Who is Josh Moyes?
I’m a writer, performer, and deviser. I value queer perspectives. I was born in Geelong and moved to Byron Bay as a kid. I have a joke that follows me from that, “I guess you could call me a flamboyant bogan.”
What would you do differently from what you do now?
I ‘wanna’ say I’m a late bloomer. Not to discount my 20-plus-years in an extremely rewarding job as a youth worker, being a role model to people less fortunate.
But I always wanted to be an artist. I was making characters as a child, babysitting my baby sisters, adultified. It’s been a longer path for me. I did the typical stepping stones, invested time and money doing courses, degrees, diplomas, scenes and studios, auditions for TV and movies here in Australia and LA.
It wasn’t till I started writing my own material and just getting it up on the floor that I started to see myself, exactly where I need to be as a true artist. I’m exactly where I should be. But I would love to step on the moon, so maybe not just a space cadet, but a literal astronaut. Yeah, that’s my answer. (Can you see I’m having fun sitting on the couch.)
Who inspires you and why?
Locally, Joel Bray. I love how visceral his work is. Globally, but still Aussie grown, Heath Ledger. The acting speaks for itself, but hey, from Brokeback Mountain to The Joker. There is truth, vulnerability, heart. As a human being he had spirit, reflected in his sense of community. You can’t buy that kindness. Bless lost too soon.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
Difference is the key word here. What is difference? People are either individualistic, local, national or Global thinking. Side note, did you know some people are already considering buying advertising billboards in space?
I had a dad with mental health issues who explained his bad parenting as, “He can’t deal with the wars in Iraq or the starving in Africa.” That did make me learn early, that I wanted to care about things globally, even the orbit of space politics. (NASA sponsorship for me anyone).
Seriously though, it also made me learn that we can’t care for the world if we don’t care for our own self, our sanity and the way we tread in our own homes and communities. The arts are part of my community, so along with the mental health advocacy I do, I also advocate for the arts to be recognized for the way they create the fabric of empathy and their value to culture.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
Greece. Loved mopeding around the islands. Recently I found my mum’s dad, Spiros, on Ancestry DNA, so I love the place even more now that I have placement to my mum’s heritage.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
When mum came to town to meet the Greek relatives last year, she wanted authentic Chinese, so we lined up to get great fried rice and dumplings at Shanghai St (Chinatown).
What are you currently reading?
I am reading Love in the Time of Cholera. I picked it up after watching a favourite film, Serendipity. There’s some intertextuality for you. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a genius – 1000 years of Solitude, anyone?
What are you currently listening to?
Gaga in the background and practicing to sing Brave by Sara Bareilles.
Happiness is?
Hard at times. Currently changing fear into joy, which, did you know, is in the same part of the brain. You can switch it.
What does the future hold for you?
More making fun of myself in light moments, and the other side of that is more sitting in my vulnerability with truth and conviction. Storytelling through my acting. I see my worth in this.
Though I think as an artist working around the clock 24/7, considering having time for other areas of life, or stillness, is just as valuable.
Josh presents Finding Glitter in the Storm – which will play at Club Voltaire, as part of the 2026 Midsumma Festival, from 22 – 25 January. For more information, visit: www.midsumma.org.au for details.
Image: Josh Moyes (supplied)