Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/111460
closeup Franklin fires up Life can be tough on the road, especially when you're in demand as 'Chopper' Read's doppelganger. On the eve of his next big tour as the charismatic criminal, comedian Heath Franklin speaks with Simone Henderson-Smart. There are two Image: Paul Henderson-Kelly, www.hendersonkelly.com things Heath Franklin misses when he's on tour: his family and his kitchen. With the recent birth of his second child, Heath's love of being home has gone up a few notches. He has carved out a very cosy corner in the outer suburbs of Sydney for his family and it's easily his favourite place to wind down and relax. "If I stand on my roof I can see about seven different Bunnings stores. So you see, I'm right in the middle of the Australian dream!" he laughs. "But, seriously, I spend so much time away from home that, when I get back, my wife's just been stuck at home and desperately wants to leave … and all I basically want to do is unpack and stay." Heath is about to embark on another tour of Australia with his extremely popular stand-up routine as Mark 'Chopper' Read, the tattooed, earless, snarling crim made even more famous in 2000 when actor Eric Bana made him larger than life on the big screen in Chopper. Sadly, when Heath hits the road again, he will be leaving his family behind. "Travelling is easily the hardest thing about having kids. The lifestyle just doesn't suit them," Heath laments. "They have to be in bed at 7.30 and that's when I start work. My eldest is at an age where he wants to move around, so being strapped into a car just drives him mad. Hopefully when they get a bit older and I become a Hollywood-style billionaire I can just put the booster seat in the learjet." Even better if that billionaire lifestyle comes with a personal chef. Heath finds food on the road hard to stomach, so he misses his kitchen, too. At home Heath enjoys doing a spot of cooking and is a self-confessed "spice hound", dishing up lots of Indian, Thai and Mexican. "My autopilot dish is chilli con carne," he says proudly. While Heath's aspirations to culinary greatness are evident, you won't catch him watching MasterChef. He much prefers to watch comedy over reality TV and hopes the days of great sketch shows are returning. "There was a bit of a bleak period in TV for a while, when reality TV was at its peak, but thankfully these days there are a lot of networks quite interested in taking a gamble and trying something new." Heath thinks that apart from his own show (of course), The Ronnie Johns Half Hour, we haven't seen a good comedy sketch show in a long time. 11