Tim Minchin's Real Name: Timothy David Minchin

Quick answer: Tim Minchin's real name is Timothy David Minchin. He was born on October 7, 1975, in Northampton, England, to Australian parents, and performs under the shortened form of his given names.

Tim Minchin's real name and early life

Timothy David Minchin was born in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, while his Australian parents were abroad, and he was raised in Perth, Western Australia. He holds both Australian and British citizenship. His father, David Ellison Minchin, and paternal grandfather were surgeons in Perth; he is also descended from R. E. Minchin, founding director of Adelaide Zoo (Royal Albert Hall catalogue; ACMI; official site).

He attended Christ Church Grammar School, earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and theatre from the University of Western Australia, and an Advanced Diploma in contemporary music from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (official site; ACMI). His stage name is not an invented alias: "Tim" is the everyday short form of Timothy.

Comedy breakthrough and Matilda

After moving to Melbourne, Minchin developed solo comic cabaret. His show Dark Side drew acclaim at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where he won the Perrier Best Newcomer Award (official site; ACMI). He later sold out major venues including the Royal Albert Hall and Sydney Opera House, releasing live DVDs such as Tim Minchin and The Heritage Orchestra.

In 2009 the Royal Shakespeare Company commissioned him to write music and lyrics for a stage adaptation of Roald Dahl's Matilda, with book by Dennis Kelly and direction by Matthew Warchus. Matilda the Musical opened in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2010 and went on to win a record seven Olivier Awards and five Tony Awards among dozens of international prizes; a Netflix/film adaptation followed in 2022 (official site). He also wrote music and lyrics for Groundhog Day the Musical (Old Vic, 2016; Broadway, 2017).

Acting, television, and recent work

Minchin played rock star Atticus Fetch on season six of Showtime's Californication (2013), Judas in the arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, and Friar Tuck in the 2018 film Robin Hood. He co-wrote and starred as Lucky Flynn in the Foxtel/Sky series Upright (2019, 2022), winning an AWGIE for writing, and appeared as Darius Cracksworth in Disney+'s The Artful Dodger (official site).

His 2020 studio album Apart Together and 2025 release Tim Minchin Time Machine extended his recording career. In 2020 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to the performing arts and the community (official site).

Matilda the Musical cast recording or songbook Tim Minchin live DVD / Apart Together album You Don't Have to Have a Dream by Tim Minchin