Gavin a hit with judges
by Emma Ballingall Wearing a Pasito can and sausage sizzle tshirt, Drouin comedian Gavin Sempel strolled onto the “Australia’s Got Talent” audition stage and television screens across the country.
Gavin, aged 21, nailed his audition and spoke to the Gazette whilst taking part in further filming in Sydney last week.
Describing himself as a “Gippy boy”, Gavin’s stand-up comedy audition put humour into his appearance and even bushfire evacuations earlier this year.
Joking that fellow V/Line commuters had likened his appearance to Keira Knightley…with a moustache, Captain America…before super serum and Nicolas Cage…with an ice addiction, Gavin proved a hit with all four judges during the first episode of the Seven Network’s reality talent show.
Gavin applied after his dad saw an advert pop up on Facebook. He faced a studio audition with a producer before securing a stage audition in front of judges Shane Jacobson, Lucy Durack, Nicole Scherzinger and Manu Feildel and a live audience.
“I honestly had no idea what was going to happen,” said Gavin. “I wasn’t really expecting much. I was a little nervous at the start…(but) it was so much fun.”
Gavin said comedians hadn’t featured heavily on “Australia’s Got Talent” in previous years.
“I’m excited to do it for comedy in a sense; represent this artform.”
The televised audition focused on Gavin’s story of quitting a law degree to focus on standup comedy, much to the disapproval of his father. His dad joined him on stage to chat with the judges after the audition.
Gavin first appeared in the Gazette in early 2018. He gained his first taste of stand-up comedy by winning a variety show whilst studying year 11 at Drouin Secondary College. The prize was a comedy course.
After quitting law school to pursue his passion, Gavin performed solo and combined shows in the Melbourne and Sydney comedy festivals. He beat over 1000 competitors to make the national final of the 2018 Raw Comedy open mic competition and finished runner-up.
Gavin, who has an Indigenous heritage, has also written for ABC TV’s “Black Comedy”.
However, the national exposure of “Australia’s Got Talent” and confidence gained has taken his career to the next stage.
Gavin said it was “a bit of a relief” to know pursing comedy was the right call.
“I guess this is it now, I guess this is what I’m doing. This is my job. I’ve always enjoyed it, from the first ever gig until now.”
Keep an eye out for Gavin Sempel on Network Seven’s “Australia’s Got Talent” on Sundays and Mondays as he aims for the $100,000 first prize.