Tim Ross: the Australian comedian on the life-changing effect of modest, modernist buildings – and tinted moisturiser

About this episode

A while back, Tim came to London to perform at the Isokon building in Belsize Park, and I managed to catch up with him to record this podcast.  As a small boy in the Seventies, Tim quietly absorbed the lessons of modernist architecture. He remembers accompanying his parents to a dinner party at a modern house, where the sound of laughter reverberated around the circular lounge; his career seems to have been about trying to recapture that heady moment. In 2003, he bought his own modernist house in Sydney, a move which, he says, ‘changed my life for the better’. His fascination with architecture and design had previously been a solitary pursuit, but the house provided a way to meet like-minded people and a launchpad for his TV career. Tim is really great company, and we talk about all sorts of things. He explains how he’s an outlier in his family, and what it felt like to perform on stage for the first time.  He tells me about the day the Beastie Boys came to visit and wouldn’t leave, why he’d rather learn to be a builder than go through the stress of another renovation project, and why he swears by the uplifting effects of tinted moisturiser.This episode was recorded in person in Brick Lane, London.For more: Visit The Modern House website to see images of the spaces discussed in this episodeDiscover more about Tim Ross and his live showsSee more of his Sydney homeFollow Matt Gibberd on InstagramFollow The Modern House InstagramWatch our Homing In films on YouTubeProducer: Hannah PhillipsEditing: Oscar CrawfordGraphic Design: Tom Young and Ben TuckerMusic: Father Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.