Rhys Mathewson

Rhys Mathewson
Born
Rhys Alexander Mathewson

1990 or 1991 (age 35–36)
Palmerston North, New Zealand
OccupationComedian
AwardsBilly T Award (2010)
Fred Award (2016)
Comedy career
Years active2009–present
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television

Rhys Mathewson is a New Zealand comedian, writer, and actor. He won the Billy T Award in 2010 and the Fred Award in 2016.

Early life

Mathewson was born in Palmerston North, New Zealand. He has a brother. He studied tap dance from the age of 5 until 15 and attended Westlake Boys High School. While a teenager, he participated in the New Zealand International Comedy Festival's Class Comedians program and decided to pursue comedy as a career.

After winning the Billy T Award in 2010, Mathewson dropped out of the University of Auckland (but continued to write a column, "Rhys's Pieces", for the student magazine Craccum).

Career

Mathewson was awarded Best Newcomer at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival for his first solo show in 2009, The Best $18 You'll Ever Spend. He performed at Edinburgh Fringe in 2009 and 2013.

Mathewson won the Billy T Award in 2010 for his show Rhyspect — becoming the award's youngest-ever winner at 19 — and the Fred Award in 2016 for Nouveau Rhys.

Mathewson has acted on the programmes Wanna-Ben, Hounds, The Fucket List, and New Zealand Spy, and appeared as himself on 7 Days, AotearoHa, Have You Been Paying Attention?, Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee, Best Bits, Campbell Live, Seven Sharp, Close Up, and The Jono Project. He competed on series 9 of Dancing with the Stars in 2022, partnered with Phoebe Robb; they were forced to leave the competition early due to a COVID-19 infection.

He was also a fill-in host on and wrote for The Project, and is a writer on Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee. In 2026, Mathewson appeared on series 7 of Taskmaster New Zealand.

As of 2026 he is represented by Gail Cowan Management.

Stand-up shows

  • The Best $18 You'll Ever Spend (2009)
  • Rhyspect (2010)
  • Rhys Mathewson Is Fun (2011)
  • Rhys Mathewson Versus The World (2012)
  • Hombre Lobo (2014)
  • Nouveau Rhys (2016)
  • Rhys Classic (2017)
  • The Future Quiz (2017)
  • The Clumsy Tango (2018)
  • Heartless Joke Machine (2021)
  • The Mathewson & Matthewson Comedy Night (2022; with Eli Matthewson)
  • Heating Up (2023)
  • 10th Rodeo (2024)
  • Surblibor (2024)
  • Time Trial (2025)
  • Big Mistake (2026)

Personal life

Mathewson lived in the United Kingdom in 2014. He is vegetarian.

After years of dating, Mathewson married Chelsea McEwan-Millar — actor, writer, and managing director of skincare company Go Native New Zealand — in 2022 outside of Tauranga. They live in the Grey Lynn–Ponsonby area of Auckland with their dog, Gus.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Brooks, Sam (18 October 2024). "Comedy legend Rhys Mathewson on why his latest show makes him cry". The Post. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Collins, Hugh (26 April 2017). "Comedian Rhys Mathewson ready for new show after taking prestigious Fred Award". Stuff. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Rhys Mathewson". New Zealand Comedy Trust. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  4. 1 2 Nealon, Sarah (3 April 2018). "How The Project's Rhys Mathewson messed up on live TV". Stuff. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  5. 1 2 Hill, Rebecca Berry (15 April 2012). "Why making it as a comedian goes beyond a joke". The New Zealand Herald.
  6. 1 2 "Steve Wrigley Returns with Guy Williams and Rhys Mathewson". Under the Radar. October 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Alexander, Mike (21 January 2017). "The Questionnaire: Rhys Mathewson". Sunday Star Times. Stuff. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  8. ↑ "Millennial 'sex in the city' TV series for theatre student". Massey University. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 "Dashing Dancing With The Stars star Rhys Mathewson reveals how laughs turned to true love". Woman's Day. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  10. 1 2 "Rhys Mathewson". GCM. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  11. ↑ "Comedy Festival 2011". Auckland Council Libraries.
  12. ↑ "NZ Comedy Festival: Rhys Mathewson". The New Zealand Herald. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  13. ↑ Pope, Will (9 August 2014). "Rhys Mathewson - Hombre Loco". Broadway Baby. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  14. ↑ "Comedy Festival 2018". Auckland Council Libraries. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  15. ↑ "Heartless Joke Machine, Rhys Mathewson, Q Theatre, Auckland, 2021". Auckland Council Libraries. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  16. ↑ "The Mathewson and Matthewson Comedy Night, Rhys Mathewson and Eli Mathewson, Q Theatre, Auckland, 2022". Auckland Council Libraries. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  17. ↑ "Rhys Mathewson : Heating Up". EvendFinda. 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  18. ↑ Culture 101 (19 May 2024). "Fast Favourites: Rhys Mathewson's 10th rodeo". RNZ. Retrieved 14 September 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ "GCM talent at 2024's NZ INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL". GCM. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  20. ↑ Brom, Ash (31 March 2025). "Comedy reviews: Rhys Mathewson: Time Trial and Science Friction: Fandom Wars, MICF 2025". Arts Hub. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  21. ↑ "Rhys Mathewson - Big Mistake". Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  22. ↑ Daly, Lara (27 August 2022). "Rhys Mathewson: 'I think that perfectly sums up my comedy, dirty and efficient'". Stuff. Retrieved 14 September 2026.