Mikael Melo has gone viral on TikTok after creating videos parodying the Ontario government’s response to the pandemic.

The Cambridge native’s video showing him dressed as an Ontario government employee answering a helpline has been viewed over 70,000 times. Melo has since become a producer with Entertainment Tonight Canada and has appeared on the Crave show “1 Queen 5 Queers”.

Cambridge Times caught up with the creator to talk about how his life has changed and what his next comedic move will be.

How has your life changed since you went viral?

So many things have really changed for me; TikTok has definitely opened a lot of doors. I was on the TV show “1 Queen, 5 Queers”. So, it was like a super fun experience, especially as a member of the LGBTQ community. Now, I’m currently a digital producer at ET Canada, so I’d say a lot of doors and career opportunities kind of opened up after my discovery and love of creating content on TikTok.

How was your experience on “1 Queen, 5 Queers”?

It was absolutely amazing. It’s crazy to think back on it because I think we shot it in June or July and we shot for like six hours so it’s amazing how they are able to condense six hours and a beautiful conversation in this very good stuffing 35-minute episode; but it was such a good experience. I loved all of my cast mates and an amazing crew. It was definitely a highlight of my 2021.

You were talking about body image in “1 Queen 5 Queers”. Is it something you’ve struggled with historically?

I’ve been talking about body image for a while. In college, I did a body positivity project called Body 365, where we photographed 365 different people stripped as comfortably as they felt as they described their body insecurities. I think for me, I’ve always been super hyper aware that it doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter what you look like. Everyone deals with some kind of insecurity with their body, and being able to be one-on-one and talk about a topic that I’m so passionate about with such incredible opportunity – especially intertwining with queer culture and what it means to be queer and body image – it’s awesome.

You wear many different hats as a content creator, TV host, writer and actor, where do you see your career?

I’ve always liked the idea of ​​a buffet-style career. I don’t think I would ever want to be like a one trick pony. I like to wear many hats and have different things. So my dream would be to be a talk show host, but also to have a Netflix comedy special and produce alongside and have projects in development. I think for me, I want to take on multiple projects and exercise all of my passions and skills because I think, you know, as humans, we’re not one-dimensional. So I kind of want to reflect that in my career as well.

What type of TikTok content do you plan to create once the pandemic is over?

Politics will always be a subject of comedy. I definitely think I’m going to get into Canadian politics and Ontario politics again, especially with the upcoming provincial election. But I also just want to do everyday life comedy and address things that are topical, like being single for Valentine’s Day or giving a Christmas present again or things like that. Even now, I’m going to dive into a lot more generic comedy for people from all walks of life.

For more on Mikael’s comedy, follow him on Instagram.