Robert Mills (born 21 June 1982) is an Australian actor, television host and singer-songwriter. He was one of the finalists from the first season of ''

Australian Idol ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program '' Pop Ido ...

''. He co-hosted the late-night quiz show '' The Mint'', and was a regular singer on the game show '' The Singing Bee'' both on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

. Mills took part in the ninth season of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

'', and appeared on '' Celebrity Apprentice''. In 2008, Mills won the lead male role of

Fiyero ''Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'' is an American novel published in 1995, written by Gregory Maguire with illustrations by Douglas Smith. It is the first in ''The Wicked Years'' series, and was followed by ''Son of a ...

in a production of '' Wicked'', and continued the role when it moved around Australia. He has since starred in a number of popular large scale musical theatre productions. In 2012, Mills was announced as the host of

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of fiv ...

's revamped ''

Young Talent Time ''Young Talent Time'' is an Australian television variety program produced by Lewis-Young Productions and screened on Network Ten. The original series ran from 1971 until 1988 and was hosted by singer-songwriter and record producer Johnny You ...

''. He played teacher

Finn Kelly Finn Kelly is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Rob Mills. The actor relocated to Melbourne, where the show's studios are located, for the role of progressive high school teacher Finn. Mill ...

on ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'' from 2017 until 2022.

Early life

Mills attended

Brentwood Secondary College Brentwood Secondary College is a co-educational, public high school, located in Glen Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Glen Waverley South Primary School adjoins the college, and they have their own oval, which is used for many sport activities s ...

until the end of Year 10, frequently participating in the school Battle of the Bands concert. He completed Year 11 and 12 at Box Hill Senior Secondary College. Mills formed a band called "The Megamen" with two friends and soon developed a keen following on the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

live music scene with their sessions every Sunday at the Red Eagle Hotel at Albert Park. Mills is a resident of Melbourne.

''Australian Idol''

Mills was a contestant for the first series of ''

'' and he made the top five. He performed on " Rise Up", the number one Australian single performed by all the Australian finalists in 2003. Mills performed the song "Dirty Girl" on the double platinum album ''

: Final 12'' soundtrack released in October 2003. Mills' song list: # Melbourne Audition – " Swear It Again" (

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporar ...

) # Semi-final Group 5 – "

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

" (

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

) # Final 12 (70s) – "Alright Now" (Free) # Final 10 (#1 Hits) – " You Don't Treat Me No Good" ( Sonia Dada) # Final 8 (Aussie Hits) – "Take Me Back" ( Noiseworks) # Final 6 (80s) – " If I Could" (

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

) # Up, Close and Personal – "

When You Say Nothing at All "When You Say Nothing at All" is a country song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz. It was a hit song for four different performers: Keith Whitley, who took it to the top of the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart on December 24, 198 ...

" (

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career s ...

) # Final 5 (R&B/Soul) – " Too Close" (

Next Next may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare * ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage * '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film Lit ...

) and " If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time" ( R. Kelly)

Post-''Idol''

Touring and television

He signed a contract with BMG in 2004. His first album "Up All Night" was released in Australia on 14 June 2004 and debuted in the top 40. The first single from the album ''Ms Vanity'' was released on 31 May in Australia and debuted at No. 6 in the Australian singles charts. In July 2005, Mills toured the east coast of Australia, playing from Cairns to Tasmania. Also performing on national TV, KAK, The Today Show and Carols by Candlelight while on tour. After having completed his tour, he had a starring role as Johnny Casino alongside

John Farnham John Peter Farnham AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...

Natalie Bassingthwaighte Natalie Bassingthwaighte (; born 1 September 1975) is an Australian recording artist, actress, and television personality. Born and raised in Wollongong, New South Wales, she began her career in musical theatre. She later pursued an acting car ...

and Craig McLachlan in ''Grease – The Musical Arena Tour''. The tour was a commercial and critical success. . Mills hosted a television show ''Stooged'' on

, a hidden-camera show. The show premiered on 28 July 2005 however was cancelled shortly after due to declining ratings. During

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to ...

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

fundraiser, where people pledged money to hear their favourite song played, Mills satirically called the station and requested his own song. This was a request made of him by the radio station. Mills admitted on the television show '' Spicks and Specks'' that he had a brief but highly publicised tryst with celebrity heiress

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conrad ...

at the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melb ...

of 2003. He later made fun of the tryst by singing "

I Love Paris "I Love Paris" is a popular song written by Cole Porter and published in 1953. The song was introduced by Lilo in the musical '' Can-Can''. A line in the song's lyrics inspired the title of the 1964 movie '' Paris When It Sizzles''. Notable re ...

" (best known in a recording by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

) to close-off the show. On 31 July 2007, Mills started a co-hosting role on the late-night, live quiz show '' The Mint'' which aired on the

. He appeared in a stunt for the ABC TV show ''

The Chaser's War on Everything ''The Chaser's War on Everything'' is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television station ABC1. It has won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Television Comedy ...

'' alongside

Craig Reucassel Craig Bruce Reucassel is an Australian television and radio comedian. He is best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser. He hosted the Australian version of ''Balls of Steel'', which premiered in April 2011. Since 2013, Reucassel ...

that satirised the Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon. In October 2007, Mills and three others were selected to be regular singers on the game show '' The Singing Bee''. On 4 June 2009 it was announced on Today Tonight that he was on the new season of ''Dancing with the Stars''. He was the second person to be eliminated. In 2009 and early 2010 Mills had a role as a recurring character on the Australian children's show ''

The Shak ''The Shak'' was an Australian children's television program broadcast on the Nine Network. Its four hosts, Curio ( Drew Jarvis), Nitro ( Beau Walker), Picasso ( Kendal Nagorcka) and Eco ( Jacqueline Duncan) answered viewer questions, queries, ...

'' On 26 May 2010, Mills appeared on an episode on the children's game show ''

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilate ...

'' and again on 7, 16 and 23 June 2010. On 9 June 2010 Mills appeared on variety show Hey Hey, It's Saturday! accompanying the show's band. He appeared in a guest role in the Australian TV show Winner's and Losers as Sean. Rob was cast as jazz singer, Eric Connolly in the wildly successful

series '' Underbelly: Razor''. In August 2011, it was announced that Rob would host a new version of the popular Australian talent show ''

'', with co-production duties from original host

Johnny Young Johnny Young (born Johnny Benjamin de Jong; 12 March 1947) is a Dutch Australian singer, composer, record producer, disc jockey, television producer and host. Originally from Rotterdam, The Netherlands, his family settled in Perth in the early ...

Mills joined the Young Talent Time cast in a live tour throughout June and July 2012. There were a total of 14 shows across 8 venues, beginning in Sydney and Canberra, and ending with five sold-out shows at Melbourne's Crown Casino. Mills hosted the show and performed solo and with cast members. The show featured the Young Talent Time Grand Final winners Lil' Banditz Krew performing as a group and with the team. The tour also featured choreography and dancers from the Project Dance creative team. In 2013, Mills competed on the third season of ''

The Celebrity Apprentice Australia ''The Celebrity Apprentice Australia'' is an Australian reality television series which aired on the Nine Network. Based on NBC's ''The Apprentice'', it first aired on 24 October 2011 and originally featured Mark Bouris, the founder and chair ...

''. He won $40,000 for his charity in the fourth task, but he was fired in the following episode. Mills joined the cast of ''

'' in November 2016 as teacher

. His first scenes aired on 15 March 2017. He reprised the role in 2018. In 2018 he featured in the 'Ex-Reality TV Stars' episode on series three of

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

's 'You Can't Ask That’. In 2019, Mills was revealed to be the 'Wolf' on ''

The Masked Singer Australia ''The Masked Singer Australia'' is an Australian reality television singing competition show hosted that premiered on Network 10 on 23 September 2019. Hosted by Osher Günsberg, the show is based on the international music game show franchise ...

'' and was the runner-up on the first season of the show.

Musical theatre

In 2005, Mills toured Australia in ''Grease – The Arena Spectacular'' as Johnny Casino alongside an all star cast with Craig McLachlan,

Magda Szubanski Magdalene Mary Therese Szubanski ( ; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian comedy actress, author, singer and LGBT rights advocate. She performed in ''Fast Forward'', ''Kath & Kim'' as Sharon Strzelecki and in the films ''Babe'' (1995) and ' ...

and

. In May 2007, Mills appeared as the lead role of Claude in the sold-out

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

production of the rock musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fi ...

'' along with Cosima De Vito and

Nikki Webster Nicole Marie Webster (born 30 April 1987) is an Australian pop singer. She is best known for her role in performing at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics opening ceremony and her song " Strawberry Kisses", which made number 21 on the list of Top ...

. The production was directed by Chris Kabay and musically directed by Simon Holt of Yellow Glass Theatre. Mills then originated the coveted lead male role of

in the Australian production of the Broadway musical '' Wicked''. The show opened on 12 July 2008, in Melbourne where it ran for 13 months, closing on 9 August 2009. It then transferred to Sydney from 12 September. He originally starred opposite Lucy Durack as Glinda, Amanda Harrison as Elphaba and the late

Rob Guest Robert John Guest (17 July 19501 October 2008) was a New Zealand-Australian actor, television personality and host and singer, who started his career in pop music in New Zealand, before becoming best known for his work in Australian musical th ...

as The Wizard. Mills played his final performance on 6 June 2010. From 13–30 July 2011, Rob played the role of Jamie in Jason Robert Brown's musical ''

The Last Five Years ''The Last Five Years'' is a musical written by Jason Robert Brown. It premiered at Chicago's Northlight Theatre in 2001 and was then produced Off-Broadway in March 2002. Since then it has had numerous productions both in the United States a ...

'' at Sydney's Seymour Centre. In March 2012, it was announced that Mills will play Warner Huntington III in the Australian production of ''

Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith from Amanda Brown's 2001 novel of the same name. It stars Reese Wit ...

'', which also starred his ''Wicked'' co-star Lucy Durack as the main character, Elle Woods. The Australian production season began in September 2012 at the Lyric Theatre, Sydney, before opening on 4 October 2012. It then went on to play at the Lyric Theatre in Brisbane from March 2013. It then opened in Melbourne at the Princess Theatre in May 2013. In 2013, Mills played the role of Danny in the Australian tour of '' Grease'', which began performances October 2013 at Sydney's Lyric Theatre, has travelled all around Australia, which finished its run doing a second season in Melbourne at Her Majesty's Theatre. The show closed in late January 2015. In August 2015 Mills joined

Swing on This Swing on This is made up of musical theatre leading men, Michael Falzon (actor), Michael Falzon, Luke Kennedy, Matt Lee (dancer), Matt Lee, Rob Mills and Ben Mingay, singing a collection of classic swing songs reworked with a more contemporary ...

, a quartet of musical theatre stars which includes Michael Falzon, Matt Lee,

Luke Kennedy Luke Kennedy is an Australian performer best known for placing second on the second season of ''The Voice (Australia)''. He has also toured internationally with the Ten Tenors and performed the title role in ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' in six d ...

and

Ben Mingay Ben Mingay is an Australian actor and singer, perhaps best known for having played Buzz Graham in the series '' Packed to the Rafters'' and Rob Duffy in '' Wonderland''. He played the role of Billy in the stage version of ''Dirty Dancing'' in Au ...

. Swing on This perform contemporary swing in a predominantly cabaret format. In 2015, Mills toured with his cabaret show ''Surprisingly Good'', (nominated for a Sydney Theatre Award) playing in cabaret festivals in Melbourne, Noosa, Sydney, Mackay and Brisbane. In 2016, he took on the leading role of Sam in the Australian production of '' Ghost the Musical''. He was nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best Actor in a Musical. 2017 saw Mills play the role of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

The Production Company The Production Company was an Australian not-for-profit theatre company that staged a series of usually three musicals at the Arts Centre Melbourne each year, until its closure in 2020. It was launched in 1999 by Jeanne Pratt AC with the goal o ...

's revival of the

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musical ...

and

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ...

rock opera, ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

''. The production was staged at

Arts Centre Melbourne Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central ...

from 29 July to 13 August. In August 2022, Mills will play Corny Collins in the Australian revival production of '' Hairspray''.

Stage acting

In 2018 Rob Mills joined the cast for the Australian performance of American play ''Puffs''. He plays the characters of Cedric Diggory and Voldemort.

Discography

Albums

Singles

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

Helpmann Awards

The

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical th ...

is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group ''Live Performance Australia'' since 2001. Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. ! , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, Rob Mills - ''Ghost: the Musical'' ,

Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Musical The Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Musical is a musical award, presented by Live Performance Australia (LPA) at the annual Helpmann Awards since 2001. This is a list of winners and nominations for the Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor ...

, , , -

References

External links

Rob Mills
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Rob 1982 births Australian Idol participants Australian game show hosts Musicians from Melbourne Living people Male actors from Melbourne Australian male soap opera actors Australian male musical theatre actors Swing on This members The Apprentice Australia candidates