I'm 55 and I Became a Naughty Teenage Boy Drag King

Danielle Cormack is a multi-award-winning actor. She's played Bea Smith in Wentworth and Kate Leigh in Underbelly: Razor. She's worked in film, television, and theatre for over 35 years.

And at nearly 55, going through menopause, she decided it was time to fuck shit up.

So she became PonyBoi — a naughty teenage boy whose balls haven't dropped yet, a wannabe Hollywood actor gunning to be a stunt double, full of drive and ambition and absolutely zero self-doubt.

PonyBoi wears a blue glitter beard. Mesh tank tops. Tape over the nips. He loves the camera. He says "Stay gold" like Ponyboy Curtis from The Outsiders. And when Danielle's teenage son came home from school with his mate and his mate's dad, she ran out into the street in full PonyBoi get-up and stayed in character: "G'day, it's nice to meet you. Bit of a man. Got a gig."

What makes someone with decades of professional performance experience want to become a Drag King?

Watch or Listen

You can listen to the full episode here: https://www.danicalani.com/podcasts/kings-of-joy-podcast/episodes/2149180529

What You'll Hear

• Why Danielle reached out to Kings of Joy after seeing me on social media
• How performing with first-time Drag Kings brings the purest joy
• The moment PonyBoi's voice was born on stage at the Red Rattler
• Why PonyBoi was inspired by teenage boy movies like The Outsiders
• Performing as PonyBoi at Wentworth conventions in the States
• What it's like when your son introduces you to his mate's dad in full Drag King get-up
• Why Danielle wants a Drag King film, Drag race for only Drag Kings, and Cats performed entirely by Drag Kings
• The advice for aspiring Drag Kings: do it. No time like now.

The Story

Danielle was scrolling social media when she saw me and thought, "Who is that person? They're amazing. Who is she? Who is he?"

She reached out. There was a Kings of Joy course running. And she went straight in off the diving board with a triple flip.

She brought a friend — Maude Davey, a King from Melbourne. They were doing a play together at Belvoir, a lesbian divorce comedy. And while they were supposed to be running lines backstage, they were practising their Drag King routines instead.

"That's how I crashed into the Kings of Joy world," Danielle said.

But finding the community came easily. Because when Danielle was younger, she was always performing. She felt like she had so many annexes to her personality. And finding PonyBoi was easy because she identifies more as a naughty teenage boy than anything else.

"I matured very late in life — I'm still maturing," she said.

The Naughty Teenage Boy

Part of it was discovering that side of herself that she related to so much when she was growing up and taking that aspect and putting it into a safe performance space.

For Danielle, having worked in performance for many years, the most exciting time is working with people who haven't performed before. The joy when they're in their flow. The dopamine rush afterwards. Those really pure moments.

"There is a particular fancy in working with people that haven't ever performed, and I got that especially with that first performance I did with the Kings of Joy," she said.

But there was something else too.

Danielle wanted to plug into different communities. She'd gone through an isolated time. And as a cis female going through menopause, it was like, "Okay, it's time to fuck shit up here."

She felt like she was getting a bit linear in her journey. There were other aspects to her character and personality that she still wanted to explore. And one of them was being a naughty teenage boy.

Finding PonyBoi

As I guided the Kings through the rehearsal process, Danielle realised she didn't have to land on something immediately. Through thinking about costume and character — and she's very detailed with character — she had to sit with herself and think about her own masculinity and femininity and let all binary language slip away.

She found it easier to think about her own industry.

PonyBoi was a wannabe actor desperate to make it in Hollywood. He had way more confidence than Danielle ever had. He was gunning for it, intent on being a stunt double, thinking that was his way to becoming a lead actor — the "cunning stunt man" full of drive and ambition.

At the first performance at the Red Rattler, Danielle realised she didn't have a voice for him. And suddenly this voice came out — his balls clearly hadn't dropped yet.

"He was born there on the spot," she said.

It's been an ongoing, evolving journey. She's discovered more about him through different performances.

"I'm nearly 55 and there's a societal judgement that I have to behave a certain way at this age, and I'm not. So I get to live this out through PonyBoi."

Stay Gold

Growing up as a teenager in Auckland, New Zealand, Danielle was obsessed with movies that featured the journey of teenage boys — like The Outsiders.

PonyBoi was born from those iconic characters. PonyBoi says, "Stay gold."

"I've just come straight from the gym because I wanted to get some PonyBoi guns out," Danielle said in our interview.

PonyBoi has a distinctive look. The beautiful blue glitter beard — that's a trademark. A good strong brow. A cap worn backwards because his hair is very short. A lot of eye makeup, a strong eye with bright green eyeshadow at times.

Pony likes to get his chest out with tape over the nips. He loves a see-through tank top, like mesh netting.

"I really enjoyed the makeup side of it, going to Kryolan and having a magical time with a shop assistant going through all the colours," Danielle said.

Pony's performances are very energetic and rambunctious, so the makeup has to be set so it doesn't melt off from perspiration.

His last set was "Tainted Love," "Super Freak" by Rick James, and "Add It Up" by Violent Femmes.

PonyBoi Goes to Hollywood

PonyBoi is getting closer to his dream of becoming a Hollywood star.

He's jumped on international flights and performed at Wentworth conventions in the States. The show has a huge fanbase, and they do conventions where Pony has performed, had photo ops — he loves the camera — hosted sexy bingo, and judged costume competitions.

"It's been fun for him to get out there and host, which has helped find his moral compass, humour, and how he feels about engaging with other humans as opposed to just performing to them," Danielle said.

And then there was the time Danielle was getting ready for a performance at the Vanguard and her son came home from school with his mate and his mate's dad. She was running out into the street as PonyBoi and had never met this dad before.

Her son goes, "Yeah, this is my mum."

Danielle stayed in character. Pony was there: "G'day, it's nice to meet you. Bit of a man. Got a gig."

Performance as Play

For Danielle, being PonyBoi is a complement to what she does as a professional actor.

"Performance is a chance to exercise the beasts within. It's always about coming together with communities and jamming in synergy with each other's silliness and play. To me, that's what performance is — it's playtime. I want to keep employing that sense of play every day for the rest of my life."

When I asked Danielle what a thriving Drag King scene would look like, she didn't hesitate.

She recently saw a callout for Drag Queens for a feature film and put her name forward as a Drag King. They said they didn't have any roles for Kings at the moment.

"But you can't have a Queen without a King!" she said.

There seems to be a thriving Drag Queen scene — Drag Queen bingo and lots of performance spaces — and Danielle would love for clubs to embrace Kings as much.

She wants to create a Drag King film. A Drag race for only Drag Kings. A Drag King musical — every musical ever made, but only done by Drag Kings. Cats, Drag King version.

And her advice for aspiring Drag Kings?

"It's very simple: do it. Tap into the community and see how it rolls out — no time like now. Don't sweat the small stuff. Just do it."

The Movement

This conversation is part of documenting a global Drag King movement. Danielle's story shows what's possible when you refuse to let age, societal expectations, or any other constraint stop you from exploring the parts of yourself you've always identified with most.

Kings of Joy is helping LGBTQIA+ people break free from constraints around gender, sexuality, and self-expression — so we can be 100% at home in our own skin. Whether you're 25 or 55, whether you've been performing for 35 years or never stepped on stage, there's space for you here.

Start Your Own Drag King Journey

If you're feeling the pull to explore Drag Kinging yourself, start here: https://www.danicalani.com/dragkingname

About Danica Lani, The King Coach

Hey you 👋 I'm Danica Lani — also known as The King Coach. I've mentored over 150 first-time Drag Kings since 2020, and I'm here to say: if you're feeling the pull to explore gender through performance, you're not alone — and you're not too late.

Whether you're new to this world or quietly dreaming of stepping into your masculine side on stage, there's space for you here.

Kings of Joy is a global Drag King community helping LGBTQIA+ people break free from constraints around gender, sexuality, and self-expression — so we can be 100% at home in our own skin.

✨ Ready to name your King? Download Claim Your Drag King Name in 4 Simple Steps — a free guide to choosing your Drag King name.

About Danielle Cormack aka PonyBoi

Danielle Cormack is a multi-award-winning actor, director, and producer whose career spans over 35 years in film, television, and theatre across Australia and New Zealand. She is best known for playing the iconic role of Bea Smith in the critically acclaimed drama Wentworth, as well as the leading role of Kate Leigh in the highly successful TV series Underbelly: Razor, for which she won awards and nominations for both roles.

Danielle is a mother to two sons and is a long-running ambassador for Shine for Kids Australia and ChildFund Australia and New Zealand, which has seen her travel to work in communities to support children and refugees living in extreme poverty and crisis zones.

As PonyBoi, Danielle has performed at the Red Rattler, the Vanguard, and Wentworth conventions in the United States, where she's hosted sexy bingo, judged costume competitions, and brought her naughty teenage boy energy to audiences around the world.

Production Credit

The Kings of Joy Show is produced by Bambuddha Studios. Their support has made it possible to document and share these conversations with care and cultural integrity. Learn more.