E128 | Tom Sainsbury

Episode summary | Tom Sainsbury

Tom Sainsbury is a chameleon with an eclectic CV; he is a writer, actor, comedian, and director.

He is one of NZ’s most popular creative minds. He’s also just dipped his feet in the podcast game – and in March 2023 released his true crime mockumentary Smalltown Scandal.

He rose to fame as the “Snapchat Dude” with his most popular parodies being those of former politicians Simon Bridges and Paula Bennett. He continues to entertain with his cast of iconic social media characters based on people we all know in short form comedy videos. But he has also starred on TV shows like Wellington Paranormal, Shortland Street, and Educators, and incredibly written over 50 plays,

Tom might just be the most loved man in Kiwi comedy – and it’s easy to see why. He’s gentle, authentic, observant, and hilarious – and his output of creative work will blow you away.

Show notes | Tom Sainsbury

0:00 Mark Sainsbury’s son?

02:14 The US experience

06:36 Suzanne Paul, Steve Parr, Jane Campion, Michael Hill Jeweller, David Bain: A dinner party for five

13:24 Tom Sainsbury’s weirdest jobs

21:42 Small Town Scandal and the challenge of playing multiple characters

31:04 The foundation pieces in Matamata

37:11 Blowing up on social media in 2016

41:24 The popularity of Paula Bennett and Simon Bridges

45:48 Courting controversy

50:07 How real life feeds art

50:35 Monetisation of social media content

55:40 The Auckland Mayoralty race

1:00:55 Writing, acting, directing, stand up comedy, and working with others

1:06:28 Tom’s journey on The Masked Singer

1:12:19 Snack Masters

1:14:06 Mapping out a week with Tom Sainsbury

1:16:15 Working with Hamish and Andy

1:18:14 Partying with fans, Buddhism, a birthday cake, and sperm donation

1:25:26 Last words from Steve, Seamus, and Tom