Tom Sainsbury
Thomas Sainsbury is a New Zealand actor, writer, comedian and filmmaker. He began his career in theatre as an actor and playwright, before gaining widespread recognition in New Zealand from 2017 for his short-form comedy videos released on social media.
As a screenwriter and performer, Sainsbury has contributed to many local television shows, including Wellington Paranormal, and feature films Pork Pie and Loop Track. With Madeline Sami he co-wrote Super City, which won the SWANZ Scriptwriters Best Comedy Script Award in 2011.
His 2023 podcast Small Town Scandal won Podcast of the Year and Best Comedy Podcast at the 2024 New Zealand Radio & Podcast Awards.
Early life
Sainsbury was born in Matamata and is the youngest of three children. He was raised on a dairy farm and attended Matamata College. Sainsbury was encouraged in acting and drama by his parents, including at age 9, accompanying them to the Matamata Operatic Society rendition of Little Shop of Horrors. He was immediately inspired to write a sequel for his school assembly and thrived in the creative process of writing and performing it.In 2000, Sainsbury moved to Auckland to study for a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Auckland and decided on English literature and Theatre as his major. Throughout his studies, he wrote and produced plays in Auckland theatres including Silo Theatre and The Basement Theatre.
Career
Theatre
After graduating from the University of Auckland in 2004, Sainsbury established himself as a playwright in New Zealand, producing over 50 plays. Notable theatre works include And Then You Die, ''The Christmas Monologues, The Mall, Loser, A Simple Procedure and Sunday Roast. Several of these plays have been performed internationally.He has also written, co-written and performed in numerous live comedy theatre productions, including The Opening Night Before Christmas, Infectious, Camping, D.O.C.ing, Giggly Gerties, Dynamotion, Gays in Space and Hauraki Horror. These productions frequently featured collaborations with other New Zealand comedians including Kura Forrester, Brynley Stent and Chris Parker.''
Sainsbury is a four-time winner of the Playmarket Young Playwright of the Year. He has also been a three-time finalist for the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award. His play The Canary won the Playmarket 2010 Special Prize for an Auckland Playwright.
Film and television
In 2010, Sainsbury and Madeline Sami co-wrote Super City, a TV comedy series set in Auckland, New Zealand. It won the 2011 SWANZ Best Comedy Script award and was optioned by American network ABC in 2012.Sainsbury has written and collaborated on many New Zealand web series and comedy shows, including International Emmy Awards winner INSiDE.
As an actor, he has appeared in Shortland Street as Jason Kirkpatrick and in TV comedy series including Educators, Under the Vines, Sweet Tooth, and Wellington Paranormal. In 2020, Sainsbury co-wrote and starred in the horror comedy feature film Dead. He also appeared in Pork Pie. In 2023, he wrote, directed and starred in the horror film Loop Track. In 2024, he appeared in The Rule of Jenny Pen.
Comedian
Sainsbury has worked as a comedian in New Zealand since 2014.From 2017, Sainsbury gained widespread recognition for short-form comedy videos released on social media, which combined character comedy with satire of New Zealand culture and public figures. His most viewed videos from this period featured impersonations of politicians, including Paula Bennett, Simon Bridges and Jacinda Ardern. These performances often made use of wigs, costumes and Snapchat face-manipulation filters. While political impersonation formed a notable part of his early online output, Sainsbury later shifted focus toward broader character-based and narrative comedy.
His social media work earned widespread recognition, including being named the New Zealand Herald's Entertainment Hero of the Year in 2020. The same year, he released a non-fiction book called New Zealanders: A Field Guide, which expanded on characters developed in his online comedy and offered satirical descriptions of familiar New Zealand archetypes.
As a comedy personality, he has appeared on numerous New Zealand comedy panel shows and entertainment programmes including Jono and Ben, 7 Days, Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Masked Singer, Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee, and Taskmaster New Zealand. In 2021 and 2022, he appeared as a regular team captain on TVNZ's revival of Give Us a Clue and co-hosted the competitive cooking series Snack Masters.
In 2023, he received the Rielly Comedy Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand for his contribution to New Zealand entertainment. That year, he also released the fictional comedy murder-mystery podcast series Small Town Scandal that was produced and distributed by New Zealand Media and Entertainment. In 2024, the series won both ‘Podcast of the Year’ and ‘Best Comedy Podcast’ at the New Zealand Radio & Podcast Awards, and was subsequently announced for television adaptation.
Personal life
Sainsbury is openly gay. In interviews, he has spoken about his coming out and his experiences prior to publicly identifying as gay. He has also discussed his role as a sperm donor for a lesbian couple, describing his relationship with their children as similar to that of an uncle.Awards
- Playmarket Young Playwright of the Year – Four-time winner,, and
- Bruce Mason Playwriting Award – Two-time Nominee and
- Aotearoa Film and Television Awards – Nominated for Best Script – Drama/Comedy : for Super City
- SWANZ Scriptwriters Awards – Best Comedy Script : for Super City, episode three
- Aotearoa Filmmaking Competition – Two-time National Winner and
- Billy T Award, New Zealand Comedy Trust – Nominee
- New Zealand Herald's Entertainment Hero of the Year
- International Emmy for Best Short-Form Series for INSiDE
- Aotearoa Film and Television Awards Best Comedy Script: for Wellington Paranormal, series four, Episode four
- Rielly Comedy Award, Variety Artists Club of New Zealand, 2023
- New Zealand Podcast Award – Best Fiction Podcast for Small Town Scandal
- New Zealand Radio & Podcast Awards – Podcast of the Year and Best Comedy Podcast for ''Small Town Scandal''
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
| 2011 | Super City | Writer, Casting, Actor, Executive Producer |
| 2015–17 | Jono & Ben | Various – Sketch Comedy |
| 2016 | Filthy Rich | Actor – season II, 'Dylan Mayberry' |
| 2017 | True Story with Hamish and Andy | Actor – 'Sam' |
| 2017–18 | Shortland Street | Actor – 'Jason Kirkpatrick' |
| 2018–22 | Wellington Paranormal | Writer, Actor – season I – IV, 'Constable Parker' |
| 2019 | The Bad Seed | Actor – 'Political Panelist' |
| 2019 | Golden Boy | Actor – season I, 'Groundskeeper' |
| 2019–22 | Educators | Actor – season I – III, 'Rudy Beard' |
| 2019–22 | Have You Been Paying Attention? | Self – Panelist |
| 2021–22 | 7 Days | Self – Panelist and Team Captain |
| 2021 | My Life Is Murder | Actor – season I, 'Brett' |
| 2021 | The Masked Singer | Self |
| 2021–22 | Give Us a Clue | Self – season I & II, Team Captain |
| 2022 | Snack Masters | Self – host |
| 2022 | The Love Hour | Self – host |
| 2023 | Sweet Tooth | Actor – 'Dudley' |
| 2023 | Double Parked | Actor – 'Ambo Officer' |
| 2023 | Under the Vines | Actor – 'Jeremy' |
| 2024 | Taskmaster NZ | Self |
| 2024 | Spinal Destination | Writer, Actor – 'Dan' |
| 2024 | Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee | Self |
| 2025 | Warren's Vortex | Writer |
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
| 2016 | Pork Pie | Actor – 'Bongo' |
| 2016 | Waru | Actor – 'Jason' |
| 2017 | The Breaker Upperers | Actor – 'Man 1' |
| 2020 | Dead | Writer, Actor – 'Dane 'Marbles' Marbeck' |
| 2020 | Guns Akimbo | Actor – 'Singstar Dude' |
| 2020 | Baby Done | Actor – 'Stupid Man' |
| 2021 | Nude Tuesday | Actor – 'Commuter' |
| 2023 | Loop Track | Director, Writer, Casting, Actor – 'Ian' |
| 2024 | The Rule of Jenny Pen | Actor – 'Carer Mike' |