In the opening minutes of his new comedy special, Loosey Goosey, Rove McManus strides on stage and declares he isn’t nervous.
“I’ve actually been asked by people all week leading up to this if I’m nervous about tonight, which I’m not,” he says, before lamenting the age-old technique of picturing the audience naked.
“If I was feeling nervous right now, imagining you all naked does not make me feel calm.”
It’s a hilarious and confident start to the set, and one that can only be delivered by a seasoned performer, who, despite being in the industry for more than three decades, is still motivated to do one thing: make people laugh.
“Once you get that first laugh, there’s no shaking it,” Rove tells TV WEEK.
“It’s still very frustrating that I can scan a room and everyone can be having the time of their lives, but when I see that one person who looks bored or sitting with their arms crossed, that’s all I can focus on.
“And that goes for every comedian, and if they tell you otherwise, they’re lying. You just try to crack that nut as much as you can.”
What may come as a surprise to many of his fans is that the innate desire to entertain didn’t come naturally at first, with Rove revealing he was actually “a pretty quiet and fairly introverted” person when he was younger.
“I was always creative, I was drawing and writing,” he says. “But it wasn’t like I enjoyed being the centre of attention. In many ways I still don’t.”
It’s a statement that’s hard to comprehend given just how much of a natural Rove is in front of the camera, so much so that while most comedians cut their teeth on tiny stages out the back of smoky pool halls, Rove was given the ultimate platform at just 25 – his own talk show.
“That should not have happened,” he laughs, recalling his time on Network 10’s Rove Live, which started on the Nine Network as Rove in 1999, before shifting networks in 2000.
“I have nieces and nephews who are as old now as I was then, when I got my own talk show. That’s ridiculous.
“And as much as you can say it was a different era, perhaps there was more risk taking then, that doesn’t mean that was OK to do that, you know?”
He notes that at the time, young people on television were usually only seen on Neighbours or Home And Away, and yet somehow, here he was, let loose with a bunch of his friends live on prime time.
“Peter Helliar was 23 [when Rove began] and Carrie [Bickmore] was around 26 [when she joined Rove Live in 2006]. We were just a bunch of kids. It’s so incredible to think that it worked and people gave it a shot.”
Rove Live eventually went off the air in 2009, and, when it’s suggested to him, Rove agrees the show has left a huge gap in the talk show space in Australia. While he’s always up to “scratch the itch” of live TV, returning to host something like Rove Live again isn’t a priority for him.
He says he’s happy doing what he does now – dipping his toe back into the stand-up scene, co-hosting The Project whenever he’s needed and, most recently, lending his voice to Bluey. A guest spot on the kids’ series is perhaps his most impressive role to date – at least in the eyes of his 10-year-old daughter, Ruby.
“I think to a modern-day child, being on television means nothing,” he says. “Sometimes I speak with my daughter and she’s like, ‘Open up your [phone] screen – there’s a ton of videos of me on your phone. Like, we’ve all got videos of ourselves, so don’t get too caught up in it.’
“But with Bluey, she was super excited. She came to the recording with me, which was special. That was such a bucket list role, that one.”
Turning 50 earlier this year, Rove adds that there’s still plenty to tick off that list.
“It’s funny, because the first thing you’re asked when you turn 50 is, ‘Do you feel 50?’” he says. “I feel like that’s not for me to answer because of course I don’t.
“I’m happy, I’m content, I am doing some amazing creative things. I’m still working and I’m getting a new lease on life from it all.”
When asked whether he holds any regrets, he says, “Absolutely not.”
“I’m a real butterfly effect person,” he continues. “I wouldn’t want to go back and change anything. Because right now, in this moment, life is good.
“I wouldn’t want to change any of it. I mean there’s been a few terrible haircuts along the way, but that’s all.”
Monday 9:40pm on Ten.
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