saying no to an acting opportunity and then spending the rest of the day doing housework isn’t the worst thing.
“What’s worse is when you see who gets it, and then watch them absolutely, stratospherically, blow,” she says.
As with the Logies, it’s something Julia has learnt to be philosophical about.
“Whatever opportunities I’m missing weren’t meant for me, because I’m meant to be in my house at the moment,” she says. “Very unlike my industry, I actually have to look after others and not myself.”
Something else Julia has learnt: to avoid social media when she’s working on a show. If she wants to post something, such as a photo of her outfit on I’m A Celebrity, she’ll ask her agent to post it for her – and she won’t check to see if people like it.
“If I go seeking those compliments – say, on Instagram with the outfits – I’m going to come across something that’s going to ruin my day: ‘You’re an idiot’, ‘You’re not funny’ – whatever those things are that play in your mind through your life. I figure I can do without the compliments and I try to keep myself in an unravelled headspace for that time. The internet does it to me, every time.”
As for what lies ahead, Julia expects the next phase of her career will start when Sophie, currently in Year 10, finishes school. But she doesn’t see too many presenting roles in her future.
“I feel like presenting is moving towards the younger people,” she says. “Definitely more acting – that’s something that really ignites my heart big-time.”
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