Nazeem Hussain

Nazeem Hussain (born 21 April 1985) is an Australian comedian, actor, television and radio presenter. He is best known as creator and star of two television comedy shows, Legally Brown (2013-14) and Orange Is the New Brown (2018). His Netflix special Nazeem Hussain: Public Frenemy began streaming worldwide in 2019.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] The ABC describes Hussain's comedy as having a "trademark confrontational style - tackling topics like race relations, the War on Terror and life being brown and Muslim in Australia".[15]

Nazeem Hussain
Born (1985-04-21) 21 April 1985
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • radio
  • film
NationalityAustralian
Years active2007–present
Genres
  • Observational comedy
  • satire
  • character comedy
  • sketch comedy
  • improvisational comedy
  • hidden camera
Subject(s)
  • Racism
  • racism in Australia
  • political humour
  • race relations
  • Islamic humour
  • Islamophobia
  • protest
  • social commentary
  • character comedy
Notable works and rolesSalam Café, Legally Brown, Orange Is the New Brown

Early life

Hussain was born in 1985 in Melbourne, Australia. His parents, both born in Sri Lanka, met in London before relocating to Australia in the 1970s. Following their separation when Hussain was six years old, Hussain's father returned to Sri Lanka. [16] Hussain's father died of COVID-19 in 2021.[17]

Hussain has two sisters.[18]

Hussain studied law and science at Deakin University and worked as a tax consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers prior to entering comedy.[19]

Career

Hussain's Netflix special ‘Nazeem Hussain: Public Frenemy’, filmed in Montreal at the Just For Laughs Festival, started streaming globally in 2019, introducing Nazeem to many new fans, and receiving critical acclaim. Funny Or Die and Chortle both listed Nazeem’s special amongst their favourites.

Hussain's prime time TV comedy series Orange Is the New Brown aired on Channel 7 in late 2018 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. Nazeem created and starred in the sketch series, working alongside Claudia Karvan, Tim Minchin, Urzila Carlson and Kat Stewart. Several of the sketches have gone viral online, being viewed by over 10 million people.

Hussain began his career as a stand-up comedian. He won the Best Newcomer Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and has twice been nominated for the Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer. 2019 saw Nazeem perform ‘Basic Idiot’, his fifth consecutive stand-up tour, to his largest audiences ever in every major Australian city. He also supported Aziz Ansari on his 2019 Australia tour.

Hussain became a household name when he reached the Grand Final of Channel 10’s ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’, having to bunk up with Dane Swan, Steve Price, Casey Donovan and Natalie Bassingthwaighte for over six weeks. Nazeem’s chosen charity was InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Domestic Violence.

Hussain is perhaps best known as the creator and star of his TV show, ‘Legally Brown’, airing for two seasons on SBS Television in 2013 & 2014. The show broke ground with its boundary-pushing content, received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for Most Outstanding Comedy at the 2015 Logie Awards.

He made his American TV debut as an official correspondent for both seasons of the hit Netflix series "Bill Nye Saves the World" with American TV personality Bill Nye (popularly known as ‘Bill Nye the Science guy’). He was also invited to perform at the prestigious Montreal ‘Just for Laughs Festival’ as a part of Kevin Hart’s LOL network.

A regular on international stages, Nazeem has performed around the globe, including sell-out seasons at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, London’s Soho Theatre, all across New Zealand, Paris, Belgium, China, Singapore, Malaysia, the United States (including opening for Dave Chappelle in New York City), and a homecoming show in Sri Lanka to 2,500 people, including the Prime Minister and his wife.

Hussain was a regular on the Comedy Channel’s hugely successful, ASTRA award-winning ‘Balls of Steel Australia’. His self-created character, Calvin Khan – the Very Foreign Correspondent, saw his episodes achieve the highest ratings of the season. Nazeem also starred on the cult-hit Salam Café on SBS, which was nominated for a Logie Award in 2009.

Hussain’s first comedy podcast Burn Your Passport first Comedy Podcast won iTunes Best Comedy Podcast of 2016, and is ranked in the 20 most listened to podcasts in Australia.

Hussain’s other TV appearances include The Project, The Full Brazilian (SBS), Hughesy We Have A Problem, The Weekly With Charlie Pickering, and ABC’s Q&A alongside Malcolm Turnbull.

In July 2021, it was announced that Hussain will be a regular contributor on KIIS 101.1's Jase & Lauren.

Political views and activities

Hussain has served as Treasurer and an Executive of the Islamic Council of Victoria.[20]

He appeared on the ABC's Q+A program in 2011 following the death of Osama Bin Laden in 2011 and characterised the "extra-judicial" shooting of the Al Qaeda leader as an example of the United States seeming to "always be outside that sphere of what's right", and said "with so many years of [Western] intervention in the Middle East, eventually you're going to create someone like Osama Bin Laden who is going to react in a way that you just can't control". He also criticised the Government's efforts to stop the people smuggling trade to Australia, and said it was a "myth" that the Howard Government had stopped people smuggling boat arrivals, because "You can't deter people smugglers."[21]

In a 2021 ABC program entitled The School That Tried to End Racism, Hussain led a discussion with primary students. The program promoted critical race theory.[22] Nazeem led a discussion with primary school children to present the comedy character Con the Fruiterer as racist.[23]

The ABC describes Hussain's own comedy as being "confrontational" in dealing with race relations, and Islam.[24] In his 2019 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala routine, he depicted Christians as pedophiles, Jews as controlling the media and money, and said of Catholic Cardinal George Pell "I hope you're enjoying prison bitch".[25]

In 2022, Hussain withdrew from participating in the Festival of Sydney because the Festival accepted a $20,000 donation from the Israeli Embassy.[26]

References
  1. Hussain, Nazeem. Stop hesitating, Indians are being targeted. The Age. 22 May 2009
  2. Episode 209: Nazeem Hussain, Ben McNair. Boxcutters. 25 January 2010
  3. Carmel Guerra, Josh White Jr and Nazeem Hussain. 774 ABC Melbourne. 30 March 2010
  4. Hussain, Nazeem. Nazeem Hussain. The Monthly. February 2011
  6. Hussain, Nazeem. Veil request has already been covered. Herald Sun. 4 May 2011
  7. Newsome, Brad. "Balls of Steel Australia, Tuesday, May 31". The Age 26 May 2011
  8. Hussain, Nazeem. Let's start repairing the rifts. Herald Sun. 7 July 2011
  9. Vranjes, Emilia. Muslims in the mainstream. inMyCommunity. 13 July 2011
  10. Schwarten, Chris. Nazeem walks the fine line but is up for the challenge. The Bulletin. 9 May 2013
  11. Nash, Kieran. Interview: Comedian Nazeem Hussain Australian & New Zealand Association. 1 August 2013
  12. Sin, Yuen. Comedian Nazeem Hussain puts his faith for the future in comedy. The Straits Times Communities. 2 August 2013
  13. Interview – Fear of a Brown Planet. Heckler. 2 August 2013
  14. Aryal, Rajish. Nazeem Hussain is legally brown. Special Broadcasting Service. 22 September 2013
  15. [https://www.abc.net.au/qanda/nazeem-hussain/10643568 Q+A Profile: Nazeem Hussain; www.abc.net.au/qanda; First published Thu 20 Dec 2018
  16. Doreian, Robyn (25 April 2020). "Nazeem Hussain: New project scuttles myth that 'Muslim women are meek'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  17. Cartwright, Lexie (17 October 2021). "Project star reveals private heartache". news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  18. Doreian, Robyn (25 April 2020). "Nazeem Hussain: New project scuttles myth that 'Muslim women are meek'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  19. "Comedian Nazeem Hussain on Overcoming Childhood Racism and Bullying with Humour". Men's Health Magazine Australia. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  20. [https://www.abc.net.au/qanda/nazeem-hussain/10643568 Q+A Profile: Nazeem Hussain; www.abc.net.au/qanda; First published Thu 20 Dec 2018
  21. https://www.abc.net.au/qanda/the-bin-laden-hit/10662780 Q+A Transcript: "The Bin Laden Hit"; www.abc.net.au/qanda; Broadcast: Mon 9 May 2011, 9:35pm
  22. The School That Tried to End Racism aims high, but risks reinforcing race's power; Stan Grant; www.abc.net.au/news; 26 Sep 2021
  23. Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Woke; Qadrant 28 Nov 2021
  24. [https://www.abc.net.au/qanda/nazeem-hussain/10643568 Q+A Profile: Nazeem Hussain; www.abc.net.au/qanda; First published Thu 20 Dec 2018
  25. Nazeem Hussain - 2019 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala; TheMelbourneComedyFest channel on YouTube; Apr 1, 2019
  26. Sydney Festival: Furious backlash after event accepts controversial $20,000 contribution; news.com.au; Jan 4, 2022
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