The band hasn’t taken the stage yet, but the crowd is already roaring. There’s screaming, some crying, and many fans standing on their seats. From the safety of the sound booth, a crew member hands me earplugs. “Protect your ears—lots of excited screamers today,” he says with a wink.
Wiggles fans are famously enthusiastic, never putting down their bubble guns, but the loudest cheers come when a certain green figure appears—31-year-old Dominic Field, aka the Tree of Wisdom. After the show (their second of three sold-out performances that day), Field shakes my hand while wiping sweat from his face. “I sweat a lot,” he says cheerfully. It’s easy to see why.
As the Tree of Wisdom, Field’s wild dance moves—hip thrusts, crazy shimmies, and even the occasional worm—have taken over stages worldwide and gone viral on TikTok, inspiring countless imitators, from laughing parents to college students on a night out.
During their recent U.S., Canada, and U.K. tour, Field noticed “about 10 trees in every audience—that’s when I knew I’d made it.” His unexpected fans include Khloé Kardashian, Jessie J, and Robert De Niro, a longtime Wiggles enthusiast who hugged Field backstage at a New York show. “He’s very soft-spoken,” Field recalls. “He sat next to me and said gently, ‘I really appreciate what you do.'”
Field is now so recognizable for his dancing that he’s sometimes spotted even without his green wig and leafy costume. “Usually, playing a tree is a bad thing—like standing in the back of a school play,” he says. “This is the complete opposite.”
The Tree of Wisdom has become so popular that the Wiggles’ next arena tour is named after him, complete with a new album.
For those wondering why the Wiggles have a tree in their lineup—alongside a pirate, dinosaur, dog, and octopus in a boater hat—the story begins a few years ago during a tour stop in Newfoundland, Canada. The locals loved when the band played folk songs, so Anthony Field (the original Blue Wiggle and Dominic’s uncle) suggested performing “Rattlin’ Bog,” an Irish song that speeds up with each verse and, importantly, is about a tree.
The musicians were so focused on mastering the tricky song that Anthony gave Dominic simple instructions: “You’re the tree, dance onstage, do whatever you want.”
“At first, my moves were pretty tame,” Field says. But as he got comfortable with the fast-paced song, he started pulling out dance moves he’d perfected in Sydney’s nightclubs. “The more fun I had, the more phones I saw recording,” he says. Their performance of “Rattlin’ Bog” has since racked up 9 million views on YouTube.
Soon after, Anthony called with big plans: “We’re expanding the tree character! You’re the Tree of Wisdom—an all-knowing tree!” Field recalls. “Who knows how his brain works, but that’s how it started. Then it just got bigger and bigger, and funnier and funnier.”Funnier and Funnier
Field has never had professional dance training—which shows, but not in a bad way. I think it’s his fun, laid-back “cool uncle” energy that people love. “I’m always the guy at weddings who has to get the dance floor going,” he says. I joke that he probably knew how to do the worm before joining the Wiggles. “Oh, I was worming before I could walk,” he laughs.
Field’s career path has even inspired the term “nepo tree,” but the Wiggles have always been a family business—one now worth an estimated $50 million. His father, Paul, was in the rock band The Cockroaches with two of the original Wiggles: his brother Anthony and Jeff Fatt. But in 1988, tragedy struck when Paul’s first child, Bernadette, died of SIDS at just eight months old. The loss devastated the group. Anthony later left the band to study early childhood education and went on to found the Wiggles, bringing in Fatt, Murray Cook, and Greg Page. Their first album was dedicated to Bernadette. Paul became their manager in 1996.
Now, Field’s older brother, Luke, manages the Wiggles, while his cousin Lucia is a blue Wiggle like her father, Anthony. His wife, Stephanie, is a Wiggles dancer who sometimes plays Dorothy the Dinosaur and Bubbles the Mermaid. Field himself made his first Wiggles appearance at just two years old in the video Wake Up Jeff!—meaning the Wiggles have been part of his life for over 30 years.
“When I was a kid, I didn’t see Anthony as a Wiggle. He was just my uncle—but everyone knew him, which was cool,” he recalls.
Did he ever think the Wiggles were uncool? “No, I loved it. Though on my first day of high school, Dad dropped me off while blasting a new Wiggles album—because it was his job. The music was blaring from the car, and that was the one time I was like, ‘Can you turn that down a little?’”
At 19, Field started working as a stage technician for the Wiggles. Over time, Anthony encouraged him to sing and join them on stage. Eventually, he began filling in for Anthony and Simon (the red Wiggle) at live shows, even stepping in as Captain Feathersword. Now, he’s adored worldwide as a groovy, dancing tree—an unexpected but delightful twist.
Can you even have a bad day when you’re a singing, dancing tree? “Life happens, sure—but once you’re at work singing about hot potatoes, it’s really, really hard to stay in a bad mood,” he says.
In fact, the Tree of Wisdom has become so popular that the Wiggles’ next arena tour is named after him, complete with a tree-themed album—yes, including a cover of Tina Turner’s Nutbush City Limits. “We’re making sure every Year 9 dance class worldwide is doing the Nutbush,” Field jokes. “We’re aiming for some ‘tree-nagers.’”
Is it strange getting so much attention now? “No, I love it. Honestly, parents with little kids probably watch the Wiggles 24/7. When we met Robert De Niro, his partner said, ‘I feel like I know you guys, even though we’ve never met.’”
Now, he’s embraced a character that’s entirely his own. “I’m just being myself—dressed as a tree. And people are connecting with it. I’m proud of that. It’s been amazing to see it grow,” he pauses, then adds with a grin, “pun intended.”
The Wiggles’ Tree of Wisdom Big Show Arena Spectacular! tour tickets go on sale to the general public on 1 August at 2pm.
