KEY POINTS:
- Despite a religious fan following, Sainsbury is a different person from the confident internet characters he plays. He never talks to the camera as himself - only as his characters, saying he'd feel "awkward" if he did. "Unfortunately, I am quite sensitive and introverted."
Comedian Tom Sainsbury's link to Tauranga is not just his drawly Snapchat impersonations of Simon Bridges' "Nu Zilland" accent, but his love of chimpanzee Rufus Marigold.
Sainsbury was at an art exhibition when he spotted the clothed chimp, who was sitting on a brown couch.
Drawn by Mount Maunganui illustrator Ross Murray, Rufus "a socially anxious chimpanzee" and star of Murray's graphic novel - was destined for Sainsbury's living room wall.
Murray and his wife Kate, are fans of Sainsbury's, and vice versa.
Sainsbury connected with him on social media (turns out he went to school with Kate in Matamata), and Murray invited him to his exhibition in Auckland.
Sainsbury bought the chimp print, and a screen print featuring a sea of marigolds.
"I marvel at what he's able to do," he says of Murray.
Now it's the Murrays' turn to support him, when they attend his Tauranga show at Baycourt on June 9, as part of his nationwide 15-stop Snapchat Dude Live! tour.
Sainsbury, 40, who was nominated for the prestigious Billy T Award for New Zealand comedy in 2019, says he's excited to meet the "townsfolk" (he'll be staying at his parents' Mount Maunganui bach) and for them to experience his show, which he describes as a Marvel Man movie of "all the multiverses coming together".
Around 20 of his Snapchat characters will feature in roughly 80 pre-recorded videos of his "tricky characters", while he plays the other characters in person, who are similar to him "facially" in an hour-and-a-half-long show.
"There are lots of technical requirements we've had to work through," he explains.
"I've got videos to interact with, and sometimes they take over the focus. So, when Gingerbread [the cat] is talking, I can rest and have a glass of wine on the side of the stage."
His current personal favourite Snapchat character, boy-racer Tayn, will make an appearance, as will Fiona the wine reviewer, and while Simon Bridges has now left politics, there will be a special "farewell and thank you for all the fodder you've given me".
"There's a special take on the video for Tauranga," he shares.
After years of mimicking celebrities and Kiwi stereotypes on social media, Sainsbury says it's because his passion is human psychology.
"My favourite comedy to watch is good [behavioural] observations of humans and memes. It really tickles my funny bone."
He gets inspiration from everywhere, including overhearing conversations in food courts and he'll text himself ideas.
"I grew up loving French and Saunders and Kath and Kim, which I think are real observations of humans, and The Office."
He follows Instagram comedian Benny Drama and gets ideas from videos and memes.
"I'm really definitely influenced," he says, adding he does worry about upsetting people though.
"Politicians are in a position of power so you can kind of take the mickey out of them more than say someone who's struggling with poverty. My comedy is definitely middle class, white, New Zealand. That's where I feel most comfortable, what I know, what I can take the piss out of.
"I sometimes put videos up that are quite controversial and I think 'why did you do that?' But there's a part of me that wants to be naughty as well, so it's a real push-pull. When people wear it badly, I do [feel bad], but I've got no one to blame but myself."
He'll check feedback for the first hour after posting on social media and then "wean myself off, put [the phone] down, and try and forget about it".
Despite a religious fan following, Sainsbury is a different person from the confident internet characters he plays.
He never talks to the camera as himself - only as his characters, saying he'd feel "awkward" if he did.
"Unfortunately, I am quite sensitive and introverted. I have to recharge by being alone. I can be quite shy, which is sometimes frustrating, but I love doing good work. The work that I've chosen is acting and I love a good performance, and with performance comes putting yourself out there and having an audience. So, that's the motivation there.
"One of the biggest regrets about life is you can't live a completely different [one]. I'd love to be able to have a year being a different person under a different circumstance, so I guess acting fulfils that."
When asked what he thinks it is fans like about him, Sainsbury says he presumes it's the relatability of his ordinary characters.
"The thing that attracts me to other comedians is an observation that you can relate to. I've got one character on Instagram called Boomer Dad and people say 'it's just like my dad!' It's me being able to express what they already think."
Ross Murray and his wife Kate say they are fans of Sainsbury's because his comedy is meticulously observed, he's versatile and consistently good.
"His characters capture the essence of people with hilarious precision, but what I love most is how his humour is simultaneously savage and tender," Murray says.
"He skewers his targets quite brutally but somehow does it with love."
He skewers his targets quite brutally but somehow does it with love.
Kate says it's his inside knowledge of the small town that he grew up in that makes his comedy extra special for her.
"I recognise many of his characters and often wonder if any of the real-life inspirations are Tom Sainsbury fans. Tom's a very intelligent man but I love how unafraid he is to be really silly."
Kate was Sainsbury's peer support leader at school, recalling how she and other seventh formers were meant to do "games" with their group of third formers, like hanging them upside down in a tree to see who cried first.
However, Sainsbury totally took over, she recalls.
"It became what was possibly his first stand-up gig. Tom used to follow me around the school making me laugh. Now, I follow him."
The pair are big fans of Snapchat character Tayn, the petrolhead. "I went to high school with a lot of Tayns," muses Murray, and of Fiona: "Haven't we all at some stage, felt like pouring a glass of wine up to the meniscus at 10am on a Monday morning?" asks Kate.
After his show, Sainsbury says aside from elatedly "almost dancing in the dressing room by myself", what he enjoys is meeting his audience.
"Q&A, selfies. I do enjoy that and I feel really satisfied that I'm giving the audience a good experience."
While preparing for his show has been hard work, short Snapchat and Instagram videos are easier to put together.
"If it's a character that I've done a lot and I've got an idea, then it might be 15 minutes of work. If I have to mimic someone or have multiple characters together, that would take half an hour. It being relatively easy, means I can keep doing it."
He's not paid for these videos so it helps they're not too time-consuming.
He's considered signing up for Patreon - a paid membership platform - and people have wanted to pay him for content, but he doesn't want to be beholden to anyone.
"There's part of me that likes to have complete creative freedom. And also through doing this, I've been able to get so much work. The money comes from work that comes off the back of doing it."
He's co-hosting Snack Masters NZ with Kim Crossman and features in a host of other TV shows on our screens (including Wellington Paranormal) and is filming a new season of Educators on TVNZ.
A practising Buddhist, he chants to a little scroll in his living room which keeps him balanced when juggling projects.
"It is about decompressing but it's about charging yourself up to fight the day.
"I feel like I've got the tendency to get caught up in sweating the small stuff and Buddhism just reminds you of the bigger picture."
For tickets to Tom Sainsbury's show, visit ticketek.co.nz
