kids

How Giggle and Hoot’s Jimmy Giggle keeps his own little boy entertained.

Giggle and Hoot’s Jimmy Rees may be used to entertaining the masses on telly, but at home he’s a new dad.

“At work I get given all the tools to entertain, like props and costumes and scripts, and music, and then at home I’m like, ‘Oh no, now I’ve got to think about all this stuff myself’,” he tells Mamamia.

The 29-year-old, who stars on ABC TV as Jimmy Giggle, says entertaining his 19-month-old son, Lenny, is very different to his on-set role.

Jimmy and his son Lenny.

"I sometimes entertain him by going out and watching the buses go past, or we had the hard rubbish collection this morning so we were watching the truck come and crush all the things," he says.

he Sydneysider had some initial "tussles" with his old life but now he'd rather take his son to the beach than play six hours of golf.

"You become a bit selfless, more selfless than you were before... it depends how selfish you were I suppose, that sort of all just goes," he admits.

A photo posted by Jimmy Rees (@reezy55) on

ADVERTISEMENT

"I think it’s a really awesome thing to become a parent, and focus on another little human you’ve brought into the world, which is awesome. It gives you a whole bunch of perspectives too.

"Your little woes that you have, maybe at work, or friends, relationships; it all just kind of gets watered down because you’re pouring your heart and soul into this little guy."

On the road

The Sydneysider is set for a stage show tour, Giggle and Hoot’s Magical Christmas, which means the new dad will be away from his little one in December.

But the star has been away from his son before and found it "really difficult".

When his baby was first born he was based with his partner Tori in Melbourne, near family, but he had to travel to Sydney during the week for work.

"Sometimes on Facetime, it’s the worst... you’re like, 'Oh, Daddy’s on the phone,' and he gets all excited and then you’ve got to go really quickly," he says.

"I’m not away every single week, for many weeks now, it’s really fun to know that I’m coming home every night, which is great."

Lenny can see his dad on the television daily, but the toddler also spends time watching The Wiggles and British animation, Bing.

"We went through a phase where he’d wake up in the morning and go, 'Bing, more Bing'."

A video posted by Jimmy Rees (@reezy55) on

ADVERTISEMENT

Being a parent hasn't changed Jimmy Giggle, but when the actor meets his fan base he now has an "empathy" for parents.

"Anyone just waiting in a queue to see me, I’m like 'I have so much respect for you actually doing that'," he says.

"When people come to see our show I’m like: 'Thank you, all of you, because I know for some of you, it’s such an epic thing to do'.”

But it looks as if the stage show will be worth it this year. Rees says it is full of fun mini story lines - a bit like the TV show.

"You get to sing along to all those songs you hear on the show, and see the real Hoot, and Hootabelle and all that, so it’s going to be great."

And yes, Rees will have his number one fan, Lenny, in the audience in Sydney.

For tickets and tour details of Giggle and Hoot’s Magical Christmas see: livenation.com.au.

00:00 / ???